Portal Console Admin Guide

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Portal Console

Admin Guide

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1 Introduction

This document describes key steps for successfully setting up Sentral Portal Console and Parent app.

The system is built to create parent accounts and define information to display to parents. This document describes the configuration of Portal Console from the school perspective. The Portal function allows for control over parent communication and interactions.

A detailed description for the setup of each area in Portal Console has been provided as well as a checklist of pre-requisites, decisions and recurring tasks that need to be reviewed on a periodic basis.

Information for Portal 1 (legacy Parent Portal) functionality will not be detailed here.

2 Considerations, Dependencies and Pre-Requisites

This section highlights the key areas that the school administration staff need to consider prior to setting up the Sentral Parent Portal module.

2.1 Legacy Portal 1 vs Parent Portal 2

Sentral created a new Parent Portal that works with the Sentral Parents App. The Original parent Portal (legacy or Portal 1) will come to end of life so we encourage all schools to move to Parent Portal 2 and the new Portal Console module.

What do I do?

Go to the Sentral Admin Cog > Student & Parent Portal > Portal Version.

For schools that are new to the portal, select Use Portal 2. This enables the Module Portal Console to appear as one of the listed modules. This configuration guide discusses the Portal Console and thus do not recommend introducing the Portal 1 to parents.

For schools that have been using Portal 1, we recommend Default to Portal 2. Portal 2 will be the default for Parent Portal users. Parents can switch back to Portal 1.

New Portal Console module will be available in the module menu for staff.

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2.2 Household and Student Details

The success of implementing this module relies on the accuracy of data from your data layer source/enrolments module. Parents/Caregiver details and family relations needs to be addressed and reviewed to ensure Parent/caregivers have access to their children and be considerate of complex households.

2.3 Students, Staff and Roll Classes

For the Parent Portal module to operate, you must have user accounts created for staff members at the school, as well as roll classes with students in them. This may be entered within Sentral

Enrolments or synchronised from the school enrolments system.

2.4 Parent Registration

It is important to decide on the parent registration process to manage self-registration or put in place an authorisation process via the Administrator of Portal Console. This is highly dependent on how the school wish to manage this.

2.5 Sentral Modules & Communication

The school will need to decide on which modules will be made available to Parents and Student within their Portal account. Further detail will be discussed in the next section, however this in an opportunity for staff to determine the modules that will be made visible and hence, those modules that will require actionable items to be managed by the school.

Schools must also consider and share with the parent & student community the purpose of the Portal, its part in the school communication and parent engagement process. It is worthwhile for all schools to consider a rollout plan, parent forum and future support for the Portal as a stream of work for administration staff to process and manage.

General staff also need to be made aware of their contribution and management of the Portal daily and to adhere to schools’ policies and compliance.

2.6 Access Keys

Consideration around complex households and custody issues is a mandatory requirement for the success of the Portal rollout. Key generation is defined by creating:

1. Family Keys - all families that are not listed in the school’s admin system as having custody issues

2. Single Keys - all parents that are listed in the school’s admin system as having custody issues

2.7 Roles and Responsibilities Setup

The Portal Console module is a powerful module with many features and functions that can address the school’s communication and engagement needs. Administration of the Portal Console module is usually assigned to a select group of staff with access to all the functionality in the module. As such, the school will be responsible for applying access levels for staff which will determine what actions they can perform in the module.

2.8 Sentral Modules to consider

Whilst schools contemplate the actual setup of the Portal, there are additional steps to consider when choosing to implement certain modules. This section of the guide highlights additional configuration steps to for these modules. Some modules will not require any configuration to work in the portal.

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Module Configuration

Academic Reports Additional steps need to be completed in Academic Reports to publish to the Portal. There is a whole section devoted to this within the module

Activities 1. Student Portal in Activities Setup - switch on self-

registration for activities 2. Each Activity on setup needs to Show in Student

Portal switched on & switch on allow Self

registration 3. Each Activity then needs to be published to Parent Portal for Information only, permissions only, payment only, permission & Payment

Activity Timeline no additional config required

Attendance Access to explain absences, allow future absences and view absences

Calendar Select the calendar to display to portal users

Classes Detail no additional config required

Conferences Notify portal parents needs to be switched on.

Teacher’s also need to select Publish to Student Portal for each conference

Continuous Assessment no additional config required

Daily Notices Daily Notices widget needs to be added to school dashboard

Homework no additional config required

Markbook Within each Faculty Markbook, you must select

which columns to Publish to Markbook

Messaging Allow parents to message teachers

Newsletter Newsletter widget needs to be added to school

dashboard

Parent/Teacher Interviews Registration window needs to be setup

Payments Financial Settings and enabling portal Payments

needs to be configured.

