SIMS: Adding appointments for staff without classes
This article has been rendered mostly obsolete by the ability to create Custom Groups in Tes Parents' Meetings.
Please refer to this article: Creating Custom Groups instead.
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If you'd like parents to book appointments with a member of staff in SIMS who doesn't teach a class, such as the Special Education Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) or Headteacher, please follow the instructions below on creating a User Defined Group.
Creating a User Defined Group
A User Defined Group links a teacher to some students so when a parent logs in to book appointments, the teacher will appear for them automatically like any other class teacher.
Once synced to the system, the User Defined Group will appear like any other class.
- Go to Focus > Groups > User Defined Groups and add a new group.
- Enter the group name which appears as the subject when parents make a booking, e.g. SENCO, and mark the group as Active.
- To the right of Current Main Supervisor, click the magnifying glass icon to select the teacher. Then click Action > Add Supervisor.
Find the teacher and mark them as the Main Supervisor before pressing OK twice (note that it must be Main Supervisor and not just Supervisor).
- Now add students to the group by clicking Action under the Membership section followed by Add Student.
- After adding all the students which should be able to book with the teacher, the group should look something like the below screenshot. Remember to click the Save button at the top left.
Find the teacher and mark them as the Main Supervisor before pressing OK twice (note that it must be Main Supervisor and not just Supervisor).
Syncing with SIMS
Once the group has been created in SIMS, run the SIMS Extract Tool to sync them to the system. Make sure the teacher is ticked on the Select Teachers step and the group name is ticked on the Select Subjects step as it'll be unchecked by default. Follow the SIMS Extract Tool to the end and click Transfer Data to sync the teacher to the system.
Allowing bookings for this group
The user defined group will appear on the system as a new subject. If you're adding the group to an existing evening, browse to Evenings > Go to Evening > Configure Evening > Classes and tick the box for the new group under the Custom Groups heading.
On a new evening or event, you'll see it when choosing entries from the Students and/or Classes sections by checking the Custom Groups heading in those sections.