In this guide we’ll look at how you can Arrange Cover for Staff or Rooms:
- Configuring the Page Views
- Staff Who Have Already Been Recorded as Absent
- Recording Staff Absence
- Adding a Room Closure
- Add Cover
- Auto Cover
- Making Staff/ Rooms Available
- Save and Publish Cover
- Further Options
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the Arrange Cover page is found in the Cover Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
See also How to View and Edit a Teaching Class and How to Add Staff to Teaching Classes and/or Groups
Go to Modules>Cover> Arrange Cover.
The Arrange Cover panel opens by default for todays date, you do have the option to select a date in the past or future using the calendar in the top left hand corner of the page.
Note: if you select a past/future date and then refresh the page, it will default back to todays date.
Configuring the Page Views
There are 2 places on the Arrange Cover page where you can customise your view.
The first option is in the Staff panel on the left hand side of the page. Click the Filter icon in the top right of the panel.
In the top right of the pop-up you can Create, Edit and Delete display views for the Staff list. Click the + button to create a new view. Use the tick boxes to select which columns you would like to display in the Staff panel. Once you’re happy click Save.
Select the new view from the Display drop down, You have the option to make changes using the Pencil icon, or delete it using the Bin icon. To select the view, press OK and the list will update. You can also use the radial buttons to select what order you would like to view the Staff list in.
You can also customise your view of the Arrange Cover panel by clicking the Filter icon in the top right hand corner of the Arrange Cover panel on the left.
In the Display section, select which items to display using the tick boxes. You then have the option to select which order you would like to see the cover events in using the Sort By drop down.
On the right hand side of the pop-up select if you would like to Show Only Cover Required Events or Show only incomplete events. Then use the tick boxes in the bottom right of the pop-up to select what information you would like to see about the Cover Events in the Arrange Cover panel. Once you’re happy click OK and the Arrange Cover panel will update.
Staff who have already been recorded as Absent
Members of staff who have been made absent in the Administration module or by Staff Absence in Cover will be displayed in the Arrange Cover panel automatically.
Recording Staff Absence
Staff can also be added as Absent on this page. Simply right click on the name of the person to be made absent and from the Staff Panel select Add Staff As Absent. This will also update the Staff Absence in the Administration module, so it does not have to be entered again.
Note: Multiple members of Staff can be selected at once.
A new window will display where the Absence Details are added, complete this and click Save.
This staff member will now display on the Cover page.
Adding a Room Closure
If you need to add a Room Closure, first switch the radial button from Staff to Room.
Right click on the Room you would like to add a Room Closure for and select Add Room Closure.
In the pop-up that appears, enter all the details of the Room Closure and click Create.
Add Cover
Select whether to arrange cover for Staff or Rooms. You then have the option to filter by Staff or Room Type using the drop downs.
Once you’ve defined the Staff Type, you will be able to view a list containing every residing member. This can then be Filtered again to narrow down the list.
To add Cover click on a Period to be covered. Once selected it will display a red border and the Staff available for that period will be displayed.
Click on the member of Staff who will be covering that period in the list on the left hand side and drag them onto the period to be covered.
Tip: the green arrows on the Staff name define which periods they are available either side of the selected period. This can be used if covering for a double period.
In this example the green arrow to the right of the staff initials indicates this member of Staff is available for cover for the sessions after the selected period.
In this example the green arrows either side of the staff initials indicate this member of Staff is available to cover for sessions before and after the selected period
The pale blue colour in the Staff list on the left indicates the Staff who are Available to cover the selected session, if you scroll down to the bottom of the pale blue list you may see other Staff with different colours.
These different colours in the left hand Available Staff column relate to the colours assigned to Staff Non Contact and Duty Codes which you can access from Config>Cover>Configuration>Duty Code – Colour Details.
Once you have dragged the member into the period box, the page will refresh and the period will now be covered. The covered period will now display in a teal colour with a red outline and the initials of the Cover Teacher will show in the bottom right.
Dragging the Cover Teacher onto the left hand box containing the Absent Teacher’s name, will cover the periods for the whole day (this will not include AM or PM registration).
Auto Cover
You have the option to arrange cover automatically based on the rules you have set up in Config > Cover > Configurations. To do this click on Auto Cover.
You will see the following message, click Proceed to confirm.
The system will then automatically assign Cover where possible. If there are any sessions that the system cannot automatically Cover following the rules you have put in place, you will receive the following notification.
Any unassigned sessions you will need to manage manually following the steps discussed earlier in this guide.
Making Staff/Rooms Available
If a Staff Member has been marked as unavailable for Cover you can change this by right clicking on the staff member from the list in the Staff panel and clicking Make Available for Cover.
If a Room has been marked as unavailable for Cover, right click on the Room and select Display Room Details.
Then untick This Room must not be used for cover and click Save.
Save and Publish Cover
You have the option between Save and Save and Publish. Use Save Only option if you wish to Save the work you have done without making the changes available to Staff yet. To make the changes visible to Staff click Save & Publish.
See also: How To Publish Cover
Further Options
Right- click on a period that has had Cover Arranged to see the following.
- Publish Period Cover Data – This option allows you to instantly publish the selected periods cover details. This is useful for when amendments need to be made quickly.
- Remove Teacher – This option will allow you to remove the currently assigned covering teacher.
- Remove Room – This allows you to remove the covering room from the selected periods cover.
- Swap Teacher – This option allows you to replace the covering teacher, with an alternative, available teacher.
- Swap Room – This option allows you to replace the covering room, with an alternative room.
- Display this Teacher’s Timetable – This option will display the covering teachers current timetable.
- Display this Room’s Timetable –This option will display the selected rooms current timetable.
- Display Student Group List – This option will give a list containing the name of each student that is a current member of the selected class.
- Add Extra Cover Staff – This option displays another menu, which in turn displays a list of staff associated with it.
- Split to half-periods – This will split the selected period into two separate ‘half’ periods.
- Set to cover not required – This option is used for periods in which cover is no longer required.