Plans no additional config required

School Forms These are online forms that can be downloaded, completed and uploaded by parents. These are uploaded via Online Forms not Documents School Resources Documents need to be uploaded to Portal

Documents

Timetable no additional config required except to display daily variations

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Wellbeing Each Category needs to be configured to display in Parent & Student Portal. Schools can decide to hide, show tally, show summary or show all details of incidents within a category

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3 Setup Portal Console

The following is a description of the setup for each area in the Portal Console setup. These details will guide you through the critical configurations you need to setup in Portal Console. Settings that are not explained in this guide can be configured without explanation or configured later. The configurations can be found via Portal Console module > Setup Portal Console.

By default, no student or parent has any access to the portal. Each school decides what aspects are made visible, and who is allowed into the system.

Students can be set to use their school computer login or the Department or Active Directory portal login.

NOTE: The school can opt to complete the Quick Setup or go through the same steps via the Index on the left-hand side. Schools setting up for the first time are

recommended using the menu on the left-hand side. The Quick Setup is a good starting point but on completion you may still need to look at other setting listed below. Some areas below are noted as not being part of Quick Setup.

3.1 Quick Setup

3.1.1

School Settings

The settings here are basic and we recommend on completion of the wizard, going to step 3.2 Setting to complete more actions.

Allow outside school access and portal version are set to the correct default. The school simply need to enter the school email address.

3.1.2

Enable Features

Please refer to 3.3 Access Control as these 2 pages are identical. This section defines the modules you wish parents, student, mentors and guests to see.

3.1.3

Parent Access

It is important to note there is a difference between Parent Access via the Wizard and via the standard method on left hand side menu. So, both will be discussed here.

Configure parent access for the Sentral Portal. This is where you can generate family or student keys in bulk for Parent Portal users to access their related students. Click on the Parents button to expand screen.

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Select which families have custodial relationships or require individual access to specific students rather than a family of students.

Family Access implies that there are no custodial relationships to consider. Student Access implies that more specific associations are possible on a student to parent basis.

No Access implies no key will be generated. Click the Generate Access Keys button to create the access keys.

A confirmation screen displays the number of family, student keys generated as well as families with no keys. Click on Confirm. Click Next.

Click Generate Access Keys and confirmation screen displays. Confirm.

3.1.4

Notify Users

Select the method of communication in which to notify parents and make all updates needed before sending emails and/or letters. Use our new Sentral for Parents template for the family and custody specific email and letter content or create your own. Click Next.

When printing letters, schools can choose to use merge fields to print important details such as the parents title, first name and surname. As a result from needing to print individual access keys (even for family members) and letters, the merge fields that identified a family include simple titles such as Parent’s Title, First Name and Surname, which will automatically insert the correct contact details in each of the letters generated.

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The email merge fields for Parent details are very similar and provide individual emails to parents within a family.

At this stage you have only generated the portal access keys (family or student). If you would like to configure the Student and Parent Portal more specifically you may visit the menu options to the left- hand side to give you more advance control over the application.

To view all the parent and student keys you have just created go to Parent Access on the left or 3.10 in this document.

You may now begin using the Student Parent Portal with the option to Send Family keys by email or print the letters.

3.2 Settings(mandatory)

The Settings for the Portal Console module are a list of basic parameters that need to be setup in advance and provide more detail and functionality then the Quick Setup Wizard. Each setting is self- explanatory, and most can be changed later if required. The settings on this page are configurable according to the school’s needs. The key pre-requisites to this section are the to Allow Outside Access, enter School email address, selecting the Calendar to display for Portal Accounts.

Leave Default settings as is for:

• Parent Portal Version 2

• App Version -Version 2

• Comms API disabled -No (you want the software to interface with the app application) Maintenance mode allows schools to close the Portal to the Parents e.g. holiday period and start of new year when new classes are being established.

The following provides further explanation on some of the more complex settings in this section:

3.2.1

Parent Settings (not available in Quick Setup)

The school need to decide if you allow self-registration for parents or you wish to approve of Portal accounts. If the later, an email address needs to be entered to notify the school when users are created.

Schools can switch on Notifications to allow parent users to be notified via email they have a new message.

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3.2.2

Parent Interviews (not available in Quick Setup)

Schools that wish to published parent Interviews via the Portal so parent can book in session times are required to switch this on.

1. Parent Interview Menu - Customise the display name of the Parent Interviews menu in Parent Portal.

2. Allow Interview Requests – the option is to disable, all for all portal users or only full booked teacher where parent can request an interview outside of this interview period.

