Who Can Do What
Use this page to check which role a person needs for a job. It describes MarkBook after you install the default roles. For how roles work, see Roles & Permissions and Leadership Roles.
How to read the table
- Yes means the default role holds the permission.
- Own means the person can do it only in markbooks they reach: their own, the ones they lead, and subjects they are allocated to in their classes.
- Led means they can do it in the area they lead, if the role also allows it.
- No means the default role does not hold it. You can add the permission to the role.
- Administrator means a person with the Administrator role, a school manager, or a person with full access. They hold every permission.
A school that has not installed roles has no permission limits. This table applies only after installation.
Marks
| Job | Teacher | Senior teacher | Reports officer | Observer | Administrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open the marks grid | Own | Own, Led | Own, Led (read only) | Own, Led (read only) | Yes |
| Enter and change marks | Own | Own, Led | No | No | Yes |
| Fill a column in bulk | Own | Own, Led | No | No | Yes |
| See a cell's history | Own | Own, Led | No | No | Yes |
| Restore an earlier mark | No | Own, Led | No | No | Yes |
| Set target grades | No | Own, Led | No | No | Yes |
| Export the grid | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Import marks | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| View the summary | Own | Own, Led | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Export the summary | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Comments and attendance
| Job | Teacher | Senior teacher | Reports officer | Observer | Administrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read teacher comments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Write comments | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Use the comment assistant | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Curate the comment bank | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| View attendance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Reports
| Job | Teacher | Senior teacher | Reports officer | Observer | Administrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View reports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create and edit a report | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Submit a report for approval | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Open the review queue | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Approve or send back | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Publish to parents | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Unpublish a report | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Delete a report | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Generate or publish a whole cohort | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Download the PDF | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Manage report templates | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Manage approval workflows | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Reports are also limited by reach. A teacher sees reports they created or ones for their classes. A head of department reads more only if the school switched on Heads of department can read reports. Year group coordinators see their classes' reports. SLT sees all. See Review & Approval.
Analytics
| Job | Teacher | Senior teacher | Reports officer | Observer | Administrator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View analytics | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Export analytics | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Configuration
Teachers, senior teachers, the reports officer and observers hold none of the configuration permissions by default. Only Administrators do. Give single permissions to a trusted person when you need to.
| Job | Permission needed |
|---|---|
| Edit academic years and reporting periods | Academic years and periods |
| Lock or unlock a period | Lock and unlock periods |
| Edit attainment, judgement scales and conversions | Grade and assessment scales |
| Edit subjects | Subjects |
| Edit the column library | Value types |
| Edit markbook templates | Markbook templates |
| Change which teachers are allocated to a subject | Markbook templates and Assign leadership roles |
| Manage the target register | Student targets |
| Edit learning outcomes and the standards library | Rubrics and standards |
| Write course plans | Write course plans |
| Change module settings | Module settings |
| Assign leadership roles | Assign leadership roles |
| Install roles and assign them | Users and roles |
| Create, edit and remove student flags | Student flags |
| API keys, webhooks | Developer: API keys and webhooks |
Opening the Configuration area also needs the school to have installed roles and the person to hold at least one configuration permission, or to be a manager.
Leaders
Leadership adds reach. It adds no abilities.
| Leader | Extra reach | Extra abilities |
|---|---|---|
| Head of department | All markbooks of their subject | Edit leader-only columns of that subject, approve columns and comments, if their role allows |
| Year group coordinator | All markbooks of their year group | The same for their year group, and approve their reports if the workflow allows |
| SLT | The whole school | The same everywhere, and approve any report if the workflow allows |
Families
Parents and students do not use these roles. The school chooses what they see under Configuration → Users & Roles → Parents & Students. By default parents see grades, learning outcomes and published reports, and may confirm a report and ask a question. Students see grades, outcomes and reports. See Family Permissions.
Why a person cannot do something
If a person says "I cannot do X", check in this order:
- Do they have the module? (Kinderpedia access)
- Do they reach the markbook? (Own, led, allocated)
- Does their role hold the permission? (Users tab)
- Is the cell or report in a state that refuses change? (Locked period, approved column, published report)
More cases are in Common Issues.