Kestrel

Guide

Head of house or year

Version 1.0 ·Updated 2026-09-17

Next reviewed by 2027-03-17.

Written for each member of a school's staff, from the registrar to IT, and the families using the portal.

For a head of house or year, who follows a cohort's wellbeing, sets the notices staff read, issues sanctions and runs cases.

All guides, including the first steps each member of staff takes. The training for this role takes these tasks in sessions.

Record a pastoral entry

A student's record, "Health and wellbeing" tab, "Wellbeing"

Needs wellbeing.note.write.

  1. Under "Entries", press "Record an entry" and choose the "Kind".
  2. Fill "Severity", "When", "Where" and "What happened", and tick "Restricted" where only the pastoral team should read it.
  3. Name a witness under "A witness or the notifier" if there was one, and press "Record an entry".

Set a pastoral alert

A student's record, "Health and wellbeing" tab, "Wellbeing", "Alerts"

Needs wellbeing.alert.write.

  1. Under "Alerts", press "Set an alert" and choose the "Kind".
  2. Write the "Notice", the one line each member of staff reads beside the student's name.
  3. Write "Why" for the pastoral team, set "Ends" or leave it empty, and press "Set an alert".
  4. Press "End" when the alert is no longer needed.

Issue a detention or a suspension

A student's record, from the entry it follows

Needs wellbeing.sanction.write.

  1. On the entry, press "Issue a sanction" and choose the "Kind".
  2. For a detention, choose the "Sitting". For a suspension, set "Starts" and "Ends".
  3. Fill "Why" and press "Issue a sanction". A suspension counts as absent on each school day it covers.

Open and run a case

A student's record, "Wellbeing", "Cases"

Needs wellbeing.case.write.

  1. In the student's "Wellbeing" section, press "Open a case", choose the "Kind", fill "What it is about" and save.
  2. On the case, press "Put somebody on it", choose the "Member of staff" and "Their part", and confirm.
  3. Press "Close the case" once it is finished.

Act on a step waiting on you

Home, "Waiting on you"

Needs forms.run.act.

  1. On the home page, open the step under "Waiting on you".
  2. Read "Steps" and "What happened".
  3. Under "Your step", add a "Note" and press "Approve", "Decline" or "Return". A decline and a return need a note.