3. Request Interview Text – customise the name of this request 3.2.3

Absence Settings (not available in Quick Setup)

Schools that wish to publish Absences via the portal need to enable this function so parents can reply and explain absences. Schools can then decide to ONLY allow explanation for whole day unexplained and set a time limit on how time is allowed for this absence to be explained.

3.2.4

Markbook (not available in Quick Setup)

Schools that use the Markbook Module can decide what elements of Markbook are visible to parents.

3.2.5

Other Module Settings (not available in Quick Setup)

Schools can display daily variations on the student timetable, decide if historic wellbeing data is disabled and the name of the Wellbeing menu e.g. Pastoral Care or PBL

3.2.6

Login Settings

Define maximum invalid login attempts before account is suspended, reset invalid logins and the time allowed for a suspended account to attempt to login again.

3.3 Access Controls (mandatory)/Enable Features in Quick Setup

This section defines the modules Parents, Students, Mentors and Guests have access too. These settings are typically defined by each school on a case by case basis. A comprehensive list is provided below.

Module Detail

Absences Allow parent to explain student absences Absences Allow parent to view student absences

Access Keys Allow parent to approve activities with only a student key link Activities Can view activities

Activities To give permission for a school activity/excursion Activities Can access current activities

Activity Timeline Allow parent to view student timeline

Activity Timeline Allow parent to view Meeting events in Timeline Application Allow parent to view custom menu links

Assessments Can access assessments Assessments To view homework

Attendance Can access attendance overview Attendance Can access student absences Attendance Can access class attendance

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Conferences Can access conferences Continuous Can access continuous Continuous Can view activities Dashboard Can view school bulletin

Dashboard Allow parent to view student continuous assessments Dashboard Can access class workspaces

Dashboard Can view daily notices widget Dashboard Can access homework area Dashboard Can view daily notices

Dashboard Allow parent to view student continuum data Dashboard Can access messages from teachers

Dashboard Can view bulletins

Dashboard Can view student bulletin widget

Documents Allow parent the ability to view and download Portal Documents from the Student Feed

Documents Allow parents to view and download documents Interviews To view their upcoming Parent/Teacher Interviews Invoices Allow parent to view school invoice

Messaging Allow parent to view and message teachers My Details Allow parent to view and edit family details News Allow parents to view daily notices

Newsletter Allow parents to view and download school newsletters Parent Overview Can access messages area

Parent Overview Can submit family details change requests Parent Overview Can submit student medical information Parent Overview Can view school documents widget Parent Overview Can message teachers

Parent Overview Can reply to messages

Parent Overview Can view parent bulletin widget Payments To view and pay school invoices

Payments To view statement of account for linked debtors

Plans Can access plans

Profile Can access student about me Profile Can access student photo gallery Profile Can access student support portfolio Profile Can access student journal

Reports Allow parents to view reports Reporting Can access published reports Reporting Can access student comments

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Reporting Can access student self-assessment Reporting Can access student results

Resources Can access school documents Resources Can access school newsletter Resources Can access school applications Resources Can access my resources Resources Can access class resources

School Records Can access academic target grades School Records Can access student continuum data School Records Can access student NAPLAN data School Records Can access student reading records Timetables Can access student timetable Wellbeing To view wellbeing

3.4 Letter Setup (mandatory)

The portal letters section allows you to specify the content of your letters to parents when sending out their access key information. The letter template for both family and custody specific parent letters can be built on the same screen.

The letter content can be defined completely by the school or you can use our default letter template. Using the default template still allows the school to make edition but have a good foundation to start with. Sentral letter template allows for merge fields to personalise various sections as well as define if mailing address is shown on the letter. Each family member will receive a letter with their own unique access key.

3.5 Email Setup (mandatory)

The portal emails section allows you to specify the content of your emails to parents when sending out their access key information. The portal emails section allows you to specify the content of your emails to parents when sending out their access key information.

The email content can be defined completely by the school or you can use our default email template. Using the default template still allows the school to make edition but have a good foundation to start with.

Sentral email template allows for merge fields to personalise various sections as well as define if mailing address is shown in the email.

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3.6 Portal 1 Student Profiles

Staff can manage the student profiles screen of the Student portal.

3.7 Portal Login (optional)

School can upload a background Image for Portal.

3.8 Future Absence reasons

Schools that have enabled this, need to define which future absences reasons parent can select and will be visible in the Parent Portal.

Once future absences reason has been sent through by parents, select view Future Absence Reasons to be able to approve, reject or requires action. Requires action is a status whereby the school may request a medical certificate, a letter of intent to approve this. More information in the Attendance User Guide.

If you click on View Future Absences, you are redirect to the Attendance page to view and action these requests from families.

3.9 Student Access (mandatory) – Portal 1

Schools that wish to setup the Portal for student need to complete this step. Many schools prefer to communicate directly with student via the Portal. The Sentral Authentication Providers system allows you to integrate student authentication into the portal with your existing school-based systems. This functionality allows for single sign on for students.

