Student Flags
A flag is a short staff-only alert that a teacher must see without going to look for it: an allergy, a medical condition, a collection restriction. The alert appears as a small icon beside the pupil's name wherever staff work.
A flag is different from a note. A note is the place for pastoral context. A flag is a warning that must not be missed.
WARNING
Flags are for staff only. They never reach a parent, a pupil, an export or a report.
Who can do what
| Action | What you need |
|---|---|
| See flags | Normal access to MarkBook as staff |
| Create flag types, add and edit alerts on pupils | The permission Student flags: "Medical, custody and safeguarding alerts. Staff only." |
Set roles in Configuration → Users & Roles. See Roles & Permissions.
Two levels: flag types and alerts
- A flag type is a kind of alert your school uses. It has a Name, an Icon and a Colour. Example: "Allergy", red, with a warning icon.
- An alert is a flag on one pupil. It has a Type, an Alert line, an optional Detail, an expiry and an optional file.
Set up the flag types
Open Configuration → Students → Student flags.
The page lists your flag types with how many pupils carry each one ("3 active, 1 expired"). The note on the row says "Shown beside a student's name wherever staff work".
Install the defaults
If you have no flag types, press Install default flags. It adds Medical, Allergy, Safeguarding, Collection and EAL. Anything you already have is left alone, and you can rename or remove each one afterwards.
Add or edit a type
- Press Add a flag type. (To change one, press Edit.)
- Give it a Name. A name that already exists is refused.
- Choose an Icon from the list and a Colour.
- A Preview shows how the icon looks beside a name.
- Press Save.
Drag the grip on a row to change the order.
Archive, restore, delete
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Archive | The type can no longer be used for a new alert. Pupils who already carry it keep their icons. |
| Restore | Brings an archived type back. |
| Delete | Allowed only for a type nobody uses. If pupils carry it, MarkBook says "N students carry this flag. Archive it instead — their icons stay." |
Press a type's student count to see Students flagged name: everyone carrying it, including expired alerts, with their form group, alert text, expiry and state. Export saves that list.
Add an alert to a pupil
Alerts are added on the student card.
- Click the pupil's name in the marks grid, the Summary or the outcomes grid (View student details).
- In the Alerts panel press Add an alert.
- Fill in:
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Type | One of your flag types. An archived type cannot be chosen. |
| Alert | The short line staff see, for example "Peanut allergy – EpiPen in the office". |
| Detail | Longer notes. |
| Expires | Never, End of this school year, or On a date. |
| Attach a file | Optional, for example a care plan. Remove takes it away. |
- Save. "Alert saved" confirms it.
Edit an alert from the same panel. When an alert has passed its expiry date it moves to the Expired and archived heading and the icon no longer shows beside the name. The history stays.
If you choose End of this school year and no academic year is current, MarkBook asks you for a date.
Example
Hana Marin is in Year 3. Mrs Pop adds:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Allergy |
| Alert | Peanut allergy – EpiPen in the school office |
| Detail | Parents confirmed 12 September. Care plan attached. |
| Expires | End of this school year |
From that day, every teacher who opens Hana's class sees a red allergy icon beside her name. A supply teacher sees it too, without asking anyone.
Where staff see flags
- In the pupil column of the marks grid, beside the name.
- On the student card, in the Alerts panel. The card is the same on the marks grid, the Summary and the outcomes grid, so a school that uses outcomes only sees every alert too.
Related
- SEN and EAL are yearly profile fields, not flags. See Student Targets.
- For what families can see, see Family Permissions.