Calendar & sessions
Sessions
Tutoring sessions, confirmed from both sides. The provider says what was delivered, the family says what was attended — and only when both agree does a charge appear.
What it does
A session is one booked piece of tutoring: a provider, a learner, a date and time, a duration, and a tuition price. Both sides keep their own status, which is what makes AltEd's billing feel fair:
- The provider records what they delivered.
- The family records what was attended, and reports an absence with a reason if it wasn't.
- When the provider marks Delivered and the family marks Attended, AltEd raises the charge automatically at the agreed price — see Payments & credits.
Nobody has to send an invoice, and nobody gets billed for a lesson the other side disputes.
Sessions come from three places: a provider scheduling one; a group class, where every time it meets is a session for each child with a place; and a 1-to-1 class, at each learner's agreed weekly time. Classes make theirs four weeks ahead — see Sessions from a class.
Where to find it
- Navigation: Sessions
- URL:
/dashboard/sessions
Step by step
Schedule a session (providers)
- Make sure the family has connected with you first — you can't schedule for a family you aren't connected to. See Connections.
- Go to Sessions (
/dashboard/sessions). - Select Schedule a session.
- Complete the form:
- Learner — "Choose a learner". The family is taken from that learner's guardian automatically.
- Tuition — "Choose a tuition price". These come from your price list; set one up first in Pricing & Billing if the list is empty (see The provider's guide).
- Date & time.
- Duration (minutes).
- Select Schedule a session. It appears for both you and the family straight away.
Confirm what happened
Both sides use the same Update status button on the session.
As a provider — Provider status:
- Scheduled — booked, not yet happened.
- Delivered — you taught it.
- Cancelled — it didn't go ahead.
- Missed — the learner didn't attend.
A provider can also record the Lesson covered (optional), from the lessons in their own courses. It shows under the session on Sessions as Lesson:.
As a family — Attendance:
- Attended — your child was there.
- Missed — they weren't. Choose Missed and a Reason for absence box appears: "Let the provider know why the session was missed…". Write a short reason and save; it goes to the provider for review.
Review an absence (providers)
- Open the session and select Update status.
- Under Absence review, read the reason the family gave and Approve or reject the absence.
- Save. Approving records that the absence was accepted; rejecting records that it wasn't.
Your billing settings decide whether absences need this approval at all — see The provider's guide.
Write a report for the family (providers)
Once a session has started, its ⋯ menu offers Write a report — a few sentences for the family on what you worked on, how it went and what to practise.
- On Sessions, open the session's ⋯ menu and select Write a report.
- Write the report in Report for the family — or let AI write it up from your notes:
- Under Write it up from your notes, jot down what you covered, e.g. adding fractions — thirds fine, mixed numbers shaky. 5 practice sums before Thurs.
- Select Write it up. The line beside it says how many AI credits you have and that this takes about 1.
- The draft lands in Report for the family. Read it and change anything that isn't quite right — it only uses what your notes say.
- If your notes match one of your lessons, Record the lesson covered is offered (ticked). If they mention practice or homework, Set it as work for learner is offered (unticked) — tick it to set that as an assignment.
- Select Save draft to come back to it, or Share with the family.
Sharing notifies the family, and the session shows Report shared under its tuition. After sharing, the menu reads Edit the report: corrections are saved with Save changes and the family reads the latest version. A shared report can't be unshared. It also appears in the learner's printable education record, and on their own Progress page if the family has turned on Show reports from tutors — see The learner's own page and Reports.
Read a report (families)
When a tutor shares a report you get a notification — _Tutor_ wrote a report on _learner_'s session — that opens it. Any session with Report shared under it also has Read the report in its ⋯ menu. If AI helped the tutor write it, the report says so underneath.
What each screen shows
The Sessions screen lists every session you're a party to — for a provider, the ones you teach; for a family, the ones booked for your children; for an admin, all of them — with the learner, the provider or family on the other side, the date and time, duration, the lesson price, both status badges, and any charge raised.
Providers see the strapline "Schedule tutoring sessions and confirm what was delivered." and the Schedule a session action. Families see the list and the Update status action.
A session with a shared report shows Report shared under its tuition. Its ⋯ menu has Write a report or Edit the report for the provider (once the session has started, unless it was cancelled) and Read the report for the family.
A session from a class shows the class's name followed by · class. A session without a price — from a free class, or one with a whole-class fee — shows No charge.
With nothing booked you'll see the No sessions yet empty state; families are told "Sessions scheduled by your providers will appear here."
Tips and good to know
- A charge only appears when both sides agree. Delivered + Attended is the trigger, in whichever order the two are recorded.
- Charges through AltEd come with the Provider plan. Without it, sessions work just the same — both sides confirm, absences are reported — but no charge is raised; the family pays you directly.
- The charge uses the price on the session's Tuition at the moment it's raised, including any volume discount the provider has set. Editing a price later doesn't retrospectively change past charges.
- Report absences promptly and give a real reason — it's the record both sides rely on if there's a question later.
- Only the provider can schedule. If you're a family who needs a session moved, ask your provider to update it.
- Sessions show on the Calendar by themselves, for both sides — see Calendar. A session is still confirmed here, not there.
- AI write-ups need the family's say-so. A tutor can only use Write it up when the family has turned on Let your learners' tutors use AI too in their settings — see AI drafting. Writing a report by hand always works. The tutor's own credits pay for it.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to try |
|---|---|
| No Schedule a session button | Only providers schedule sessions. Families confirm attendance. |
| "You're not connected to this family yet" | The family must accept a connection before you can schedule for them — see Connections. |
| "Choose a tuition price" is empty | Add a price in Pricing & Billing first — see The provider's guide. |
| I marked Attended but no charge appeared | The provider hasn't marked Delivered yet. Both sides are needed. |
| Both sides confirmed but no charge | The session may have No charge (a free class, or a whole-class fee), or the provider isn't on the Provider plan and is paid directly. |
| "A class session follows the class's times." | A session from a class moves with the class. Ask the provider to change the class, or cancel that one session. |
| A class session is on the wrong day | Sessions follow the class's times and breaks. Ask the provider to update the class — sessions nobody has acted on move with it. |
| "Required" under Reason for absence | Choosing Missed as a family needs a short reason before it will save. |
| I can't change the other side's status | By design — a provider sets Provider status, a family sets Attendance. Only an admin can act on both. |
| No Write a report in the menu | Reports can be written once a session has started, and not for a cancelled one. Families see Read the report only once the tutor has shared one. |
| "This family hasn't allowed their tutors to use AI…" | The family's Let your learners' tutors use AI too switch is off. Write the report yourself, or ask them — it's their choice. |
| A charge looks wrong | Check the session's tuition and duration, then speak to your provider. Charges are raised from the agreed price, and the full history is on the Payments screen. |