3.9.1

Student Access – Choose Account Provider

The Sentral Authentication Providers system allows you to integrate student authentication into the portal with your existing school-based system.

If you are unsure about any of the settings or options here, it is strongly recommended you contact the Sentral Helpdesk by lodging a Case before making changes.

• Active Directory – Authenticate against local Windows Server

• Novell Netware – Authenticate against a local Netware Server

• DET NSW – Authenticate DET NSW Staff using their Portal accounts.

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3.9.2

Access Controls- Student

The Portal Access section allows you to enable or disable features of the portal for students. Very similar to the Parent Access.

Activities Can access current Activities Dashboard Can access homework area Attendance Can access attendance overview

Resources Can access school documents, newsletters Reporting Can access published reports

Timetables Can access student timetable Wellbeing Can access wellbeing overview

3.10 Parent Access

The school now needs to complete steps to create and communicate to parents their unique alphanumeric access code for their children. This area to setup Parent access the Sentral administrator will need to:

• Generate a family access key for all families that are not listed in the school’s admin system as having custody issues

• Generate a single student access key for all parents that are listed in the school’s admin system as having custody issues

• Generate an email/letter from the school, with the parent’s registration URL and personal access key

3.11 Family keys

The family keys section allows you to create access keys for Portal and the Sentral for Parents App much like the wizard. A key created here gives access to every student in each family. (These steps may have been completed via the Quick Setup). Please note that each key can only be used by one user. There are several actions that can be completed on this page. Schools can also print letter and generate emails to parents form here.

3.11.1

Filter Options

The Filter options allows school to view further detail via a drop-down list.

Search By Surname: enables staff to view the Family Id, contact names, student/s, access keys generated and

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Student Without Keys: provides a list of students currently with no access keys generated for their parents/caregivers. From here, a school can go to the Actions button to perform more steps e.g. generate keys or generate and email keys.

Year Level: drill down on a particular year level to review or complete other action items.

Roll Class: drill down on a roll class to review or complete other action items.

Show Keys Generated Today: displays a list of access keys generate for today.

Show With No User Accounts: lists accounts with no user.

3.11.2

Actions

The school can perform various tasks to generate keys and notify parents. Any school that performs the Quick Setup or goes through the standard process, notifies parents from this area.

Prior to each action, the names of the families/ student need to be selected so the action can be performed.

Generate Keys & Print Letters: If the school has not gone via the Quick Setup or are creating keys for new families and wish to send via a letter, complete this step. The report will generate the letter/s onscreen. This will also send he users to a screen with selected families. The user can modify the ley selection if desired and can select contacts for whom to generate the PDF letter.

Generate Keys & Send Emails: If the school has not gone via the Quick Setup or are creating keys for new families and wish to send via an email, complete this step. Once selected, a list appears on screen to select those families and then Send Email. This is an extra validation steps to ensure the correct families are receiving the correct access keys for their children.

A confirmation screen display to indicate emails have been sent.

NOTE: these sent emails do not appear in messaging module.

Generate Keys: Schools who do not use the Quick Setup, need to generate keys from this screen. A unique key will be generated for Contact 1 and 2. This does not notify the parents via email/letter.

Print Letters: Once keys are generated; the school can select to print letters for parents.

Send Emails: Once keys are generated; the school can select to email the parents. Complete same steps as per step 2.

Export Keys: Schools can run an export on all or selected families to check and validate information via a xls.

Steps:

1. Select all the families to receive keys

2. Go to Action and either Generate Keys & Print Letters or Generate Keys and Send emails 3. Tick the parents to receive the letter

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4. You will see each parent has their own unique access key.

3.11.3

Access Keys

Once Key have been generated and a displayed-on screen, staff can click on the Access Keys for more detail.

The information relates to date of issue. Access Key Issued by and Users. There should be an access key for each family member.

The numbers beside the Access Keys also provide more detail.

These will be valuable for existing schools, but for new schools performing first-time set up the key can only be used once.

The numbers and the colour scale inform staff how many times the access key has been used.

Green - means the student key has been accessed 1-2 times Blue- means the student key has been accessed 3-5 times Red - means the student key has been accessed over 6 times

NOTE: Blue and Red status may require further investigation as keys should not be passed around and used more than once by each parent.

A school can also revoke keys if they discover misuse, security issues or generated in error. Click on the Access key and select Revoke Key button. It would be advisable to inform the parents this has transpired.

3.12 Student Keys

Student keys are generated for a single student where there is a custody issue or complex family circumstances that require separation of access between parents/caregivers. Unlike the Quick Setup option, family and student keys are done separately.

