Lobby students into locations

What the lobby does

The lobby keeps a live register of which students are present in each supervised location. Each lobby entry (a lobby container) stores the student, location, arrival time, and a running list of visit notes. Staff can add actions, sign students out, and keep the chronology aligned without leaving the page.

Step 1 – Open the lobby and choose a location

1. Go to Lobby & whereabouts

   • Use the global navigation or bookmark to open the lobby page.
   • The left-hand list shows all locations that accept sign-ins. Pop-up/event locations only appear when they have active students.

2. Select the correct lobby location

   • Pick a static location (e.g. Pastoral room) or create/select a sublocation if you need extra context such as group rooms.
   • If the session relates to an extra-curricular activity, select it from the list—EdVantage will create a matching lobby location automatically if one does not already exist.

Step 2 – Sign students in

1. Search for one or more students

   • Use the student search field to pick individuals. You can paste multiple IDs or select several students before registering.
   • When signing in a group, EdVantage processes them in a single action and creates an individual lobby container for each student.

2. Set arrival details

   • Arrival defaults to now. To backdate, enter a time – the system will apply today’s date for you.
   • If a student is already signed into another lobby in the current academic year, EdVantage quietly signs them out before creating the new entry so there is only one open location per student.

3. Add optional tags, notes, or actions

   • The tag field becomes the short note on the lobby card (for example “Awaiting guardian pick-up”).
   • Use the note and action boxes to log what support is being delivered. Tick Confidential if the entry should stay restricted.

Step 3 – Monitor and update visit details

Once students are signed in you can capture additional information without leaving the lobby view.

1. Add visit notes

   • Open the student card and add a note. The record stores the timestamp, author, any follow-up action, and whether it is confidential.
   • Notes feed straight into the student chronology so DSLs and other staff keep visibility.

2. Track actions

   • Use the action field to record what should happen next (for example “Call parent at 3pm”).
   • Actions appear in real time on connected dashboards via the system’s web socket updates.

Step 4 – Sign students out

1. Choose the correct student card

   • Select Sign out on the student’s lobby card when the session finishes.
   • You can sign out immediately or set an exact departure time if the student left earlier.

2. Capture exit notes (optional)

   • Log a final note to record the outcome, who collected the student, or any follow-up required.
   • The same confidentiality toggle is available to keep sensitive comments restricted.

Troubleshooting and tips

• Duplicate sign-ins

  If you try to sign in a student who already has an open lobby container, EdVantage automatically stamps a departure time on the old container before creating the new one. You will also see a toast confirming the action.

• Extra-curricular sessions

  Select the activity from the drop-down to reuse its details. The system creates a dedicated lobby location the first time you do this.

• Chronology linkage

  All visit notes (including confidential ones) link back to the student’s chronology with the correct academic year and staff author. This keeps safeguarding records intact without duplicate entry.