We’re excited to welcome you back and can’t wait to kick off the new school year together! As we gear up for the year ahead, we invite you to explore the resources in this blog post to help set you up for success in 2026. Your hard work and dedication make all the difference, and we’re here to support you every step of the way!
Back to School Webinars
Back to School Webinars – YouTube playlist
Kick off Term 1 with our Back to School Webinars playlist! Click the link above to access the webinar recordings where we dive into everything you need to hit the ground running, including teacher fundamentals, administrative essentials, and an in-depth attendance walkthrough.
Please note that the content covered in these webinars is targeted towards VIC schools.
Product Updates
⭐️ Events Enhancements ⭐️
These exciting enhancements to the Events module give Event Administrators the ability to configure additional fields and predefine important event information at the template level. Designed to improve event management, these enhancements save time during the review and approval process and streamline event creation and communication with families.
If you would like the new Events enhancements enabled in your Compass portal, please get in touch with our Support Team.
Key features:
- New transport fields: Clearly communicate transport details to and from an event, including means of transport, arrival and departure points, times, dates and destinations.
- Mandatory and locked template fields: Template fields can now be set as mandatory or locked. When a field is mandatory, the staff member creating the Event must complete it. When a field is locked, it is configured at the template level and cannot be changed by the staff member creating the Event.
- Conditional questions: Allows your schools to create more specific and targeted questions.
- Mandatory review and sign-off: Review and sign-off can be required before submitting it for approval or before publishing. This supports staff sign-off on risk and compliance requirements, ensuring all necessary checks are completed at the correct stage.
- Automatic reminder notifications: Configure upcoming Event and consent/payment reminders to send to families, with the additional option to conveniently send push notifications.
Available in VIC, NSW, QLD, NT, SA & WA Independent
⭐️ Merge duplicate staff and parent accounts ⭐️
Staff with the UserRecordsAdmin permission can now merge duplicate parent and staff accounts directly from the Compass portal. This new self-service feature streamlines user record management and puts more control in the hands of your school – saving time and helping you manage user records efficiently!
You can merge duplicate staff and parent accounts by following the steps below:
- In People Management, search for and select the duplicate accounts you would like to merge
- Click ‘Actions’
- Click ‘Merge People’
- Select the account you wish to retain
- Enter your email address – you will receive an email confirming whether the merge was successful or unsuccessful
- Click ‘Merge’
This update is relevant to VIC Gov & Catholic schools
⭐️ Chronicle Sickbay and Meeting Enhancements ⭐️
We’ve introduced several improvements to Chronicle that make it easier for staff to manage Sickbay and Meeting entries and streamline follow-up required.
- Default “Today” filter: Sickbay grids will now automatically display entries from today, helping staff quickly access the most relevant information.
- Resolve entries directly from the grid: Staff can now fully or partially resolve (when more than one student is involved) Sickbay or Meeting entries directly from the grid.
- New “Resolved/Unresolved” filter: Easily locate entries based on their resolution status with an additional filter designed to streamline follow-up.
If you would like this feature turned on in your school’s portal, please contact our Support Team!
Available in VIC, NSW, QLD, NT, SA & WA Independent
⭐️ Create a Chronicle Entry when sending emails to a Student’s Parent/Guardian ⭐️
When sending email communications to a student’s parents or guardians via the student’s User Profile or the Class Page, a Chronicle entry is automatically created and captures the details of the communication sent. This update ensures that relevant staff at your school can keep track of important communications sent to students’ parents or guardians.
Compass Administrators can enable this feature by following the steps below:
- In the Chronicle module, click on the ‘Administration’ tab
- Click on the ‘Categories’ tab
- Click ‘Settings’
- Tick ‘Enable Chronicle Entry when sending emails to parents’, then save
The ‘Email Communication’ template will now appear under the ‘Templates’ tab. This template is used to automatically create the Chronicle entry.
To ensure staff security and visibility are configured to meet your school’s needs, you can edit the template and review the template security settings.
Available in VIC, NSW, QLD, NT, SA & WA Independent
⭐️ Enhancements to widget item colours in Pulse ⭐️
We’ve released exciting new updates to the colours in Pulse, unifying them so that graphs use the same colours for the same items, along with three different colour modes. These changes are designed to make it easier to compare data and identify trends across different widgets.
Available in VIC, NSW, QLD, NT, SA & WA Independent
⭐️ VIC: ‘Modified Timetable’ Attendance Code (627) ⭐️
In alignment with DET requirements, Victorian schools are now able to select the ‘Modified Timetable (627)’ attendance code when creating Attendance Notes and School Activities in Compass.
For more information on the Modified (Reduced Hours) Timetable policy, please click here!
This update is relevant to VIC schools
Click here to stay up-to-date with all of our Customer Updates! We’re always rolling out exciting new features, and our blog is the best place to catch them first. Keep an eye on your Compass dashboard for alerts – you won’t want to miss what’s coming next!
Tip: You can also access our Customer Updates via your Compass portal by clicking on the cog icon > Customer Updates.
We also highly recommend joining our Compass Schools Community Facebook page to stay in the loop on product updates and exciting events, and to share tips and ideas with other schools in our Compass family! It’s a great space to connect, collaborate, and celebrate wins together.
VIC: Government & Catholic
Rollover
Make sure you’ve completed your rollover before the beginning of Term 1 with our ‘Get Ready for 2026!’ blog post. With step-by-step guides, webinar recordings, tips, tricks and more, this blog post has everything you need to complete the rollover process.
For more information, please search ‘Rollover’ in the search bar of your Compass portal to access the relevant Knowledge Base articles.
Attendance Guides
Our Attendance Guides are here to help you stay on top of what’s happening throughout the school day and ensure smooth attendance exports to CASES21. These resources are packed with best practices to help you streamline attendance tracking in Compass:
- Victorian Secondary Schools – Attendance Best Practice
- Victorian Primary Schools – Attendance Best Practice
Permissions
Keep your portal protected and ensure staff have access to all the areas they need to complete their day-to-day tasks in Compass. Managing permissions is key to smooth operations and data security. For step-by-step guidance on setting up and managing permissions, check out the resources below:
Teacher Resources
There’s so much you can accomplish with your Compass portal – and we’re here to make it easier than ever! Download our ‘Teaching Staff: How-To Guide’ for simple, step-by-step instructions that will help you navigate the platform like a pro. Save time, streamline tasks, and focus on what matters most!
Teaching Staff: How-To Guide
Download the guide here and find all of the steps teaching staff need to complete day-to-day tasks in Compass!
Compass Academy
Boost your skills and confidence with our short, self-paced online courses available through Compass Academy! Whether you’re just getting started or want to brush up on the essentials, these courses are designed to help you hit the ground running. Start with the courses below to kickstart your learning:
Parent & Guardian Guides
Help your new and existing families make the most of Compass by sharing our Parent Guides and FAQs linked below. Empower them with the tools and knowledge they need to stay connected and engaged throughout the school year!
Looking to share login details with parents and guardians? Check out our easy-to-follow guide here to get started!
For more tips and tricks, check out our YouTube playlist here!
Training & Support
Looking for more training? You can get in contact with our Training Team by filling out our training request form here, or by emailing training@compass.education.
We highly recommend booking your training session in advance due to limited availability, particularly during busy periods.
For any other questions or further support, please reach out to our Support Team on (03) 9005 5217, or via LiveChat (accessible via the blue support widget in your Compass portal).