All the same steps and explanation given for family keys applied here so refer to 3.11.2

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The additional piece to consider is that you need to select the correct parent or non-residential contact to receive their own access key so you can generate the correct email/letter. Emergency contacts may now be visible in this list as optional key recipients.

3.13 Manage Users

This is an area for administrators to manage user details, create new users, access keys, registrations, deactivated accounts, send verification email, unlinked parents and app access.

Selecting all gives you student and parent information on one screen. We recommend using filtering to view parents and Students separately.

3.13.1

Student Accounts

The student area relates to Student tab and Unlinked Students.

Students – View all student portal accounts

A Student password can be changed but act with due caution here as details do come from AD or DOE authentication.

A student can be deactivated removing their access to the Portal.

An export to an xls can download an entire list of the students.

A new user can be added – define username, password, user type, title, first name, surname, email address and mobile. Tick icon will indicate whether the account is verified.

3.13.2

Unlinked Students

Provides a list of unlinked students to their external id which will deny them access to the portal.

You can Edit this and ensure their linked to their external id.

3.13.3

Parent Accounts

This is where you can manage parent details, passwords and access to the portal. From the landing page, staff can edit some of the details (some areas are locked down and cannot be edited).

Schools can also see which parents have verified emails and those that have nt. You can also easily resend verification emails to parents. You can also choose to send parents a re-verification email, if you make any changes to their name, username or email address.

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The ACTION icon enables:

A parent password can be changed.

A parent can be deactivated removing their access to the Portal.

Send verification email

Legend: provides more detail to assist schools with parent portal accounts.

Verified Account: parent has verified new username / email address by responding to a verification email.

Unverified Account: parent has not verified detail via the verification email.

Locked Account: You can also see if a parent has locked their account due to too many incorrect logins. Parents must wait for the lockout period to end, or alternatively, you can unlock them here for quicker access.

Email not found in admin system: The ability to identify the email address the parents have

registered with, and whether this matches with your administration system. Check with the family to see fi this is an alternate email address.

Filter Options

Student Link Status: search for linked or unlinked students Verification Status: search for a list of verified or unverified

Email not found In admin system: list of all parents who have used a different email to the one in the admin system.

3.13.4

Deactivated Accounts

The users shown here are no longer active in the system — users that have been deleted at some point in time — and are no longer able to login. They are retained for historical information only, however if a user was deleted by accident, you can reinstate that account by clicking the Reinstate button next to a user.

3.13.5

User Registrations

A school needs to have setup in Settings > Parent Settings that a user requires approval once they have logged in to the school URL. An administrator can view the Registration details and then Approve or Remove Users.

3.14 Help & Information

Each school can add their own FAQ’s to sync across to their Parent Portal in the Help & Information tab to advise parents of information, support or general how to type questions.

4 Sentral for Parents App Setup Guide

This section covers the setup and day to day use of the new Sentral for Parents App. It will provide a quick guide for:

• Switching the functionality on

• How to use as school

In addition to the functions on in this guide, detailed below are the Settings functions available for the app:

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• Account Details

• Notifications

• Manage Access Keys

• Logout

• FAQ

• App Version

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☐ Newsfeed parents a newsfeed item with an Action

Required and/or Push Notification. newsfeed item, within Manage Parent Portal Access > Set

Documents. Allow Parent to view and download Portal Documents from the Student Feed to ON.

See Newsfeed section below

☐ Messages Allows sending of messages between teachers and parents. (linked via a Roll Class or Class to their student).

Within Manage Parent Portal Access – Toggle Messaging: Allow

parent to view and message teachers to ON. See Messages section below

☐ Absences Notify parents of absences, allow parents to explain absences or advise of future absences.

Within Manage Parent Portal Access – Toggle appropriate

Absences to ON. See Absences section

below

☐ Calendar Allow parents to view Calendar of School

Events. Within Settings - under Portal Calendar, select a calendar to show

in Portal (No Calendar will disable this feature). See Calendar section below

☐ Daily Notices Allow parents to see Daily Notices added

to Dashboard. Within Manage Portal Access – Set Dashboard Can view daily

notices to ON. See Daily Notices section

below

☐ Interviews Parents book in for parent/teacher

interviews. Within Manage Portal Access – Set Interviews Allow Parent to view

their upcoming Parent / Teacher interviews to ON. See Interviews section below

☐ Payments Parents make Payments towards Activities and other school bills set up in Sentral.

Within Manage Portal Access – Set Payments: Allow Parent to view

& pay school invoices to ON.

