Test

This page is used to send messages via email or SMS, and to generate letters. This page can also be used to record the details of phone calls and meetings. All of this information is saved on the student's contact log.

This page is accessed via:
Main menu > Contact Management > External contact

How to

Batch send messages / batch generate letters

• Click the generate batch button at the top left.

Stage 1

Deselect any student you do not wish to contact because of court orders, unusual arrangements, etc. Select the type of person you are going to contact. There are four options:

• Students - contact the students themselves. Emails will be sent to their 'work' email addresses (as set in SIMS)
• Priority 1 contact with Parental responsibility - contact people who are both priority 1 and have parental responsibility
• Priority 1 contact regardless of Parental responsibility - contact people who are priority 1
• All contacts with Parental responsibility - contact people who have responsibility
  
  

(a)There is an alternate set of options depending upon preferences

Stage 2

This tab will check that, for each student, there is a person in SIMS who can be contacted based on the options selected on the previous tab.

Students who do not have a valid contact will be highlighted in red. If there are no named contacts to the right of the student's name then there are no contacts who have a suitable priority level and/or parental responsibility in SIMS. Alternatively if a named contact does appear, then they do have suitable priority and parental responsibility, but do not have a valid method for contact e.g. they have no email address.

Stage 3

This tab is used to select the message that will be sent. Click the relevant button (Email, SMS or Letter) to manually create or edit your message. If you have message saved in the message bank, dropdowns will appear allowing you to select these messages.

If your letter includes General Attendance merge fields, a Range button will appear on the top toolbar. This button is used to select the data will be gathered.

When sending a letter there is an option to Upload a copy of the letter to the student's linked documents in SIMS. When using this option you will need to enter some fields for the document which will be recorded in SIMS.

(2) This is where stored messages "go missing" if you have accessed external contact via the wrong route
(3) Should say more about using merge fields in message composer? What about headers and footers?

What I am stuck on

• How to talk about arriving on this page via behaviour, detentions, etc.