Part 5. Administration

5.2 The school

Version 1.0 ·Updated 2026-10-07

Next reviewed by 2027-04-07.

Written for a school's staff learning how Kestrel works, the trainers who teach them, and the families using the portal.

The school's name, language and state, its colours and logo, the home panels staff see, and the terms, bells and rooms that give the year its shape.

Written forITBusiness managerPrincipal and executive

What this group is for

The group "The school" says who the school is and when it runs. It has the facts each other module leans on: the state the school is registered in, the language and currency reports use, the colours the console wears, the terms and the bells. Set these first, because the setup list checks several of them.

Who uses it

The IT administrator and the business manager set most of these. The principal reads them. The calendar and bells are usually set by whoever builds the timetable, and the business manager's guide has a task for the calendar.

Key ideas

Registered in: The state or country the school is registered in: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, New Zealand or England. It decides which returns apply, which health obligations the health centre follows and which attendance code set is offered.
Palette and band: The accent and neutral colours of the console, and the school colours of the line under the band across the top and of the crest.
Cycle: The number of days before the timetable repeats, such as a ten-day cycle. Each term records its length and which day of the cycle it starts on.
Bells: A named set of periods with a code, a label and start and end times. A term uses one set of bells.

Screens

School
/app/settings/school
The school's name, language, currency, state, how long a merge can be reversed and when a former student counts as an alumnus.
Theme
/app/settings/theme
The palette, the band and the logo, with a preview and a check that the colours are readable.
Home
/app/settings/home
A tick box for each panel of the console home, to switch a panel off for all staff.
Year levels
/app/settings/year-levels
The colour of each year level's chip, chosen by the school or taken in turn.
Calendar
/app/settings/calendar
The terms of each campus, with the days of the year at a glance.
Bells and rooms
/app/settings/bells
The sets of bells and the rooms the timetable uses.
Dashboards
/app/settings/dashboards
The tiles each role reads on its home. Each tile runs one standard report when it is opened.

The school screen

Row	What it changes
School name	The name shown across the console and in documents.
Language	The default language.
Reports in	The currency, with Australian dollars as the default.
A merge can be reversed for	The number of days a merge of two records can be undone.
Counts as an alumnus	When a former student appears in the alumni list of the Students search and how the waitlist rules treat them.
Registered in	The state, which drives the state returns, the health centre obligations and the attendance code set.

A save bar with a discard button appears when you change a row.

Choosing the school's colours

Open "Theme" and choose a shipped theme in "Start from".
Adjust the accent and neutral colours, then the school colour of the line under the band and the rule colour of the crest.
Add the school's logo as a web address in "Logo". If you leave it empty, the school's initials show instead.
Read the preview, then the checks. Kestrel tests contrast against the WCAG AA standard in light and dark mode. A palette that would be unreadable is refused with the title "This palette would be refused".
Save. Status colours are not changed by the palette.

Terms, bells and rooms

On "Calendar", each campus has its own terms. Choose "Add a term" and give its label, number, start and end, the bells it uses, the days in the cycle and the first day of the cycle, then "Save the term". Below the terms, the year at a glance shows each day's kind and its day of the cycle. Its legend reads: D4 is a school day on Day 4 of the cycle, S a staff day and H a holiday.

On "Bells and rooms", choose "Add bells" to name a set, say how many days are in the cycle and add a period for each bell with "Add a period". Use "Retire these bells" when a set is no longer used. To add a room, choose "Add a room" and give its code, name, kind and seats, then "Save the room".

Tasks

Set the school's name, language and state.
Add the year's terms. Set the terms and school days
Add the bells and rooms. Set the bells and rooms
Choose the school's colours and logo.
Switch off a home panel the school does not use.

Journeys that use this chapter

Settings

A panel switched off in "Home" is hidden from each member of staff at the school. On "Year levels", the colour of a chip is either "Chosen by the school." or "Takes its colour in turn." Both are display choices and change no record.

Training notes

Explain the cycle with an example from the school, such as a ten-day cycle, before asking staff to set a term.
Show the contrast check on the theme screen so a colour choice is not a surprise.
Keep the logo's address stable. A moved file leaves the initials showing.