See Payments section below

☐ Resources Parents can view any Documents

uploaded by school. Within Manage Portal Access – Set Resources Can access school

documents to ON. See Resources section

below

☐ Newsletters Parents can view any Newsletters uploaded by school. Within Manage Portal Access – Set Resources: Can access school

newsletters to ON. See Newsletters section

below

☐ Links Parents can easily navigate to useful &

commonly used URL links supplied by school.

Within Manage Portal Access – Set Applications: Allow Parent to

view custom menu links to ON. See Links section below

☐ Forms Schools can provide forms or Parents to

fill in and return. Within Manage Portal Access – Set Resources Can access school

documents to ON. See Forms section below

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4.1.1

Switching the functionality on

To ensure Portal Console is available in your Sentral Menu.

• Sentral Setup (cog)/Student and Parent Portal/Portal Version and ensure you have selected one of the following:

- Default to Portal 2 (Parents have access to Portal 1 and Portal 2) - Use Portal 1 and Portal 2 (Parents have access to Portal 1 and Portal 2) - Use Portal 2 (Recommended – Parents only have Portal 2 access)

Note: Other two options (‘Use Portal 1’ and ‘Use Portal 1 and trial Portal 2’ do not support the Sentral for Parents App functionality

4.1.2

How to use as a school

• Portal Console

• Add New Feed Item or Manage Feed 4.1.3

How to use as a parent

• Click Newsfeed Tile

• Newsfeed will be order with Action Required by date (most recent first), then no Action Required by date.

• Parents can Filter based on Requires Action and by individual student

4.2 Messages

Allows sending of messages between teachers and parents. Note that Parents will only be able to initiate a Message to a teacher linked via a Roll Class or Class to their student

4.2.1

Switching the functionality on

• Portal Console > Setup Portal Console

• Access Controls >Parents

• Manage Parent > Portal Access

• Toggle Messaging Allow parent to view and message teachers to ON Additional

• Portal Console > Setup Portal Console > Settings

• Advanced Portal Settings > Parent Settings

• Notifications Allow Parent Portal users to be notified via email when they receive a new Portal message or Activity permission slip.

4.2.2

How to use as a school

• Sentral Dashboard

• My Dashboard > My Portal Messages OR Portal Messages icon OR Portal Messages widget

• Create a New Message or Reply to Message

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4.3 Absences

Notify parents of absences. Allow parents to explain absences or advise of future absences.

4.3.1

Switching the functionality on

• Portal Console > Setup Portal Console

• Access Controls > Parents

• Manage Parent Portal Access

• Toggle the three Absences controls to on depending on school’s needs.

- Absences Allow parent to view student absences’ is needed for parents to do ANYTHING with Absences

- Absences Allow parent to explain student absences’ lets parents give a reason for an already recorded Unexplained Absence

- Absences Allow parent to notify the school of future absences will let parents proactively notify the school of upcoming absence(s)

Further settings for Unexplained Absences

• Portal Console >Setup Portal Console > Settings

• Advanced Portal Settings > Absence Settings

• Refer to Settings available here

Further settings for Future Absence Explanations

• Portal Console > Setup Portal Console > Future Absence Reasons

- Use this to set up what parents can choose from and what reason they default to

• Attendance Setup > Attendance Future > Absence Notifications

- Use this to set who gets a notification when a Future Absence is submitted 4.3.2

How to use as a school

• Send Absence Newsfeed (provides an additional message for parents - Messaging > Send Messages > Send Absence Notification - Use filter to find applicable absences

- Under Publish to Parent Portal Feed, select and send feed item(s)

• Action Unexplained Absences

- Attendance > Notifications > Responses

• Action Future Absence Requests

- Attendance > Notifications > Future Absence Requests

4.4 Calendar

Allow parents to view Calendar of School Events 4.4.1

Switching the functionality on

• Settings > Under Portal Calendar, choose a calendar to show in Portal (No Calendar will disable this feature)

4.4.2

How to use as a school

• Add, edit or delete Events in Calendars module

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• Parents will be able to see text added to the Note section, but not the Personal Note section

4.5 Daily Notices

Allow parents to see Daily Notices added to Dashboard 4.5.1

Switching the functionality on

• Access Controls > Parents > Manage Portal Access

• Set Dashboard Can view daily notices ON

• Note: Parents will be able to see all historical Daily Notices tagged with at least one year (see below)

4.5.2

How to use as a school

• When adding a Daily Notice via Dashboard, include a selection in the School Years dropdown to make that notice viewable to parents

• Note: that if you tag specific years, only parents with students in those years will be able to see the Daily Notice

• If a selection has not been made in the School Years dropdown, the Daily Notice will be School Dashboard only

4.6 Interviews

Parents book in for parent/teacher interviews 4.6.1

Switching the functionality on

• Access Controls > Parents > Manage Parent Portal Access

• Set Interviews Allow parent to view their upcoming Parent/Teacher Interviews ON 4.6.2

