System management FAQ

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Set up heads of subjects for behaviour referrals and grade analyses

Most staff types, such as Head of House, Form Tutor, Head of Year and Head Teacher are configured in SIMS therefore you do not need to do any extra configuration in PARS. However Heads of Subject must be setup in PARS if you wish to send behaviour referrals to them, or for Heads of Subject to perform grading analyses via PARS Connect.

Heads of Subject can be configured using the instructions on this page.

Can comments be added to attendance marks?

You will always be able see attendance comments, but there is a permission that governs whether or not you are allowed to add comments of you own. This permission can be found via:

PARS main menu > System management > Permissions

For more information about managing and updating permissions, follow this link.

How do I view or update medical information?

Medical information can only be recorded or edited in SIMS, but can be viewed in PARS. there is a permission that decides whether or not you are allowed to view medical information via PARS. From the list of permissions, look under the PARS section for a permission called "Access medical information" - this needs to be switched on in order for users to see medical details.

I get an error message about a PARS Connect URL when clicking the i button at the top of PARS or generating student reviews

You need to update your preferences with the URL that you use to access PARS Connect. Go to:
PARS main menu > System management > Preferences

Look under the General section for a preference called "PARS Connect URL - Used for IEPs and Student Review writeback". You need to enter the URL (web address) that you use to access PARS Connect.

How do we show pupil's preferred names instead of legal names? (or vice versa)

Go to:
PARS main menu > System management > Preferences

Under the General section, there is a preference called "Use chosen name in place of legal name". Turn this on or off as needed.

Detentions show my name, instead of the name of the person who gave the behaviour incident

Some schools have a system where one member of staff will issue a behaviour incident and refer that to another member of staff (usually a member of the office staff). The second member of staff will then issue a detention for the behaviour incident.

If you want the detention to appear as if it was given by the person who originally issued the behaviour incident, then you will need to update your preferences. Go to:
PARS main menu > System management > Preferences

Look under the detention section for a preference called "Use behaviour recorders identity when adding a detention to a behaviour". This needs to be switched on.

Email replies are going to the wrong email address

If parents reply to emails sent from PARS, the replies can go to one of two places. Go to:
PARS main menu > System management > Preferences

Look under the email section for a preference called "Reply address to user for emails sent from PARS". This is the email address that replies will be sent to.

However, there is a user permission that will override the setting above. Go to:
PARS main menu > System management > Permissions

Edit a user's permissions and look under the PARS section for a permission called "Use own email address as email reply if available". If any staff have this permission switched on then their email address (as taken from SIMS) will be used for replies for any emails they have sent themselves.

I want teachers to only take one register for double/triple periods

This will happen automatically, so long as the following conditions are met:

1. There is no more than 5 minutes between the end of one period and the start of the next. If one lesson is before break and the next period is after break, PARS will not count them as a double/triple lesson.

2. There are no periods in between the lessons.

You can check this by going to:
PARS main menu > Attendance > Attendance view

Does the AM or PM session sit in between the periods of the double/triple lesson, as below? If so you need to change your registration times so that the lessons in the double/triple are uninterrupted.
Double010.jpg

3. The periods must have the same class name and take place in the same room.

Our AM or PM registration times are wrong

The times for your registration periods need to be set in PARS. This can be performed via:
PARS main menu > System management > Registration preferences

Attendance marks are unexpectedly changing

Sometimes attendance marks will automatically change - there are a number of reasons that this may happen in PARS. When you save your register, marks may change in your register or in other registers.

If your AM mark is updating to an L or U code after a pupil has been marked absent in the morning, go to:
PARS main menu > System management > Registration preferences

Go to the "Session modification" tab and set "Allow automatic session lateness" to "Disallow".

If the mark that you give to pupils during a lesson (e.g. period 1, period 5, etc.) is automatically being copied to the AM or PM session, then go to the mapped periods page for information.

If the two options above do not relate to your query, go to the best mark for session section of the group manager page for further information.

How can I show house groups in PARS?

First make sure that houses have been configured in SIMS. Next go to:
PARS main menu > System management > Preferences

Under the General section, look for a preference called "Display houses" - this needs to be switched on.

New staff logging in to PARS don't have any menu items

Your staff members need to be given permissions to access areas of the system. Go to the permissions page for more information.

I can see a message about our licence when logging in to PARS Connect

Have you paid for PARS Connect? If not, you will get a free limited version which allows you to access reports and manage automation. With the limited version you will always see the licence page when logging in to Connect - this is nothing to worry about. Click the icon at the top left of the page to access the PARS main menu.

If you have paid for PARS Connect, please contact the Online Helpdesk.

Do I need to kick users out of PARS to perform a version update?

If you are updating SIMS, you will need to follow Capita's instructions regarding kickouts. Whatever applies to SIMS will apply to PARS when updating SIMS. At this point in time, a kickout is necessary to update SIMS.

If you are updating PARS, then you do not need to perform a kickout. Updating PARS .net does not require users to log out, and their work station will update itself the next time they log out of PARS and back in again. When running the service controller to update PARS Connect, all users will automatically be kicked out of PARS Connect only.