Onboarding Parents to VSware

1. Ensure siblings are linked properly

   First, verify that siblings are correctly linked within the system. If not, it may result in duplicate contacts, which can lead to complications when creating accounts. Visit the guide on how to do this here, and then return to this guide.

2. Ensure Each Contact is Listed in Household Tab

   Each contact who needs access should be listed under a student's Household tab. You can decide on a case-by-case basis if multiple contacts in a household should each have accounts.

3. Check and Correct Contact Details
   Review each contact’s information—name, mobile number, and relationship to the student—to ensure that it's up to date and correct.

4. Customise Notifications and Communication Settings for Each Contact

   You can specify what type of specific communications and notifications each contact will receive for each individual contact. While not mandatory for onboarding, setting these now will save time later. These settings are applied on an individual level.

5. Define What Information Contacts Can Access 
   

   In Users and Groups, decide which information (such as student grades, attendance, or timetable) contacts will have access to when they log in to their VSware accounts. These settings are applied in bulk for all contacts.

6. Generate Parent Accounts in Bulk
   When the details are correct and permissions configured, create accounts for all selected contacts in one go. (Don't worry, they won't be alerted just yet!)

7. Verify Usernames Before Sending the SMS
   Double check that the usernames have been successfully created.
8. Notify Parents of Their Accounts
   Once everything is done, notify parents about their accounts. The easiest way to notify contacts in bulk is by SMS, providing their username along with instructions for accessing the app or website and setting their password.

Onboarding Parents to VSware

Step 1: Ensure siblings are linked properly

Update Contact Details: For each contact, make sure they have the following details saved:

• Relationship to Student: (e.g., Mother, Father, Other). While you can select any relationship type for a contact, such as Grandmother or Step-Father, report generation is currently limited to the categories of Mother, Father, and Other. Therefore, it is recommended to choose one of these three options when creating VSware accounts to allow for accurate reporting.

• Mobile Number: Each contact needs a mobile number saved in VSware. This number is necessary for setting up their initial password and any future password resets.

• Notification Permissions (optional): Customise which notifications the contact will receive based on your school’s needs. Hover over the ‘i’ icons to learn more about each option. It's best to get this task out of the way now without having to double up on work and go back and edit these later.

  

Step 5: Define What Information Contacts Can Access 

Now that the contact names and details are up to date, think about what information you want parents to see when they log in. Schools can customise this based on their engagement objectives:

• Go to Settings and Users and Groups.
• Under Available Permissions, select Contact to see all the relevant permissions. Select the features you wish to grant parents access to by adding or removing them from the Contact column. You can always adjust these settings later, so feel free to start with a basic setup and expand as needed.

Step 6: Generate Accounts in Bulk

Once all contact details are up to date and the Users and Groups permissions are in order, it’s time to generate the accounts in bulk.

To be specific, what you're actually doing in this step is simply auto-generating the usernames for all the relevant contacts in one go. VSware does not generate passwords, the contacts will set their passwords themselves later on. 

Remember: Creating the accounts/usernames is just the first step; parents won't be aware of any changes until you notify them later, so there’s no need to worry about parents logging in at this stage.

1. Go to System Settings.

2. Choose the year group (or groups) you want to enable for account activation. Starting with first-year parents can be a helpful trial before expanding to other year groups, but you can select whichever year groups suit your needs.

3. If this is not your first time creating Parental Accounts, and some already exist in the system, select 'No' for 'Overwrite Usernames & Passwords Already Set, to avoid disruption to contacts with existing accounts. 
4. Select Generate Parental Accounts.

Step 7: Verify Usernames Before Sending the SMS

Before notifying parents about their new VSware accounts via SMS, it’s good practice to confirm that all usernames have been successfully created.

To check:

1. Go to Groups > select the relevant year group > click View List.
2. Go to Actions > Print Student Data.
3. In the fields selection, choose:
   • Full Name (to display the student’s name),
   • Mother Username,
   • Father Username, and
   • Other Username.
4. Generate the report.

Review the report to ensure all usernames are populated. If they are, you’re ready to send the SMS to parents.

Step 8: Notify Contacts of Their Account

Now that accounts are generated, it’s time to share the news with contacts and help them dive into their new VSware accounts. You could share the information one by one if you like, but the most efficient method to do this in bulk is through SMS. 

1. Go to Admin > Notifications > SMS 

2. Choose the relevant recipient year groups.

3. Type in the SMS text and click Send

Note: The items with hashtags (#FNAME and #USERNAME) are placeholders for mail merge. They will automatically fill in the contact's name and the new username you just created, making it personalised for each recipient.

Parents Are Ready to Go – What’s Next?

Once your contacts receive their SMS instructions, they can set their own passwords and access VSware. And that's it! Your contacts are set up, logged in, and ready to engage with their child’s school experience through VSware.