Part 4. The family portal
4.4 Applications and offers
How a family follows an application, accepts or declines an offer of a place, and what an agent can see.
Written forFamiliesRegistrar
What it is for
A family that has applied for a place follows it in the portal. The page shows where each application has got to, what the school still needs, and, when the school makes an offer, lets the family accept or decline it.
Reading an application
"Applications" opens at its own address from the portal. It has a card for each child. A card says what stage the application has reached. Under "Still to send" it lists what the school is waiting for, or says "Nothing is outstanding." "Booked" shows an interview or tour you have in the diary, and "Other sessions booked" shows others at the school.
With no applications you read "No applications to show". An account that does not have the section on reads "Applications are not shown to this account".
Accepting or declining an offer
When the school has made an offer, the card shows "Offer of a place". Only a parent with responsibility for the child sees the two buttons.
- Open "Applications" and find the child's card.
- Read "Offer of a place", including the fee and deposit it names.
- Where the school lists its terms, open each one to read it and tick it.
- Press "Accept the offer" or "Decline the offer".
After accepting you read "The offer is accepted. The school will be in touch about what happens next." After declining you read "The offer is declined." The school's registrar then sees the answer on the application.
Where the school asks each parent with responsibility for the child to accept, the card names each one who has accepted and the day, and the place is accepted once each has. The terms an offer lists are the ones the school had published on the day it made the offer, and a change the school makes later does not change them.
The school reminds you on the days before the offer lapses that it has chosen, and sends no reminder once you have answered. After the offer lapses, the school may still take an answer for a few days, and the card then says your acceptance waits for the school to confirm the place.
A school may offer a reserved place. You accept it in the same way, and the school makes a second offer of the place itself later, which you accept again.
- Accept an offer of a place from the portal. Accept or decline an offer of a place
- Make an offer of a place. Make an offer and record the answer
An agent's view
An education agent who has portal access sees an extra part headed "As an agent". It has a search box, "Find a child", with the hint "A child's name", and "Show more" for long lists. A search with no match reads "No child by that name". An agent sees the application but no fee and no deposit, and cannot answer an offer.
Screens
Applications
/portal/applicationsEach application, its stage, what is outstanding, and the offer.
Training notes
- Tell a family to sign in with the address they gave on the application.
- If a family cannot see Accept, check that the person signed in has parental responsibility for the child.
- Agents often ask about fees. They will not see them, so send the offer letter to the family.