A school setup from the start
Choose primary or secondary school. Start with phase groups or subject departments, a suggested September leave year and editable school leave types.
For primary and secondary school teams
Staff absence management software for schools.
Keep teacher sickness, support staff leave and manager approvals in one place. See who is away, keep follow-up records together and give each member of staff the right holiday setup.
Free trial. No credit card. Eligible schools pay £4 per staff member/month + VAT on a 12-month term, billed monthly. See pricing.
Data stored in the EU (Frankfurt), with a published UK GDPR Data Processing Addendum. Where your data is stored.
One school, different arrangements
Illustrative staff setup. Choose settings from each person's contract.
- Staff taking holiday during closures
- Sickness and other absence types remain available. No bookable annual-leave balance.
- Staff booking annual leave
- Holiday allowance, requests and manager decisions in the same workspace.
- Suggested leave year
- September to August
School staff absence, from the first call to the final record
When a member of staff is unwell, the school office needs an accurate absence record and a clear view of who is already away. When someone requests planned leave, their manager needs the dates and balance. Leavely brings those everyday tasks into a shared staff absence system.
Staff in more than one department
A teacher working across Maths and Computing can belong to both. Organise teaching, office, site and support teams without duplicating the person.
A shared view of staff absence
Review planned leave and sickness on the team calendar before deciding a request. Use that view alongside your timetable and cover arrangements.
Sickness and follow-up together
Keep the sickness record, fit-note link and return-to-work follow-up connected. Manager access follows workspace roles and reporting relationships.
Records for the period you need
Choose start and end dates for absence reports and export the results. Use your own term dates when preparing information for leadership or HR.
DBS, right to work and certificate expiry
Record DBS checks (visible to admins only), safeguarding and first-aid training with expiry or recheck reminders, and keep a right to work register with reminders before time-limited permission ends.
Holiday that matches each person
Use a bookable allowance for staff who request annual leave, or the closure-only setting for staff whose paid holiday is taken during school closures.
Explore the sickness absence tracker or see how leave requests and approvals work across your team.
Teacher absence tracking for the morning cover check
Most school absence starts with a phone call before registration. Staff absence software for schools should make that call quick to record and the result easy to act on. In Leavely, the absence is logged against the member of staff, the dashboard shows who is off today, and the team calendar shows who else is already away that week.
Leavely does not book supply staff or work out supply costs. It gives whoever arranges cover an accurate, shared list of absent staff to plan from, and it keeps the record for the absence policy afterwards.
- Fit note prompts. If sickness runs for more than seven calendar days, the absence is marked as needing a fit note, and outstanding notes stay on the dashboard.
- Return-to-work records. The conversation is recorded against the absence it follows, with notes and who held it.
- Patterns over 12 months. Bradford Factor scores and absence reports give the head or business manager context for a supportive conversation, not an automatic outcome.
Teacher absence and support staff holiday in one system
School leave management software has to handle two holiday patterns at once. Many teachers take their paid holiday during school closures, while office, site and some support staff book annual leave against an allowance. Leavely sets this per person with a holiday basis on the staff record, so the same workspace can be a school staff holiday tracker for one group and a sickness and absence record for everyone.
A role title alone does not tell you how someone's holiday should work. Check their contract, then choose the appropriate holiday basis on their staff record. A term-time support role may need a different arrangement from an all-year office or site role.
| In Leavely | Holiday during closures | Bookable annual leave |
|---|---|---|
| Annual-leave balance | No bookable balance | Allowance, used and pending leave |
| Holiday requests | Annual leave hidden from the request form | Staff request dates for approval |
| Sickness and other absence | Applicable absence types remain available | Applicable absence types remain available |
| School closure | Shown without an annual-leave deduction | Deduction depends on the closure settings |
Check what a closure means for staff
Term dates and INSET days are not imported automatically. Review dates before creating a closure: a pupil-free training day can still be a working day for staff. Use a closure only when its effect on staff availability and any leave deduction is appropriate.
A practical rollout
Set up school leave around your actual policy.
Start with one department, check a teacher and a support staff record, and then invite the wider team. Our free checklist gives the school office and HR lead a shared list of decisions to make.
Download the school setup checklistEditable text file. No signup required.
- 1
Choose your school profile
Select primary or secondary school, review the suggested departments and confirm the leave-year start month. September is a suggestion you can change.
