How do I access/edit the information stored in Lists?
Lists
To access the Lists Menu go to the Admin Menu (see article Admin Menu)
Then click on:
The LISTS section on SOLAR holds available options for information that is held on Pupils or your School Setup.
Disabilities, Learning Needs, Ethnicities, Key Stages and Year Groups
Disabilities, Learning Needs, Ethnicities, Key Stages and Year Groups
All of the above lists in SOLAR work in exactly the same way. Select the list that you want to view, add to, edit, delete or re-order.
Add, Edit or Delete
You can add an additional item to the list by clicking the ADD button and type in the additional ITEM name and click SAVE. New items must be added to the list to enable you to allocate them to a pupil.
To edit click the EDIT button, rename your item and click the SAVE button.
To delete click the triangle to the right of the Edit and you will be presented with the delete option.
When you select the Delete option you will get a system message. Note SOLAR will give you the option of moving any children/pupils in the category that you are deleting into a new category. Click the small triangle on the right to select which category you want to move them to and then click Save and Delete.
SOLAR also gives you the option of Just Delete. You must use this option with great care as if you have any children/pupils in this category they will no longer have this data on their record which will affect any reports that you run using this category.
Note - It is recommended that you only use this option if you are absolutely sure that there are no children/pupils left in this Category.
Re-order the list
If you would prefer the list to be displayed in another order, to do this is simple. Put your cursor onto the hand icon at the side of the item, click and hold the left button on your mouse and move the item to where you want it placed in the list. Anywhere on SOLAR that presents this list will now show it in the new order.
Note 1: Key Stages and Years Groups should be in the correct order i.e. Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 etc. This assists with the automatic updating of year groups and key stages over the summer break.
Note 2 : When you add a new Year Group SOLAR will also ask you to select the corresponding key stage.
Classes
Note: Classes are allocated to teachers and assessment frameworks to classes.
The pupils, assessment frameworks and subjects that a user of SOLAR can access is determined in CLASSES.
The class associated within the pupil record is called the “Tutor Group”.
Pupils can only be in one Tutor group (and this is based on what is held in the pupil record), but they can be also be allocated to a Teaching Group or an Ad-Hoc Group. For example, you can set up additional classes such as an “After School Maths Class” or a “Special Learning Group”. You can then allocate these to a User so that they can do assessment on these pupils.
If you want to change the “Tutor Group” of a pupil you must do this by editing the pupil’s record. See article Pupils.
For information about how to create new Tutor Groups click here
Adding a Tutor Group
To set up a new Tutor Group click Add Class, give it a name and select Tutor Group in the Group Type Box. Add any as
To add pupils to a Tutor Group go to Admin>Pupils and update the pupil record.
Next you need to select either the assessment framework/s (this will add the whole framework) or the subject/s that you want to allocate to the class.
Go to the Assessment Framework or Subject fields and start typing the name of the subject or framework you wish to allocate to the class and when the name appears click to select it. Click SAVE
Note: If you have added a whole assessment framework and try then to add some of the subject contained within it these will NOT show in the subject field as they are already included in the assessment framework.
Note: As per individual pupils you can also set a whole class with a spiky profile. See article Pupils.
Adding a Teaching Group or Ad Hoc Group
To set up a new Teaching Group or Ad-Hoc Group click Add Class, give it a name and select Teaching Group or Ad-Hoc Group in the Group Type Box.
Type the pupil’s name in the pupils field and after you have typed the first 3 characters of their name SOLAR will being up a list of matches, select the name from the drop-down list and the pupil will be added to the class. Continue this process until all the pupils you want have been added.
Next you need to select either the assessment framework/s (this will add the whole framework) or the subject/s that you want to allocate to the class. You do this in the same way that you add pupils.
When you have finished click SAVE.
Removing Pupils from a Teaching Group or Ad Hoc Group
Go to Admin>Lists>Classes and click edit next to the Teaching Group or Ad Hoc Group that you want to remove the pupil from.
Click the x next to the side of the pupil who you want to remove from the group. Click SAVE.
Terms
You can be a 3-term or a 6-term school and this will have been set up for you when you first joined SOLAR. Most schools are 3 term schools.
The term dates are used for SOLAR’s reporting function. SOLAR looks at the date that assessment has been entered and your term dates and assesses progress within these criteria.
Note - You must ADD your term dates on an annual basis. It is recommended that you add 4 years of term dates onto SOLAR (A key stage) to allow SOLAR to calculate termly targets for a whole key stage. If you do not know next years dates precisely, you can enter dunny dates and update them BEFORE the term starts.
Click terms: -
From here you have the option to Add Term or Edit Term.
Please ensure that you add your terms in the correct order. Failing to do so may cause issues with your assessment and target data.
To add a term, click the Add Term Button, enter your Term Name, Select the Academic Year (you will be given a number of options), enter the start and end date by clicking in the box (SOLAR will bring up a calendar for you to make your choice) and then click SAVE.
Amend the start or end date and then click SAVE.
Note - If you want to change term dates for a term that has already begun please e-mail support@solarforschools.org.uk.