Linked events enable you to set up groups/activities that run on multiple days of the week AND that the attendees are the same for all occurrences. For example, you may want Swimming Club to run on Mondays and Wednesdays.
This is a simple feature built into the Add group features within an After School Program (Preference Type).
Create a group within the container
- Click on Activities & Clubs (this may be labelled differently for your school) and then Preference Based Sign-up
- Click on Manage next to the container that you wish to add the group/activity to.
- Click '+Add'
- Then add the essential details - we recommend you include the multi-day reference in the group title
- Make sure you add the description of the event.
- Select the first day that the event is running, e.g. Monday
- The start/end time will default to the times of the container but can be changed if required. Add the lead staff member and location
- Click Add to add another day of the week for the event
- The times, lead staff member and location are correct will be the same as set previously. These can be changed if required
- Repeat as necessary if the activity occurs on more than two occasions
- Continue to complete the rest of the group and click Save
In your group's list view the linked event (linked group) will be shown as one group with multiple days next to it. When you Generate Events at the very end of the allocation process the system will only generate one group but create multiple events for that group. For ongoing management that means you only need to add and remove students to the one group and they will be added to the attendance registers for all of the linked activities.
Throughout the system of allocation and overviews, it will always look like one group (and will show the multiple occurrences on the screen in various locations).
PLEASE NOTE: This linked event will only work for events as part of the same container and 'time slot'. You cannot link to events that run at a vastly different time slot for example lunchtime and after school and, therefore, need to be in another container. i.e you cannot link to other times that would normally exist in another container for auto-allocation purposes.
How does it work for the students/parents and what do they see?
It is clear to the parents that the event occurs on multiple days. It is visible under both days (Monday and Wednesday in this case) and if selecting one will auto-select the same preference if it is available on the other day.
On Wednesday you can see that Swimming has been auto-selected as this was picked on Monday. The other activities available on that day have been auto-selected to 'N/A'.
The parents/students also receive a warning when they try and pick a multiple occurring group/event and will inform them of the other days the activity will occur. This is the same message whether they are adding or removing the preference.
When reviewing selections, parents will see clearly the two occurrences of the same activity before sending their choices to the school and are re-confirmed once submitting in the email they receive.
What about allocating?
You will see the group listed as one group (which it is). If you want different students to be able to attend these two occurrences then simply create two separate groups.
If at any point you manually add or remove someone from a linked event they will be added or removed to all linked occurrences.
PLEASE NOTE: When your activity container is 'Active' you will be able to manage which students are involved with these events by simply adding or removing the students to one group.
For more information about creating an after school club preference style container - click here.