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Groups

View and manage groups

Product Team avatar
Written by Product Team
Updated over 2 weeks ago

What are Groups?

The Groups area in Tools allows you to manage all group types used across your school, including:

  • Teaching groups – For curriculum-based classes

  • Registration groups – For form or tutor groups

  • Custom groups – Used for extracurricular, pastoral, or ad hoc groupings

Groups can be created manually or via scheduled data imports from your MIS or Timetabler.

View groups

🔒 The actions within this section are controlled by the Group setup and Custom groups permissions

To access the Groups list, go to Tools > School > Groups. By default this is set to show groups of the current academic year.

Use the academic year selector to browse a different year if needed. Future years are only supported for Satchel One MIS users.

Filter groups

Use the search bar to locate a group by name. For more options, select More Filters, where you can narrow down results by:

Click on More Filters, where you can refine results by:

  • Type - Teaching group, registration group, or custom

  • Subject

  • Year group

  • Teacher

  • State - Active or inactive.

Actions

  • Click View to see more details and edit a group

  • Click Delete to permanently remove a gorup

Bulk enrolment

🔒 The actions within this section are controlled by the Bulk enrolment permission

Use Bulk enrolment to update students' group memberships at scale, using a spreadsheet-style grid. This is especially useful for handling termly class rotations or making bulk group changes mid-year.

Select groups

To get started, navigate to Tools > School > Groups.

Use the search bar to find specific groups by name, or click More filters to narrow down the list, e.g. by Year group and Subject.

Once you've selected the groups, click Actions > Bulk enrolment. In the pop-up, choose the effective date for the group changes. This is when the updated memberships will begin.

Select students

In the next step, use the search and filters to find the students you want to update. Select all relevant students, then click Done.

You’ll now move into the editable grid where changes can be made.

Update group memberships

In this step, you'll see a table with your selected students as rows and groups as columns. Memberships can be edited just like a spreadsheet.

  • Students currently in group will shown with a Y.

  • Add students to a group by typing Y in the corresponding cell

  • Remove students from a group by leaving a cell empty.

You can right-click on cells and columns to use bulk actions:

  • Rotate right - Shift selected values one column to the right.

  • Rotate right - Shift selected values one column to the left.

  • Invert - Swap the current selection: remove existing students from the group and add those who were not in it.

💡 These edits apply only from the effective date selected earlier. No past enrolments will be affected.

Once you’ve reviewed your changes, click Save to apply the updates.

Group details

Click View beside any group to access the full information.

Select Edit in the Details section to update basic information such as the group name, code, or dates.

Staff and Students currently associated with the group will be listed in their respective sections.

You can remove them by clicking Delete or Edit their record to update start or end date of their membership. Click ➕ to add link more users to this group.

Teachers do not need to be linked to a group in order to view it or issue homework, but linking ensures visibility on the My Classes page.

Create groups

🔒 The actions within this section are controlled by the Group setup and Custom groups permissions

Groups are typically created automatically through imports:

  • Timetabler imports (for Satchel One MIS)

  • Wonde, Groupcall XoD or RM/Glow (for supported MIS integrations)

However you can also create groups manually, particularly for custom groups for extracurricular or pastoral purposes.

  1. Go to Tools > School > Groups:

  2. Click Create

  3. Enter

    • Group name - Visible to staff and students

    • Group code - Can match the name if short/long names aren't used

    • Start date - Defaults to today

    • End date - Must fall within the current academic year

  4. Choose a Group type

    • Custom group - requires no additional details

    • Teaching group - requires year, subject, and level

    • Registration group - requires year, subject, and level

  5. Click Save

Next, add staff and students to the group by clicking ➕ and following the instructions on the screen.

FAQ

Question

Answer

Can I create groups in advance for next year?

Yes, but only if your school uses Satchel One MIS.

What happens if I delete a group?

Deleting a group is permanent and will remove all current and historic memberships.

Do teachers need to be in groups to set homework?

No, but linking them ensures the group appears in My Classes, which makes it easier to manage. Alternatively, any teacher can search for a group and mark it as Favourite to add it to their list.

Can I use Bulk enrolment to add students to new groups next year?

Use the Add to groups action on the Student Directory for academic year setup. It’s designed specifically for assigning new students to multiple groups in bulk, including to groups in future academic years.

Can I backdate group changes using Bulk enrolment?

No, updates will only apply from the date you select during setup. To edit historic memberships, use the student profile or individual group view.

Will Bulk enrolment remove students from groups they’re not listed in?

Only if you leave a group cell blank for a group the student was previously in.

It will not remove any students from groups that were not included in this update.

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