Browse help docs
What families and students see
Two separate portals with different contents, and a clear line about what never crosses into them. Most support calls are about this line.
For Office staff answering the question, and leadership setting policy · reviewed 23 August 2026
The 1 points where someone must decide
Everything else can be worked on in any order. These cannot move without a person.
- Family scopeA request from a family account → Only their own children's records
Know which portal is which
/student · /parent
Mrs. Johnson
Teacher
Student portal · Ayaan
The learner's own workspace
My work
2 assessments due this week
My portfolio
6 entries · 3 reflections
My tutors
Science coach available
Raise a concern
Goes to school staff
A student portal is the learner's own workspace: their work, their portfolio, their tutors, their calendar. A family portal is about a child rather than by them — attendance, published reports, invoices, announcements.
They are not the same view with different permissions. A student can raise a concern; a parent cannot read it.
Understand the scoping rule
/parent
Mrs. Johnson
Teacher
Family portal · Mrs Reddy
About a child rather than by them
Ayaan Reddy · Year 7
Attendance 94% this term
Published reports
2 available
Invoices
1 outstanding
Concerns Ayaan raised
Not shown to families
A family sees their own children and nothing else, and that is enforced when data is read rather than when a page is drawn. A parent account linked to two children sees both; linked to none, it sees nothing at all rather than everything.
Gate · Family scope
A request from a family account → Only their own children's records
Scoping is applied in the query rather than the interface, so a family portal cannot be talked into returning another child's record by changing what it asks for.
Know what never reaches them
/parent · /teacher/behaviour
Mrs. Johnson
Teacher
Scope
Applied in the query, not in the page
Linked children
Ayaan Reddy
Every other child
Not returned at any URL
An unlinked parent account
Sees nothing rather than everything
Drafts of any kind, unshared pastoral notes, teacher observations, tutor transcripts and student concerns all stay with staff. A report is visible when it is published; a grade when it is released; a behaviour note when it is shared or is a recognition.
These defaults are deliberately restrictive. Widening them is a decision a school makes case by case, by publishing, releasing or sharing.
Handle the questions families raise
/parent/attendance · /parent/reports · /parent/fees
Mrs. Johnson
Teacher
What families can do
Requests and reads, never edits
Request an excusal
Goes to staff to decide
Read a published report
Published only
Change an attendance mark
Not available to families
Families can request an absence excusal, read published reports and see issued invoices. Each of those is a request or a read rather than an edit — nothing a family does changes a school record directly.
Who can approve what
Designations are assigned in IB roles and are separate from the account role somebody signs in with.
| Designation | Sees | Approves |
|---|---|---|
| Student | Their own work, portfolio, tutors and calendar | Submitting work, raising a concern |
| Family | Their own children's attendance, published reports, invoices, announcements | Requesting an excusal |
| Staff | What their role and programmes allow | Publishing, releasing and sharing |
If something looks empty
A parent cannot see a report you finished
Finished is not published. Only published reports reach a family.
A parent cannot see an incident
Only shared entries and recognitions reach families. Everything else is a pastoral note.
A parent account sees no children
It is not linked to any roster entry. An unlinked account correctly sees nothing rather than everything.
Still stuck?
Bring the unit you are working on. Thirty minutes with someone who has taught the programme.