How to use as a school

• Setup Interview Session(s) in the Interviews module, setting the Registration dates to when parents can book

• Refer to various other settings within the setup of the Interviews module to control details

4.7 Payments

Parents make Payments towards Activities and other school bills set up in Sentral 4.7.1

Switching the functionality on

• Set Payments Allow parent to view and pay school invoices ON 4.7.2

How to use as a school

• Create an Activity in the Activities module with a Payment included

• Manually set up a Payment from the Payments module

4.8 Resources

Parents can view Documents uploaded by school

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4.8.1

Switching the functionality on

Note: This functionality cannot be disabled if you are using the ‘Forms’ functionality

• Set Resources Can access school documents ON To allow documents to be opened via a Newsfeed item:

• Set Documents Allow parent the ability to view and download Portal Documents from the Student Feed ON

4.8.2

How to use as a school

Upload document

• Portal Console > Documents > Upload Portal Document OR Document > Portal Documents

> Upload File

• Upload and Manage Documents, including restricting by Year level or Date range Add to a News Feed item

• Upload Portal Document as above

• Portal Console > Add a New Feed Item

• Fill in details and Choose document from dropdown to attach

4.9 Newsletters

4.9.1

Switching the functionality on

• Portal Console >Setup Portal Console

• Set Resources Can access school newsletters ON 4.9.2

How to use as a school

• Sentral Dashboard

• My Dashboard > Newsletters OR Newsletters widget

• Upload Newsletter, delete if necessary

4.10 Links

Parents can navigate to useful and commonly used URL links supplied by school e.g. School website, Facebook page, Canteen supplier etc

4.10.1

Switching the functionality on

• Set Application Allow parent to view custom menu links ON 4.10.2

How to use as a school

Note: This functionality is not managed via the Portal Console

• Sentral Setup (cog) > Student and Parent Portal

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• Setup > School Applications

• Click Add Application - Enter a name - Set Module to None

- Insert URL (include http:// or https:// prefix if applicable) - Set URL Type to URL

- Set Show on Parent Dashboard to Yes

4.11 Forms

4.11.1

Switching the functionality on

Note: This functionality cannot be disabled if you are using the ‘Resources’ functionality

• Set Resources Can access school documents ON 4.11.2

How to use as a school

• Portal Console

• View Documents

• Online Forms (from Left hand menu)

• Upload and/or view submitted forms

4.12 Settings

The following are also available for the Parent via the Settings cog in the App and will give a brief rundown of their function.

4.12.1

Accounts Details

View and Manage Account details such as email address and password.

4.12.2

Notifications

Set Push Notifications ON or OFF for App 4.12.3

Manage Access Key(s)

Add or Delete Access Keys for access to students 4.12.4

Logout

Logout of App 4.12.5

FAQ

A list of Frequently Asked Questions and access to Support and Feedback 4.12.6

App version

Active App version and device details (Helpful if parent is experiencing issues and school is unable to solve based on settings) as well as ability to reload app in case you have changed what functionality is turned on for your parents.

4.13 Glossary

Access Key: Unique key/code for parents to access applicable student/s

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Future Absence: A parent is advising the school about an absence before it happens (could be same day)

Portal 1 (also known as Legacy Portal): Original Parent Portal for Sentral. This Portal is being phased out and replaced by Portal 2

Portal 2: New Parent Portal supporting the App. Contains the core Newsfeed function for the Portal and App. It is strongly recommended schools new to Portal choose this option only.

Sentral Dashboard: Home screen when you first log into Sentral or click on school name Unexplained Absence: School has recorded student as absent without a valid explanation

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Appendix A: Summary Checklist

So, you have scanned the detailed document and are wondering what is next? This table gives you a road map in concise, easy to read steps of how to get your Portal Console module up and running in no time.

MODULE CHECKLIST Review Frequency

Student, household, staff data • Ensure data for all these areas is up to date Regularly as school population is transient

Settings • Which modules to switch on for parents, student & mentors Once a year unless school is staggering module releases Parent Registration • Yes/No. If Yes who will manage long term On rollout and as new parents get access keys

School email address • To send & receive messages Once

Emails & letters • Create email & letter templates for family and single access keys?

• How will you notify parents?

Once

Absence Settings • Which absences reason can parents use to explain an absence? Once Future Absence Reasons • What are the acceptable future absence reasons? Once Access keys • Which families will receive family Key?

• What are the custodial or complex families who require a single key?

On rollout and as new parents start at school

Access Controls • The modules that will be viewed and access by parent, student and mentors

Once a year unless school is staggering module releases

Manage Users • How will school manage new users & past users?

