Absences are inevitable — especially in child care, where illness, family emergencies, and personal responsibilities can arise with little notice.
The difference between centers that thrive and those that struggle isn’t how often absences happen — it's how ready they are when they do.
In this guide, we’ll walk through how to lead with empathy, plan for the unexpected, streamline communication, and protect both your ratios and your team’s morale.
Without a plan, absences:
Force administrators into classrooms, pulling them away from leadership tasks
Overload remaining teachers, leading to burnout
Frustrate families when consistency breaks down
Weaken team morale over time
But with a clear system — and the right mindset — you can absorb disruptions without losing momentum or sacrificing staff trust.
(Learn how absence planning fits into larger staffing systems in How to Build a Weekly Schedule That Keeps Your Center Fully Staffed.)
The foundation of any successful absence plan starts long before someone calls off.
It begins with building trust and empathy between leadership and staff.
When teachers trust that:
They can call off when truly needed
They won’t be punished for emergencies
Leadership will handle absences respectfully
...they are more likely to:
Communicate openly (not ghost or no-show)
Use call-offs responsibly
Stay committed for the long term
From the beginning, work to understand the real-life barriers that might prevent staff from getting to work, like:
Lack of backup child care
Transportation issues
School pick-up/drop-off responsibilities
By understanding these pressures, you can proactively problem-solve with staff — and strengthen loyalty before issues arise.
(For more on motivating today’s workforce through trust and flexibility, see What Motivates Today’s Child Care Workforce.)
Absences are inevitable. Scrambling shouldn’t be.
A strong absence strategy starts with building two pools:
Floaters: Staff already part of your center who flex across classrooms day-to-day
Substitutes: External backup ready to step in when needed
Substitutes are becoming a more widely accepted model in early childhood education — but qualified substitutes are still hard to find because of the credentialing required.
That’s why platforms like Tandem are game-changers:
We do the pre-work of vetting substitutes for compliance and classroom readiness
Workers are available on demand through our app
Centers can set Tandem up as a “just-in-case” tool — ready to activate only when needs surface
Many centers onboard Tandem simply to have a backup option in their back pocket — giving leadership peace of mind without immediate cost unless used.
Having substitutes ready before you need them protects your full-time team from overwork — and helps you maintain stability even when unexpected absences stack up.
(See How Tandem Matches Substitutes to Your Center’s Needs for more on how the process works.)
Managing absences well isn't just about coverage — it’s about how communication flows.
You should not be hearing about absences via personal texts at 5:00 AM.
Clear, centralized communication:
Helps you react faster
Reduces stress on leadership
Protects boundaries between work and personal life
Tips for better absence communication:
Create a written policy for how and when staff should report absences
Set reasonable call-off windows (e.g., at least 2 hours before shift start)
Use platforms or systems that streamline notifications (examples: Procare, Brightwheel, or even Tandem for substitute shifts)
Staff should have one clear, easy method to report an absence — and leadership should be able to immediately move to Plan B without scrambling.
It’s easy to think of absence management as just a logistics problem.
But done well, it’s actually a powerful retention strategy.
When you:
Respond to absences calmly
Protect the team from being overloaded
Maintain classroom stability
…you show your teachers that their well-being matters — not just the ratio. This builds a culture of trust, support, and shared accountability, all of which reduce long-term turnover.
Like Cliff Notes, but for child care: