*The following is a basic version of the guide above:
Compass Guide for Parents of Taylors Hill PS 2021:

Parent's Guide to Compass

OVERVIEW

The Compass Parent Portal is an integrated, online portal that allows you to access up-to-date and meaningful information about our school and your child's progress. Compass includes many different features, including the ability to:

• ​Monitor your child's attendance, and enter an explanation for absence or lateness
• Update your family contact information
• View your child's timetable and the school calendar
• Download and view your child's Semester Reports and Progress Reports
• Book Parent/Teacher Meetings
• Pay and provide consent for events and school fees

We ask that you check your Compass Portal DAILY to ensure you are informed, as this is our main form of communication with our school community.

ACCESSING COMPASS

Compass is a web-based system that is accessible on any web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) or by using the Compass iOS or Android apps.

PLEASE USE THE COMPASS APP

To download the APP to your device, search 'Compass School Manager' in the applicable app store. We recommend using the COMPASS APP and allowing NOTIFICATIONS, as you will then be alerted when new information is added to Compass.

Every family receives a separate login to our school's Compass site, which is provided to you by the school.

If you are having trouble finding the Compass link for our school, go to http://schools.compass.edu.au where you can search for Taylors Hill Primary School to access our link.

LOGGING IN TO COMPASS

To log in you will require your unique family username and password. These details have been provided to you by the school, however if you are yet to receive them please contact the school office.  You will initially be provided with a temporary password that you will be prompted to update to one of your choosing when you login for the first time.

TO LOGIN:

1. Go to the Taylors Hill Primary School compass site:

https://taylorshillps-vic.compass.education/login.aspx

2. Type in your username and password.

3. Upon first login, you will be required to confirm your email address and mobile phone number. These details may be used by the school for SMS, password recovery and email communication throughout the year. 

4. Also when logging in for the first time, once you have confirmed your details, you will be required to change your password.  Once you have chosen your new password, you will be taken to your Compass Parent Portal Home Screen.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have lost your details or forgotten your password, you can recover your details by clicking the 'Can't access your account?' link on the front page.

YOUR HOME SCREEN

The home screen provides you with relevant alerts and news, as well as quick access to your child's profile.

Main Menu

Allows you to access other Compass and school resources.

Tools

The Tools Menu (cog icon) allows you to update your contact details and change your password.

Alerts and News

Custom notifications for items that require your action or attention appear under your ‘My News’ bar. These may include:

• Outstanding absences or late arrivals that require a note or approval
• School news, reminders, notes, photos and newsletters
• Events, Excursions or Notes that require consent and/or payment
• Parent/Teacher Meetings that are available for booking
• Semester Reports or Progress Reports that are available to download.

Your Child

This section provides you with a quick summary of available options. To access more information click on the relevant quick link or select 'Profile' to access detailed information about your child. Options here may include:

• Your child's profile page 
• Attendance pages customised for your child, where notes/approvals can be entered
• Academic reports for your child
• Parent/Teacher Meeting bookings

MENUS AND FUNCTIONS

Along the top of the screen there are various icons. From these icons you can navigate through the Compass Parent Portal.

The HOME icon will take you back to the Home Page.
     
The CALENDAR icon will take you to the School Calendar, where you will be able to see the schedules of your students, as well as any school events or activities that have been entered to the calendar.

The GRID icon will bring up the Organisation Menu, from which you can access Events and Course Confirmations/Payments.

The PEOPLE icon will bring up the Community Menu, from which you can access Conferences (Parent/Teacher Meetings) and School Documentation.

The STAR icon will bring up the Favourites Menu, where any websites that the school has added will be linked for you to easily access. 

To the right of the screen, your name will be displayed, with the COG icon, which will bring up the Tools Menu, from which you can access your Files, your Payments, Reset your Password, update your contact details and log out. 

Clicking on your name will take you to your profile page. 

ORGANISATION

Events

You will receive a notification on your Compass homepage when there is an event that requires your approval or payment. 

To provide the consent/payment required, click the notification. This will take you to the Events page, where you can see all events that require your consent/payment, and those that are upcoming that you have already consented to/paid for.
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From this page you can pay and consent for any events.

Please keep in mind that within Compass you cannot consent for an event that has a payment associated with it without also paying for the event. If you need to pay in person at the school you should print out the paper consent form and turn it in with payment to the school.

Course Confirmation/Payments

The Course Confirmation/Payments module allows you to pay your school fees through Compass.

COMMUNITY

Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences (THPS Parent/Teacher Meetings)

Allows you to book any meetings which are available for booking. By selecting ‘My Bookings’, you are able to book meetings with your children's teachers.
You can either start booking right away or follow the tutorial which shows you how to book.

ATTENDANCE

Adding A Note Or Approval

If your child has any unapproved absences or late arrivals, you will receive an alert on your Compass home page letting you know and allowing you to Add a Note or Approval. 

Click on this notification – it will take you to the Unexplained Tab for that child's attendance.

You can add a Note or Approval for one or more absences.  To add a note or approval, select one or more of the absences listed, then select the 'Explain with Note/Approval' button. 

PLEASE NOTE: you cannot edit you notes or approvals after they've been created. If you do need to make any changes, please contact the school and we can do this for you.

Future Absence

You can also enter notes and approvals in advance, if you know that your child is going to be absent from school (e.g. scheduled medical appointment).

To do this from your homepage,

click on the 'Add Attendance Note/Approval' link listed underneath the name of your child. 

This will take you to the Attendance screen, with a pop-up window to enter details of the note or approval. Here you can select the applicable date range - in the future if required.