New developments for IRIS Ed:gen and IRIS Central – now and coming soon

Welcome to the January edition of our Termly Blog, which talks about the latest updates to Ed:gen, our MIS software for state schools and MATs.

Every couple of months, our aim is to give you the inside track – letting you know what new, exciting features our software development team has been working on. We also include new features in IRIS Central, the data-crunching companion software that helps top teams make quick, informed decisions.

Here are some of the updates we’ll be looking at this time around:

• A new academic report
• Improved filters in your registration manager and in report printing
• An upgraded parent and student portal experience
• Smart ways to save time with seating plans
• New features for the registration manager
• New ways to work with global lists and custom fields

So, without further ado, let's take a close look, beginning with the new academic report in Ed:gen.

IRIS Ed:gen – the new academic report feature

We are thrilled to introduce a brand-new academic report designed to make end-of-term reporting much easier.

This report comes in flexible formats – including landscape and portrait layouts – so no matter how you present the information, it will prove to be the perfect fit.

Want to know more? To help you make the most of this new feature, we’ve prepared free iUniversity courses and Knowledge Base articles.

More to come for academic reporting

You’ll soon have new ways to structure and finesse the presentation of your data; in the coming months, we’ll be telling you how you can make use of new document outlines and curved borders.

And, as if that’s not enough, custom template creation is also on the horizon. When it arrives, you’ll be able to enjoy even more flexibility with your new reporting function.

Improvements across your modules

We have more than 50 modules in IRIS Ed:gen, and our development team is always working to provide an upgraded experience in every one of them. Here are some of the latest improvements.

Improved filters in your Registration Manager

It’s important to pinpoint pupil absences that have no explanation so you can follow up on them.

That’s why we have enhanced the list view filters in the Registration Manager, so you can see these associated “N codes” separately from other absence codes.

How do you do this? The upgrade is already there in version 25.1.24. Simply deselect all filters except ‘Absence (N Codes)’.

Where can you find this new function? Registration Manager > List View > Filters on the left-hand side

Enhanced filters in Report Printing

Our new filter in the Bulk Printing tab allows you to filter by “Report Year,” and we have updated the Report Cycle filters to load the most recent cycle at the top. This ensures you can quickly access and print the necessary reports.

Where is this new function? Report Printing > Bulk Printing tab and Report Printing > Portal Publishing

Upgrades to Parent Portal and Student Portal

Our Parent Portal and Student Portal are now more seamless than ever and built around the highest standards of inclusivity and accessibility.

Pupils and parents will enjoy a consistent and intuitive experience across desktop, tablet, and smartphone through modern design, real-time notifications, and enhanced dashboard features – so, staying on top of homework and other important updates will be easier and feel better.

Behind the scenes, you will find both handle seamless updates and let you manage data and link to existing platforms thanks to comprehensive APIs.

Sneak peek – see the new cloned seating plans in action!

We love saving staff time. It’s one of our main goals when we build and update our software: how are we making your lives quicker and easier?

One way we’ll be doing this is by giving you the ability to clone seating plans. This allows users to replicate an existing seating plan for another exam or class, saving valuable time and effort. From that point, you can add, remove or change students easily.

As part of the function’s rollout, we’ve made an interactive walkthrough to help you get familiar with this feature before its official release. See the cloned seating plan in action.

Where will I find this function when it rolls out? External Exams Manager > Timetables tab > Manage Seating Plans (from menu on right-hand side) > Clone Seating Plan

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Sneak peek – Registration Manager’s enhanced “out of school” capability and a new “out of class” feature

We have combined the existing “Out of School” and “Future Absence” features into a single interface.

And now, you’ll find usability has taken a step up. Using the Registration Manager Wizard, you can assign students as “out of school” or “out of class”, configure recurring events and set a repetition frequency or end date.

You can track entries and modifications using our new audit tab, get better visibility of pupil attendance, and easily see where students are. You can also set permissions to ensure the right staff access the right data.

IRIS Central - dashboards and Data Share improvements

Our latest updates to IRIS Central make tracking and managing data easier. You can now view current credits, usage history, and purchase history directly in the Data Share tab. You get a warning when credits are running low and the option to buy additional credits through the interface as needed.

The quality of the reporting is now even better. You can access more than 40 data points from your MIS and Every HR By IRIS – with more options on the way.

Meanwhile, Data Share’s views simplify reporting and analytics and make data sharing feel natural and intuitive.

Managing your MIS via IRIS Central

Now, you can manage your MIS by adding new global lists and custom fields.

You can create or manage custom fields for students and contacts, generate management groups for specific schools, and push custom fields and global lists to specific schools as needed.

And, thanks to centralised control, you can easily manage and update custom fields and global lists across multiple schools.

Want to know more?

Get an overview of how IRIS Ed:gen can help your school or Multi Academy Trust here.