Adding Response Blocks (RSVP, Consent, and More)
A news item can be purely informational, or it can ask families for a response. Responses are structured using "blocks" — each block captures a specific type of information. You pick the blocks relevant to your event, an
What Response Blocks Are
Rather than a free-form questionnaire, the News system uses a fixed set of response block types. Each block collects a specific kind of information from the family. You combine the blocks you need for a given news item — a concert RSVP might use three blocks together, while a simple announcement uses none.
This approach keeps the response experience simple for families and keeps your reporting predictable.
Available Response Blocks
Acknowledgement — a simple confirmation that the family has read and noted the information. Families see a checkbox labelled "I acknowledge" — no additional input required beyond ticking it.
RSVP — yes, maybe, or no. Used for events where you need to know if the student will be attending. The RSVP block also includes an optional number attending field, so families can indicate how many people are coming (useful for seating or catering estimates).
Dietary requirements — a free-text area for families to note any dietary needs or allergies. Typically paired with RSVP for events with catering.
Consent — a formal consent block used for excursions, recordings, or any situation where written consent is needed. Families must enter their full name before the consent buttons activate. Once a name is entered, they can select "I consent" or "I do not consent". Both the name and the decision are recorded.
Combining Blocks
You can include any combination of blocks in a single news item. A common combination for a performance event might be RSVP + dietary, or consent + RSVP. The order of the blocks in the response form follows a fixed display order: Acknowledgement, RSVP, Consent, Dietary.
Leaving all response blocks unchecked makes the news item informational only. Families will see it in their hub feed as a notification to read, but there will be no form to fill in.
The Notes Field
Every response form includes an optional free-text Notes field at the bottom, regardless of which blocks you've selected. This gives families a place to add anything that doesn't fit neatly into the structured fields — for example, "we'll arrive late" or "please seat us near the exit". Notes are visible to you in the response report.
Allow Response Updates
When configuring response blocks, you can choose whether families are allowed to update their response after submitting. If updates are not allowed, a response is locked once submitted — the family can view what they submitted but cannot change it. If updates are allowed, the most recent submission replaces the previous one, and the system records who made the update and when.
How Families Respond
When a news item with response blocks reaches a family, it appears in their Family Hub feed as a notification requiring action. The family opens the news item and sees the response form based on the blocks you've included.
If families received the news item via an email link (see Publishing, Editing, and Versioning), they can respond directly from that link without needing to log in to the Hub. The link is personalised to each recipient and works on any device.
Responding for Multiple Students
If a parent has more than one student in the target list, they see a row of pill-buttons at the top of the response form — one per student. They select a student, fill in the response, and click Next student to move through each one in turn. The form tracks which students still need a response and advances automatically to the next pending student after each submission.
Once a response is submitted for a student, their hub feed notification is marked as complete for that student.
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