Start here

Open your school’s page

Every school on OS for Schools has its own address, such as yourschool.osforschools.com. Your school gives you this address, often on a notice, in a message or by SMS. Open it in any web browser — Chrome on a computer or phone works best.

Sign in

1. 1

   Type your email address, your student or employee ID, or your phone number — whichever your school gave you.

2. 2

   Type your password.

3. 3

   Tick Remember me only on a phone or computer that is yours alone.

4. 4

   Press Sign In. You arrive at your own home screen, called My Workspace.

   

The first time you sign in, you may be asked to choose your own password. Pick one you have not used anywhere else, at least eight characters long.

Your home screen

My Workspace shows what matters to you today, and nothing else. A teacher sees today’s lessons and registers; a bursar sees the day’s fees; a parent sees each child. The numbers are live: they change as the school’s work is done.

The menu

The menu runs down the left of the screen on a computer. On a phone it opens from the menu button at the top left, and two round buttons sit at the bottom right: the magnifying glass searches, and the other opens announcements and messages — the small number on it counts what you have not read. Drag them aside if they cover something. Everyone sees only the pages their job needs, so your menu may be shorter or longer than a colleague’s.

Every menu ends the same way: the School Calendar, Messages, My Account and Help & Support.

Find anything

The search box at the top of every page finds a pupil, a member of staff, a parent, a class, a course, a library book or a fee bill — type a few letters of a name or a number. On a computer, press Ctrl and K together (⌘ and K on a Mac) to jump to it from anywhere. You only ever find what your job lets you see.

Messages and notifications

• The bell at the top of the screen shows notifications — a bill issued, a report card published, a leave request approved. A number on the bell tells you how many are new.
• Messages holds private conversations about a pupil. A teacher or the school office writes to a parent; the parent is told, and replies in the same conversation.
• Announcements from the school — a PTA meeting, a holiday, a fees reminder — appear on your home screen and on the Announcements page.

Your account

Open My Account from the menu, or press your picture or initials at the top right.

Profile

Your name, photo and phone number.

Password & Security

Change your password, add two-step sign-in, and sign out of other devices.

Notification Preferences

Choose which notifications reach you, and how.

Appearance

Light or dark screens, and the colours you prefer.

Help & Support

This manual, and a way to ask for help or report a problem.

Use it on your phone

OS for Schools works in your phone’s browser. You can also add it to your home screen, so it opens like an app:

• Android (Chrome): open your school’s page, press the three dots at the top right, then Install app or Add to Home screen.
• iPhone (Safari): open your school’s page, press the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.

When a new version is available

We improve OS for Schools often. When a new version is ready, a message appears saying so, with a Refresh button. Press it at a convenient moment — finish what you are typing first. If a page ever looks out of date, close every OS for Schools tab and open it again.

Getting help

• Help & Support, at the end of your menu, opens this manual and lets you send a question or report a problem to the people who run OS for Schools.
• For your account — a forgotten password, a missing page, a wrong name — your school’s IT administrator can help first.
• Locked out completely? Open osforschools.com/support from any browser: it works without signing in.