Jan 23, 2018

There are always a few things to do in order to get started at the beginning of each new year, so this article should lead you through the necessary steps with regard to the SOBS Student Attendance Register.

Updating Staff

There will generally be a few staff changes each year so let’s start there.

1. Adding new staff to the school
   1. In the Configuration menu click on the ‘Staff’ link to display a list of all staff
   2. Use the ‘Add user’ button (top right) to add each new staff member to this list
2. Removing staff who have left the school
   1. Locate the staff member in the ‘Staff’ list
   2. Click the ‘Del’ button on the far right of the screen for this staff member
   3. If they currently have an assigned responsibility within the school then you won’t be able to delete the staff member, you will need to re-assign that responsibility before doing so
   4. Use the options available to transfer any existing responsibility to another staff member (it could be one of the new staff members just added)
   5. Once you have transferred these responsibilities you can then confirm the deletion of this staff member

Updating the School Calendar

Each year we need to know what is and isn’t a school day so we can determine when a student should be at school.  The school calendar needs to be updated.

1. In the Configuration menu click on the ‘Calendar’ link
2. Add the terms for the current year
3. You can also add holidays and pupil-free days that occur within a term
4. When all of the dates are entered you can preview the term calendar by clicking on the preview radio button for each term
5. If the term preview looks correct click the ‘Publish’ button to lock in these settings

Update the Class lists (Student and Parent data)

We don’t need to delete old student information, but we do need to load new student information.

1. In the Configuration menu click on the ‘Import/Export’ link
2. Now select the option to import your Student and Parent information.  Depending on the Student Management System you are using this can vary, but generally we import the student and parent information together
3. The student information must include their roll class, so while we are importing students we will automatically be creating the class entries for each roll class
4. Some classes will still exist from last year, while some classes will be new

Ensure PC/Form setting for roll classes

Any newly created roll classes will need you to manually set the ‘PC/Form’ option on.

1. In the Configuration menu click on the ‘Classes’ link
2. Browse through the list of classes and ensure all roll classes have a tick in the ‘PC/Form’ column.  If not Edit the class record and check the option for ‘PC/Form’ and Save the class.

Aligning teachers with each Class

If there are absence triggers that are sent to class teachers, then it is important to ensure the correct teacher(s) are aligned to each class.  If a student absence triggers a notice to the teacher this will typically sent via email to the teacher currently allocated to the roll class for that student.

1. In the Configuration menu click on the ‘Classes’ link
2. This will list all of the classes along with any existing allocated teachers (by default teachers allocated to classes last year will still be allocated to those classes for this year)
3. Add a teacher to a class
   1. If there is no teacher currently allocated to a class then use the ‘Add’ button to add a teacher to the class
   2. If there is already a teacher allocated to a class and you need to add a new teacher
      1. Click the current teacher name
      2. Click the ‘Add a teacher’ button
      3. Select the new teacher from the list of available staff and ‘Save’
4. Remove a teacher from a class
   1. Click the current teacher name
   2. Click the ‘Delete this record’ button

Notices

Generally the content and format of your notices won’t change, however it is probably a good time to review the notices and make any minor adjustments.  If there are any staff named ensure they are still the correct staff member to be listed on the notice.  Check for any other changes in school policy in regard to absences and update the triggers as necessary.

Finished

You are now ready to begin processing your roll and running your absence processing.