- 2
Check each staff contract
Set working patterns, reporting lines and holiday basis per person. Decide who books annual leave and who takes paid holiday during closures.
- 3
Review your absence types
Adjust the appointment, compassionate leave, public duties and unpaid leave presets to your school policy. Preset allowances are editable starting points.
- 4
Test a request and a sickness record
Check the manager view, staff calendar and balances with a small group. Add school closure dates only after reviewing their effect on staff availability and deductions.
Keep the people behind the absence in view
Use absence summaries to prepare a conversation and arrange support. A score or pattern needs context; follow your school policy when deciding next steps. Share only the information the recipient needs.
Education pricing
£4 per staff member per month + VAT
50% off the £8 Standard price. Charged for each active member of staff.
- 12-month term, billed monthly
- No setup fee
- Free trial, no credit card
- Every Standard feature included
Worked example: a school with 25 staff
25 × £4 = £100/month + VAT
The same team on Standard pricing would be £200/month + VAT.
When the education rate applies: it is set on your account when you sign up through the education signup below and enter your school URN, UKPRN or institution reference. Accounts started through another signup begin on Standard pricing; contact us if that applies to you.
Eligibility: education discount details.
School absence software questions
What is staff absence management software for schools?
It gives school staff and managers a shared way to record sickness, request time off, review availability and keep absence records. Leavely focuses on staff leave and absence, with primary and secondary school setup options. It does not replace a pupil attendance register or a lesson timetable.
Can teachers and support staff use different holiday arrangements?
Yes. Set the holiday basis on each staff record. Staff who book holiday can have an annual-leave allowance; staff who take paid holiday during closures can use the closure-only setting. Both can still use other applicable absence types. Choose the setting from the individual contract, rather than assuming that every teaching or support role has the same arrangement.
Does Leavely support a September to August leave year?
Yes. Primary and secondary school profiles suggest September as the leave-year start month. You can choose another month where your school or trust uses a different leave year.
Can a member of staff belong to more than one department?
Yes. A staff member can belong to multiple departments, such as a teaching assistant supporting both SEND and a key stage. Department membership organises staff; manager permissions still depend on the configured roles and reporting relationships.
Can we record sickness and return-to-work follow-up?
Yes. Leavely records staff sickness, supports fit-note links and return-to-work follow-up, and provides absence reporting. Use the records with your school absence policy and keep access to any linked medical document restricted in the service hosting it.
Are term dates and INSET days added automatically?
No. Schools review and enter their own closure dates. A closure can affect staff availability and, depending on the settings, leave deductions. An INSET day when staff are working should not be recorded as their time off merely because pupils are absent.
Is Leavely suitable for a multi-academy trust?
A user can belong to more than one workspace, so separate schools can keep their own staff and policies. Discuss your reporting and approval structure in a demo before rollout. Reports are run within each workspace.
Can Leavely be used as teacher absence tracking software?
Yes. Teacher sickness and other absence are recorded against each member of staff, the dashboard shows who is off today, and the team calendar shows planned and current absence. Leavely does not book supply staff or calculate supply costs; use the absence view alongside your own cover arrangements.
Does it work as a school staff holiday tracker?
Yes, for staff who book annual leave. Each person has an allowance, requests are approved by their manager and balances update automatically. Staff whose paid holiday is taken during school closures can use the closure-only setting, so they have no bookable balance to track.
Is Leavely school HR software?
Leavely covers the staff side of school HR that changes week to week: leave and absence, sickness follow-up, DBS and training expiry, right to work records and staff documents. It is not a payroll system, a pupil information system or a timetable, so it works alongside the systems your school already uses.
How much does school absence software cost?
Eligible schools and colleges pay £4 per active staff member per month + VAT (50% off the £8 Standard price), on a 12-month term billed monthly. For 25 staff that is 25 × £4 = £100/month + VAT. The education rate is set when you sign up through the education signup and enter your school URN, UKPRN or institution reference. Every account starts with a free trial and no credit card.
Where is our staff data stored?
Workspace records are stored in a managed database in the EU (AWS Frankfurt, Germany), not in the UK. Leavely publishes a UK GDPR Data Processing Addendum and its list of suppliers. See the GDPR page for where each type of data is held.
Try your school's leave workflow before rollout.
Review the school profile, test both holiday arrangements and check what staff and managers see. Book a demo to talk through your setup, or start a free trial and test it yourself.