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Troubleshooting

Common problems in StaffXP and how to resolve them. Use the contents list on the right to jump to a section, or press Ctrl+F to search this page.

I can't sign in to StaffXP​

Cause — A personal or non-GEMS Microsoft account is being used.

Fix — Click Sign in with Microsoft and use your GEMS M365 email and password — the same login you use for email.

Cause — What you see in the nav bar depends on your access. Attendance, Notices, Activities, Wellbeing and Extra curricular each need their own permission.

Fix — Ask your school leader or administrator to confirm your access. The Training, Reporting and Administration links sit behind the menu icon at the far left, not in the main link row.

The MyDay page looks different from this morning​

Cause — MyDay's look shifts through the day — morning, midday and evening — to match when you're using it.

Fix — Nothing is wrong. The tiles and content are unchanged.

The text is too small to read comfortably​

Cause — Font size is a per-user setting.

Fix — Open the User icon ▸ Settings ▸ Appearance and set Font size to Small, Medium or Large. It applies across the whole platform and saves instantly. High contrast mode and Reduced motion are also there under Accessibility.

The theme won't stay changed​

Cause — Theme is set per user and applies instantly, so there's nothing to save.

Fix — Set it from the User icon (the Theme row at the top of the menu) or in Settings ▸ Appearance. Choose Light, Subtle light, Subtle dark or Dark.

Attendance​

The Submit button on the roll is greyed out​

Cause — At least one student is still on Not yet marked (the ··· default), or you're offline.

Fix — Every student needs a valid status before Submit enables — this is deliberate, so a partial roll can't be sent. Check for unmarked rows, and reconnect if you're offline.

I've submitted the roll and marked someone wrong​

Cause — A submitted roll is locked. There's no direct edit.

Fix — Ask Felix to correct an attendance mark ("I need to correct an attendance mark"). Felix opens a pre-filled correction form — set the corrected mark and a reason, then submit. An attendance officer resolves it from their Correction request tab. This is the only route; you can't edit the locked roll yourself.

Bulk marking skipped some students​

Cause — All present and All absent deliberately skip any student who already holds an approved absence, so a resolved absence is never overwritten.

Fix — Expected behaviour. Adjust individual students afterwards if needed.

I marked the whole column but nothing saved​

Cause — Bulk marking doesn't save on its own.

Fix — After setting the column, click Submit to send the roll. Use Reset on the same column menu to clear pending marks and start again.

I can't see the column action control on the roll​

Cause — Marking a whole column needs Attendance write access. For read-only staff the control is hidden.

Fix — Ask an attendance officer or leader to mark the roll, or request write access.

I can't change a mark on a past session​

Cause — For teachers, past sessions open read-only — you mark only today's column.

Fix — This is expected. An attendance officer can edit a past-dated roll; ask one to make the change.

I can't change a student's approved absence​

Cause — Approved absences are resolved by an attendance officer elsewhere and are locked to teachers.

Fix — Clicking the status opens the absence's details. To change it, ask an attendance officer.

Printing the roll fails​

Cause — Printing fetches the attendance document and needs a live connection.

Fix — Reconnect and click the print icon again.

The View analytics button is disabled​

Cause — Attendance analytics needs Attendance-analytics read access.

Fix — Ask your school leader to grant it. Without it the button stays disabled.

I open Attendance and get a dashboard, not my class calendar​

Cause — The same Attendance nav item opens the teacher page for most staff and the whole-school Attendance overview for school leaders and attendance officers.

Fix — Expected. From the overview, use the Class rolls list below the charts to open any class's roll.

I can't find the officer tabs on the Attendance overview​

Cause — Leave requests, Class rolls, Unresolved attendance, Correction request and Resolved requests are officer-only. Leaders see the dashboard without them.

Fix — Expected. Ask an attendance officer to work those queues.

A roll shows AM/PM when I expected periods​

Cause — A roll inherits the class's year-group attendance setting — either AM/PM or Period, never both.

Fix — Expected. The setting is per year group, not per roll.

I can't see the red Emergency button​

Cause — Declaring an emergency is school-leader-only, and the button lives in the top app toolbar rather than on an Attendance page.

Fix — Ask a school leader to declare it. Taking the emergency roll, by contrast, is for every teacher.

