In this guide, we will cover the process required to Publish Documents to MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) and Unpublish them if required.
You may use the this process in the example you want to publish Students Timetables to MCAS at the start of academic year and then unpublish them, or the example you have published a document in error and then want to then unpublish it.
- Running and Exporting the Report
- Editing or Unpublishing a Document
- Accessible From
- Send Push Notification
For guidance on sharing Important Documents with parents, for example a Mobile Phone or Uniform Policy see here.
Access: the minimum permissions required to Publish Documents is found in the MCAS module from Config>Setup>Roles and Permissions
Running and Exporting the Report
Before a Document can be Published to MCAS, you need to first run the chosen report within the MIS and tick some boxes which will be explained below.
It is your choice as to which report you wish to run and Publish, for the purpose of this example we are going to use the Student Timetable Report from Reports>Curriculum>Timetable
Once you have chosen your Students and run the report you may now have several reports (in the example below you will see 1/3 this means there are 3 documents available to be published)
The next step is to press Export at the top of the page.
This will take you to the following screen where you multiple options to choose from, which we have listed below;
- Format – Allows you to change the type of Document you are creating (Word/PDF etc). Click on the drop down arrow to see the Document Format choices.
- Single Document – This means ALL data in the Report is kept in one Document regardless of how many Students it includes. (10 Students = 1 combined Document with all data) – Please ensure to read the next section thoroughly for further explanation.
- Multiple Documents – This means ALL data in the Report is split into individual Documents for each Student. (10 Students = 10 separate Documents with only their data) – Please ensure to read the next section thoroughly for further explanation.
- Save DMS Copy – This stores a Copy of the Document in your Bromcom DMS, which is an area of storage.
- Save Local Copy – This stores a Copy of the Report on your PC as a local copy (pop-up blockers may prevent the Document from Exporting to your PC).
- Publish to MCAS – Publishes the Document immediately to MCAS so that Parents can see it.
- Publish to Student Portal – Publishes the Document immediately to the VLE (Student Portal) so Students can see it.
If the report you are running contains data for multiple Students, you MUST UNTICK Single Document. This prevents ALL Recipients from seeing every Student’s Data in one combined Document.
Unticking Single Document will automatically tick Multiple Documents and make Publish to MCAS/Publish to Student Portal available.
Note: If the report only contains data for one Student then Single Document can remain ticked as you tick Multiple Documents.
Once you are 100% happy with your selections, press Done and this will complete the Publishing process, this will Publish the document IMMEDIATELY.
The Report will now be visible on MCAS/Student Portal for the selected Students.
Note: The report’s final location can vary depending on if it contains Assessment Data and your School phase.
Editing or Unpublishing a Document
To see which Documents have been Published to MCAS/Unpublished from MCAS, you will need to go to Modules>MCAS>Published Documents.
By default, All Documents (Published or Unpublished) for the last 30 days will display.
The drop down that says All Documents, also has options for Published Documents and Not Published Documents.
This means you can use it to view All Documents, only those currently Published or only those that have been Unpublished.
Note: If you wish to view Documents Published before last 30 days, you can use the From and To date selector to amend the output.
The page works on a simple basis, if the Document is ticked it is Published, if the Document is not ticked then it is not Published.
If you are in the All Documents or Published sections and there is a Document you wish to Unpublish, untick the Document and press Update at the top of the page.
This will Unpublish the Document and move it to the Not Published Documents section.
Accessible From
This is used for making Documents available to view from a future date only. (Exam Results for example).
It works by left clicking on an already Published Document (from the All Documents or Published sections, the row will turn blue.
You then set the Accessible From Date and press Apply.
The chosen date will then appear in the Accessible From Column of the Document, confirming that the process has worked.
Send Push Notification
The last thing to consider is the Send Push Notification Tick box.
If the Send Push Notifications option is ticked, a Push Notification will be sent only once a Document has been Published.
Or a Push Notification will be sent at 9.00 AM on the selected Date if the Document is scheduled to be Published for a date in the future.