• How will school mange and review unlinked students& parents?

• How will school manage unlinked app accounts?

Frequent

Student Access • Will the school use Student Portal Account? Once

Help & Information • What information does the school add to Help so parents can access via the portal?

Regularly

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Appendix B: Summary Checklist for Parents App

4.14

Functionality Setup Summary Checklist

The table below is a summary checklist of functionality supported in the new Sentral for Parents App. To ensure your parents can see and access each App function, specific settings need to be activated within the Portal Console by the school. If functionality is not turned on for the Sentral Portal, it will not appear on the App.

It is strongly recommended that your school confirm what functionality you will be using in the App and finalise your setup before you release to parents;

whilst you can adjust your choices at a later time, parents will only see the updated list in the App after they have reloaded the App (either by logging out and back in, or from the Reload app button in Settings > App Version).

FUNCTION DESCRIPTION CONFIGURATION SETTINGS TO ENABLE THIS FUNCTION

Newsfeed A method of sending all or selected parent a newsfeed item with an Action Required and/or Pus Notification

Ensure correct Portal settings are selected [Portal 2 Recommended]

If you want parents to be able to download documents from a newsfeed item, within Manage Parent Portal Access > Set Documents > Allow Parent to view &

download Portal Documents from the Student Feed to ON Messages Allows sending of messages between teachers and parents.

[linked via a Roll Class or Class to their student]

Within Manage Parent Portal Access > Toggle Messaging Allow parent to view and message teachers to ON

Absences Notify parents of absences, allow parents to explain absences or

advise of future absences Within Manage Parent Portal Access > Toggle appropriate Absences to ON Calendar Allow parents to view Calendar of School Events Within Settings under Portal Calendar, select a calendar to show in Portal (No

Calendar will disable this feature)

Daily Notices Allow parents to see Daily Notices added to Dashboard Manage Parent Portal Access > Set Dashboard > Can view daily notices to ON Interviews Parents book in for parent/teacher interviews Parents book in for parent/teacher interviews

Payments Parents make Payments towards Activities and other school bills

set up in Sentral Manage Parent Portal Access > Set Payments > Allow Parent to view & pay school invoices to ON

Resources Parents can view any Documents uploaded by school Manage Parent Portal Access > Set Resources > Can access school documents to ON

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FUNCTION DESCRIPTION CONFIGURATION SETTINGS TO ENABLE THIS FUNCTION

Newsletter Parents can view any Newsletters uploaded by school Within “Manage Parent Portal Access” - “Set Resources: Can access school newsletters” to ON

Links Parents can easily navigate to useful & commonly used URL links supplied by school

Within “Manage Parent Portal Access” - “Set Applications: Allow Parent to view custom menu links’ to ON

Forms Schools can provide forms or Parents to fill in and return Within “Manage Portal Access” – Set “Resources: Can access school documents”

to ON

Portal Console Admin Guide

Portal Console

Admin Guide

Contents

1 Introduction

2 Considerations, Dependencies and Pre-Requisites

2.1 Legacy Portal 1 vs Parent Portal 2

2.2 Household and Student Details

2.3 Students, Staff and Roll Classes

2.4 Parent Registration

2.5 Sentral Modules & Communication

2.6 Access Keys

2.7 Roles and Responsibilities Setup

2.8 Sentral Modules to consider

3 Setup Portal Console

3.1 Quick Setup

School Settings

Enable Features

Parent Access

Notify Users

3.2 Settings(mandatory)

Parent Settings (not available in Quick Setup)

Parent Interviews (not available in Quick Setup)

Absence Settings (not available in Quick Setup)

Markbook (not available in Quick Setup)

Other Module Settings (not available in Quick Setup)

Login Settings

3.3 Access Controls (mandatory)/Enable Features in Quick Setup

3.4 Letter Setup (mandatory)

3.5 Email Setup (mandatory)

3.6 Portal 1 Student Profiles

3.7 Portal Login (optional)

3.8 Future Absence reasons

3.9 Student Access (mandatory) – Portal 1

Student Access – Choose Account Provider

Access Controls- Student

3.10 Parent Access

3.11 Family keys

Filter Options

Actions

Access Keys

3.12 Student Keys

3.13 Manage Users

Student Accounts

Unlinked Students

Parent Accounts

Deactivated Accounts

User Registrations

3.14 Help & Information

4 Sentral for Parents App Setup Guide

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school

How to use as a parent

4.2 Messages

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school

4.3 Absences

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school

4.4 Calendar

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school

4.5 Daily Notices

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school

4.6 Interviews

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school

4.7 Payments

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school

4.8 Resources

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school

4.9 Newsletters

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school

4.10 Links

Switching the functionality on

How to use as a school