What matters at this point in the school year
Practical checks and guides for each term, across ManageBac+, OpenApply, Atlas, SchoolsBuddy, EduIntelligence and Vectare. Earlier terms stay available below.
Term 1 · August to October
Your year has started. Here is what to check now.
Check your new year set-up
The first weeks show whether last year's transition carried everything across.
- Confirm classes, year groups and users moved across correctly
- Check your SIS or MIS syncs have run, and spot-check a few records
- Archive last year's data you no longer need day to day
Help new staff get confident quickly
New teachers and coordinators settle faster when they know where help is.
- Share the help centres and on-demand courses in week one
- Join a live session from the Global Enablement Calendar
- Book a virtual session for your team: around 60 minutes, recorded and shared with your school afterwards
Open next year's admissions cycle
Families start applying for next year early in the autumn.
- Set up the new academic year and check forms ask for the right year
- Review fees, deadlines and email templates
- A short check before you launch avoids the most common problems
Launch this term's activities
Clear sign-up rules make the first allocation fair and calm.
- Set sign-up windows and allocation rules before you tell families
- Test a sign-up with a small group first
- Tell families when sign-up opens and how places are given
Prepare for first reports and parent conferences
Interim reports and the first conferences of the year come round quickly.
- Agree grading deadlines and check report templates early
- Set up conference slots from your MIS data so families only see their own meetings
- Send booking instructions to families in advance
Plan the year's units together
A planning session early in the year keeps the curriculum current.
- Run a session where departments open and update their first-term units
- Check standards are attached to new units
- Tidy last year's lessons
Plan and launch your autumn surveys
Early in the year is the best time to hear from staff, students and families, and set a baseline for the year.
- Upload your staff list, or connect Wonde, so participants are up to date
- Choose who to survey and when
- Tell staff why the survey matters before it opens
First weeks on the school bus
New families need to know where to wait, which bus to catch and how to follow it.
- Share stop and timing details with new families
- Encourage parents to switch on travel notifications
- Point parents to live tracking
Term 2 · November to January
Mid-year: reports, conferences and next year’s families.
Run end-of-semester reports
Most schools publish first-semester reports between December and January. A check of templates and gradebook settings now saves a scramble later.
- Check report card templates and comment limits for each programme
- Confirm gradebook calculations and term grades are set up the way your school reports
- Agree a publishing date with teachers, then preview a few reports first
Keep IB coursework and registration on track
IB registration closes in the autumn, and internal assessments and the Extended Essay build towards spring deadlines.
- Check IBIS exam registrations and fix any errors early
- Review Extended Essay and internal assessment progress with supervisors
- Make sure upload deadlines are visible to students and teachers
Mid-year applicants and re-enrolment planning
Families moving mid-year apply now, and re-enrolment for next year usually opens early in the new year.
- Check forms and statuses work for January starters
- Agree your re-enrolment timeline, fees and deadlines
- Run through the launch checklist before you open re-enrolment
Parent-teacher conferences and the new activity season
Many schools hold conferences before the winter break and launch new clubs and activities for the next term.
- Set up conference sessions, breaks and teacher classes in good time
- Clone last term’s activity containers rather than starting again
- Check staff can see their conference schedules
Mid-year curriculum check
Halfway through the year is a good point to see how written units match what is taught and assessed.
- Use Curriculum Insights to spot gaps and overlaps
- Compare units across grades or sections
- Check standards coverage before the second semester
Plan training for the second half of the year
New staff join in January, and teams are ready to go deeper once the first term is done.
- Pick topics from the Enablement Calendar for January to March
- Book a virtual session for your team: around 60 minutes, recorded and shared afterwards
- Share on-demand courses with staff who join mid-year
Read your results and close the loop
Autumn survey results are in. Share what you heard and what you will do about it.
- Start with the headline results, then filter by group
- Ask EI questions about your results
- Tell staff and families what will change
Winter weather and disruption
Winter brings weather delays and cancellations. Make sure families know how they will hear about them.
- Check families have notifications switched on
- Share how severe weather days are handled
- Remind parents how to report a no-show or delay
Term 3 · February to March
Spring: submissions, re-enrolment and planning ahead.
Re-enrolment and contracts for next year
Re-enrolment and contracts tell you early how many places you have for next year.
- Open re-enrolment and send the notification emails
- Track replies and follow up with families who have not responded
- Send enrolment contracts and check signatures come back
IB submission season
eCoursework uploads, the MYP personal project and DP internal assessments all come due in spring.
- Check eCoursework samples and upload deadlines with coordinators
- Review personal project and community project progress
- Make sure teachers know how to mark and upload from ManageBac+
Spring trips, transport and sign-ups
Spring brings residential trips, sports fixtures and the next round of activity sign-ups.
- Create trips with parent consent where needed
- Check transport routes and timetables for spring events
- Use Instant Book for first come, first served places
Assessment and standards review
Before the end-of-year rush, check that assessments line up with the standards you report on.
- Review assessment settings and proficiency levels
- Run assessment and standards analysis for each department
- Note what to change in unit templates for next year
Plan next year early
Timetables, staffing and budgets for next year are decided now, so this is the moment to plan services and training too.
- List the set-up and data work you need before August
- Book onsite training or a custom training plan for the start of next year
- Check your school’s plan and what it includes
Staff wellbeing check-in
Mid-year is a good point to check workload and wellbeing before the busiest part of the year.
- Run a short staff wellbeing survey
- Use check-in surveys for quick pulse questions
- Compare with your autumn baseline
Changes to stops and bookings
Clubs, fixtures and house moves mean families change stops and buses during the year.
- Show parents how to change a stop or date
- Explain the late bus for after-school activities
- Make cancellations clear
Term 4 · April to July
Your academic year is closing. Here is what matters now.
Start the annual rollover checklist → One list for every product, in the right order.
Report cards: check templates before the deadline
Reporting season brings every configuration choice from the year into one busy window.
- Give teachers a grading deadline
- Run a proofing and review pass before you lock term gradebooks
- Check comments line up with your report template layout
Re-enrolment: get your pipeline ready
Families receive the re-enrolment invitation once, so check it first.
- Confirm what families need to resubmit
- Update year references, deadlines and messages
- Test before sending at scale
Parent-teacher conferences: three checks
Most booking problems can be prevented the day before bookings open.
- Teachers' availability is correct
- Subject and class names are up to date
- Families know how and when to book
Clean the curriculum map before reflection
Departments reflect best on a map that shows what was actually taught.
- Ask teachers to update units taught this year
- Remove or archive units no longer used
- Check standards coverage reports
Staff changes: prepare next year's team
Staff who are leaving take know-how with them, so capture it before they go.
- Note who owns each set-up task next year
- Record a training session with outgoing coordinators
- Plan accounts and access for new starters
Compare this year and plan next year
Look back across the year, compare with similar schools and plan next year's survey calendar.
- Compare results over time
- Check how you compare with benchmarks
- Plan dates and participants for next year
Bookings for next school year
Families book school transport for next year now. Places on popular routes go quickly.
- Remind families to book regular travel early
- Explain the waiting list for full routes
- Share payment options, including instalments
Need a hand with any of this?
Book training, set-up help or another service for your school. For product questions, use your product's help centre.