Parent Portal

MySchool is designed for all users to have quick and easy access to the information they need. Guardians/Parents have their own entry portal, with information related to their dependents.   

How to access

Once the Students profile has been created, then a Guardian can be attached to that record. Once details entered they can receive an invitation to log into MySchool. Simply open by clicking the URL provided in the mail.

If the user is a staff member then they do not need to have a separate guardian account. They can log in with their staff credentials and switch between the staff and guardian portals.

User Interface

The User Interface (UI) for parents is split into different windows, dashlets, and configurable menu headers. If the user is attached to multiple students then they can choose which record to view by switching between them. 

Menu Headers

Overview

This is the entry page as shown above.

My Files

Allows the user to store and receive files, and if permissions allow they can share between other users. The files will be managed by the administrator who determines who can have access. This feature can be switched off for parents.

My Schedule

Shows the timetable of the selected student in the Current Student drop down. Have a look at this article explaining the features available.

Parent-Teacher meeting

When PT meetings are planned and published the guardian will be able to access the feature from this menu header. This article details how to set up PT meetings. 

Current student

Changes between students if more than one dependant is attached to the Guardian.

Course Info

A list of all the courses a student is attached to for that current scholastic year. It includes the contact details of the teacher assigned to the course.

Directory

Internal directory of users, access to personal information is determines by the administrator. 

Graded Exercise

One of the great features in MySchool is that guardians/parents have a detailed insight into the students progress during the scholastic year. They can choose between each subject/course and have a full summary of grades, comments and weighting. To check out how to create and publish new assignments, have a look at this article. 

Term reports

Depending on how the school has created their end of term reports, the parents can access all available and published reports for the scholastic year.

Dashlets

In the main window, the guardian has access to information which is most useful and common for them. 

Top Tip: Contact our support team to discuss what can be displayed in this view. We can work out a format, and create a personalised view for your school.

Announcements

MySchool understands the importance of communication between the School and the Guardians, we suggest to always leave Announcements available and at the top of the page. This article gives a step by step guide on how to mange this feature. 

Questionnaires & Permissions

Any questionnaires or up and coming activities requiring parental consent are listed here. These are specifically sent to a target population. Encourage the parents to submit their answers via the portal to ensure that all information is centralised and protected.

Assignments

Parents are able to view the students up and coming workload, and can support them and also follow the progress. There is the possibility to control whether the Guardian has viewed the pending assignments, by impersonating the user and checking to see if the message has been read. 

Attendance

Linked with announcements, the guardian/parent is able to view attendance data over the the scholastic year. Green blocks show present, Orange represents half days, whereas red are for absent full days. The guardian can interact with the Red/orange days and an information box will appear on screen. Have a look at the comprehensive Attendance section on the help desk. 

How to encourage user interaction

We understand that the system works perfectly in a perfect world. We also understand that some users may show resistance to change, or may have limitations that stop them from interacting with the application. Here are some useful tips to improve user interaction:

• Hold a training session internally to promote the ease of access. We all have different levels when it comes to adopting new technology. Try small class groups, and invite the students to help their parents if needed!
• Communication is key. Whilst Onboarding or during the early phases, you may have to continue to use paper or mass mails to inform parents of events. Continue to reinforce the benefits and information that is available on MySchool.
• Offer a reward system for both parents and students as part of the academic reporting mechanism throughout the year. 
• Create a video and post it to your schools website, make sure this video explains all the benefits of using MySchool for the students.