User Mentions support communication across discussions in ManageBac+ by allowing users to type @ and select an available user from a dropdown menu. Once a user is mentioned, they receive a notification with the author’s name, location, and a preview of the message.

Discussions & User Mentions includes a dedicated Discussions section with independent controls for Classes, Year Groups, and Groups. The sections below outline the available permissions, supported locations, discussion visibility behaviour, notification behaviour, and recommended usage guidance.

Overview

Discussions & User Mentions allows Admins to manage discussion visibility and User Mention permissions within designated contexts in ManageBac+.

By default, the three Discussions toggles are enabled for Classes, Year Groups, and Groups. Admins can also manage User Mention access for students and parents, while User Mentions remain enabled for teachers and admins.

• Admins can independently enable or disable discussions for Classes, Year Groups, and Groups.
• Teachers can also disable discussions for individual classes, year groups, and groups when discussions are enabled at school level.
• Students can mention other students, teachers, and admins in supported discussion areas.
• Parents can mention teachers and admins in Parents Association discussions, if this area is unlocked for parents.
• Mentioned users receive a notification shortly after being mentioned.

Key Concepts / What’s New

Discussions settings

In Settings > School Settings > Discussions & User Mentions, there are three independent toggles:

• Enable Discussions for Classes
• Enable Discussions for Year Groups
• Enable Discussions for Groups

These toggles control whether the Discussions tab is visible within each entity type. When a toggle is turned off, the Discussions tab is completely hidden from navigation for all user roles within that entity type, and direct URL access returns a 403 error.

Discussion content is preserved

Disabling discussions hides the Discussions tab, but it does not delete existing posts, replies, or attachments. If discussions are enabled again later, the existing discussion history becomes available again.

How User Mentions work

When a user types @ in a supported discussion field, a dropdown menu displays the users who are available to be mentioned in that context. Users can only mention eligible, non-archived users who already belong to the relevant class, year group, or group.

Where User Mentions can be used

• Class, Year Group, and Group discussions, including comments and replies
• Task, Deadline, Event, Online Lesson, and IA discussions, including comments and replies

Notification behaviour

Users always receive web notifications for User Mentions. Email and mobile push notifications are enabled by default, but each user can switch these off from their notification preferences.

Notification examples

Step-by-Step Navigation

Configure school-wide Discussions and User Mention permissions

Navigation: Settings > School Settings > Discussions & User Mentions

1. Open Settings.
2. Select School Settings.
3. Open Discussions & User Mentions.
4. Under Discussions, review the three independent toggles for Classes, Year Groups, and Groups.
5. Under Student Permissions and Parent Permissions, enable or disable User Mentions as required.
6. Save your changes.

Disable discussions for an individual Year Group, Class, or Group

Navigation: Year Groups > Edit Year Group Settings > Additional Options, Classes > Edit Class Settings > Additional Options, or Groups > Edit Group Settings > Additional Options

1. Open the relevant year group, class, or group.
2. Open the relevant settings page.
3. Go to Additional Options.
4. Use the Enable Discussions checkbox to enable or disable discussions for that individual entity.
5. Save your changes.

Mention users in Class, Year Group, and Group discussions

Navigation: Classes > Discussions, Year Groups > Discussions, or Groups > Discussions

1. Open the relevant discussion area.
2. Start a new post, comment, or reply.
3. Type @ in the discussion field.
4. Select an available user from the dropdown menu.
5. Post the discussion message.

Mention users in task and item discussions

Navigation: Tasks, Deadlines, Events, Online Lessons, or IAs > Discussions

1. Open the relevant task, deadline, event, online lesson, or IA.
2. Go to the Discussions section.
3. Start a new post, comment, or reply.
4. Type @ in the discussion field.
5. Select an available user from the dropdown menu.
6. Post the discussion message.

Manage User Mention notification preferences

Navigation: Profile > Notification Preferences > User Mentions

1. Open your Profile.
2. Open Notification Preferences.
3. Locate the User Mentions section.
4. Review the available web, email, and mobile push notification settings.
5. Disable email or mobile push notifications if needed.

Tips & Best Practices

• Use User Mentions when you need to draw a specific user’s attention to a discussion post, comment, or reply.
• Check that the person you want to mention is a member of the relevant class, year group, or group.
• Review the Discussions toggles carefully before turning them off, as this removes the Discussions tab for all users in that entity type.
• Use the entity-level Enable Discussions option when you want to manage discussions for a specific class, year group, or group without changing the school-wide setting.
• Review notification preferences if you want to reduce email or mobile push notifications while still keeping web notifications enabled.

Warnings & Important Notes

• The Discussions section is enabled by default for Classes, Year Groups, and Groups.
• Admins can update these settings at any time from Settings > School Settings > Discussions & User Mentions.
• When a Discussions toggle is turned off, the Discussions tab is completely hidden from navigation for all user roles within that entity type.
• Direct URL access to a disabled Discussions area returns a 403 error. There is no greyed-out tab or blank space left behind.
• Disabling discussions hides the tab only. Existing posts, replies, and attachments are preserved.
• Tasks that use Discussion Submission continue to function regardless of the school-wide Discussions settings.
• Teachers can only manage the entity-level Enable Discussions checkbox when discussions are enabled at school level.
• User Mentions remain enabled for teachers and admins.
• Students can only mention users in supported discussion contexts, and only where those users are already members of the relevant class, year group, or group.
• Parents can mention teachers and admins only within Parents Association discussions, if this area has been unlocked for parents.
• Archived users cannot be mentioned.
• If a discussion is marked as private, only the discussion author or teachers and admins can be mentioned in class, year group, and group discussions.
• In task, deadline, event, online lesson, and IA discussions marked as private, only teachers or the author of the discussion can be mentioned.
• Web notifications are always sent for User Mentions. Email and mobile push notifications can be disabled by the user.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Discussions & User Mentions?

This settings area allows Admins to manage discussion visibility for Classes, Year Groups, and Groups, and to control whether students and parents can use User Mentions in supported discussions.

What happens if a Discussions toggle is turned off?

The Discussions tab is hidden completely for all user roles within that entity type. Users cannot access it from navigation, and direct URL access returns a 403 error.

Does disabling discussions delete existing posts?

No. Disabling discussions hides the tab, but existing posts, replies, and attachments are preserved.

Who can use User Mentions?

User Mentions are enabled for teachers and admins. Admins can enable or disable this feature for students and parents from Settings > School Settings > Discussions & User Mentions.

Can teachers disable discussions for an individual class, year group, or group?

Yes. When discussions are enabled at school level, teachers can use the Enable Discussions checkbox in Additional Options for an individual class, year group, or group.

Where can User Mentions be used?

User Mentions can be used in Class, Year Group, and Group discussions, as well as in the Discussions section for Tasks, Deadlines, Events, Online Lessons, and IAs. This includes comments and replies.

Can users mention anyone in the system?

No. Users can only mention eligible, non-archived users who already belong to the relevant class, year group, group, or supported discussion context.

Can users disable User Mention notifications?

Users always receive web notifications for User Mentions. However, they can disable email and mobile push notifications from their Notification Preferences.