A text at 6.30am
An instructor texts the owner at 6.30am. He has a temperature and cannot teach today, and probably not tomorrow. His diary has seven lessons today and six tomorrow, and one of Thursday's pupils has a practical test at 9.14.
The owner starts texting pupils from her phone, working from a photo of his diary page he sent. The first pupil is already up and waiting for an 8am lesson. Two do not see the message and stand outside at their pickup time. The test pupil panics and rings three times.
Why a sick day turns into chaos
- The instructor's diary may only exist in their car or on their phone.
- Pupils need to be told before they are waiting at the pickup point.
- Test days cannot simply be moved, because the test itself is scarce.
- Other instructors might cover some lessons, but only if area, gearbox and diary fit.
- Pupils' blocks, payments and cancellations all need adjusting correctly.
Everything has to happen early in the morning, from a phone, by the person who is also running the rest of the school.
What it costs
Pupils left waiting are the first cost, and they remember it. Test pupils are the biggest risk: a missed test because nobody arranged a car and instructor is a lost test date, which is a serious setback for the pupil. Blocks get charged wrongly for lessons that were cancelled by the school. And the owner or office spends the morning on the phone instead of running the business.
The sickness process we build
- The instructor or office marks days off in the shared diary from a phone, with a reason code only you see.
- Every pupil with a lesson on those days gets a message at once, in your wording, saying the lesson cannot go ahead and what happens next.
- Test day lessons are flagged at the top of the office's list, with the test time and centre, so arranging cover for the test is the first job.
- For each affected lesson, the system lists other instructors who could cover it by area, gearbox and diary. The office can offer cover to the instructor and then to the pupil.
- Pupils who are not covered get a link to pick a new slot with their own instructor from the days after they return.
- Cancelled lessons are cancelled by the school, so no charge applies and block balances are untouched.
- The owner sees how many lessons were affected, covered and rebooked, and which still need attention.
| Affected lesson | What happens |
|---|---|
| Practical test day | Top of the list, cover arranged first |
| Pupil close to test | Cover offered if a suitable instructor is free |
| Regular lesson | Pupil picks a new slot from the rebooking link |
| Block pupil | No charge, balance unchanged |
| Pupil not reached | Flagged for a phone call |
Whether a covering instructor can use a pupil's test and whose car is used is decided by your school and the people involved, within the test rules. We make sure the question is raised early.
A sick day that runs itself
At 6.35 the instructor marks two days off from his phone. Every pupil has a message by 6.40. The owner opens the list and sees Thursday's test pupil at the top, with two instructors who cover that centre and have the slot free. By 8am, cover for the test is arranged, three lessons are covered by colleagues, and the rest of the pupils are picking new slots. Nobody stands on a doorstep.
When sickness lasts longer, the same process runs day by day, and pupils close to a test are kept moving with cover rather than left waiting.
Is a sick day a crisis for you?
- The owner texts pupils from a photo of the diary.
- Pupils wait at pickups for lessons that were cancelled.
- Test pupils are not sure what is happening.
- Cover is arranged by ringing round other instructors.
- Block balances are wrong after school cancellations.