Mail that needs a reply
The Needs reply view lists mail from families that you have not answered yet, oldest first.
Updated 18 October 2026
Why this exists
A busy inbox makes it easy for a parent's question to slip down the list and wait for days. Needs reply shows only the mail still waiting on you, oldest first, with how long each has waited. You can clear the backlog from the top and know nobody has been forgotten.
Needs reply sits under the Inbox in Mail. It shows every conversation where the last message came in from outside your centre and you have not answered.
How it works
- The oldest conversation is at the top, and each row says how long it has been waiting.
- The folder shows a count.
- A conversation leaves the list as soon as you reply, archive it, mark it as junk, delete it or snooze it.
- A conversation you filed in one of your own folders still counts if it is waiting on you.
- Mail from colleagues at your centre never counts. Only mail from outside does.
Use it
- Open Needs reply.
- Work from the top. Reply, or archive anything that needs no answer.
- Snooze anything you cannot answer yet. It comes back when the snooze ends.
Good to know
Needs reply looks only at who sent the last message. It does not read the words or use AI to guess.