I can't end the emergency​

Cause — Ending an emergency needs the emergency deactivate permission and is leader-only. Coordinators can watch the live muster but can't stand the incident down.

Fix — Ask a school leader to click Turn off emergency protocol — it sits in the top app toolbar and on the Emergency coordinator page.

The emergency roll won't let me pick a date or print​

Cause — Emergency mode is deliberately minimal — no date picker, no print, no birthday cue, and per-period history and Attendance % are hidden.

Fix — Expected. Those controls return when the emergency ends.

I have a student with me who isn't on my roll​

Cause — During an emergency, students may end up with the nearest teacher rather than their own.

Fix — On the Emergency roll, click Students not on roll, click Add, search and pick the student, and add an optional reason (up to 100 characters). They appear in a Not on roll group marked Present and count toward your total. The same student can't be added twice — you'll see an Already added warning.

I can't submit the emergency roll because students are unmarked​

Cause — There is no all-marked gate on an emergency roll.

Fix — Click Submit with what you have. Coordinators chase the rest. The live counter strip shows running Unmarked, Missing and Present totals.

The coordinator pages have disappeared​

Cause — The Emergency coordinator and Muster coordinator pages only exist while an emergency is active.

Fix — Expected. They close when a leader ends the emergency. To review a past incident, a leader opens Attendance ▸ Emergency.

I can't find the emergency history​

Cause — Emergency analytics is leader-only — not available to teachers or attendance officers.

Fix — Ask a school leader. They open Attendance ▸ Emergency, filter by type, term and year, and can print an incident's details page for a debrief.

Notices​

My noticeboard doesn't match a colleague's​

Cause — You only see notices aimed at your audience, and only while they're within their visible dates.

Fix — Expected. Every notice is still available under its own category tab for the audience it targets.

The RSVP button is disabled​

Cause — You can only RSVP once. After that the button is disabled.

Fix — Expected. Note that accepting adds the event to your Outlook calendar — it's a calendar add, not a yes/no reply to the organiser.

I created a notice with RSVP but haven't been told who's coming​

Cause — RSVP confirms attendance for the recipient by adding the event to their calendar. It does not notify the notice author.

Fix — Expected behaviour. Collect attendance another way if you need a list.

I can't see Manage notices​

Cause — Manage notices only appears if you have editing access.

Fix — Ask a school leader for access. If you can see it, you see the notices you created; school leaders also see everyone's.

I can't edit someone else's notice​

Cause — You can only edit a notice that you created.

Fix — Ask the author, or a school leader, to make the change.

Save changes is greyed out when editing a notice​

Cause — Save changes only becomes active once you've changed something.

Fix — Expand the section you want in Edit notice details — Details, Audience type, or Visibility — edit a field, and the button enables.

I can't feature a notice​

Cause — Featuring is a school leader action, and only Active or Scheduled notices can be featured — not Expired ones.

Fix — Ask a school leader. If they hit the daily cap on featured notices, a message explains the notice publishes to the non-featured section instead.

I deleted a notice by mistake​

Cause — Deletion is permanent.

Fix — There's no undo — the notice has to be recreated. Only the staff member who created a notice, or a school leader, can delete one.

Activities​

Next is disabled on the Resource booking step​

Cause — You can skip resource booking entirely, but once you start a booking row you must finish it — pick a resource category and a resource.

Fix — Complete the row, or remove it, and Next enables.

Submit is disabled on Review and submit​

Cause — Submit stays disabled until every required field across all steps is valid.

Fix — An error message appears against each invalid field, so work back through the steps and fix what's flagged. Common misses: the local emergency number under Key contacts (required for excursions, camps and overseas trips, and it must be a valid phone number), and every risk category either listing risks with mitigations or being marked "no risk".

Save and exit is greyed out​

Cause — Save and exit only enables once you've entered an activity name.

Fix — Enter the activity name first. Leaving with unsaved changes prompts you before the work is lost.

The venue I need isn't in the list​

Cause — Only approved venues can be picked from the list.

Fix — Click Request venue on the Activities overview and complete the three-step flow — Venue details, Risk management, Review and submit. Both a public-liability insurance file and an emergency plan file are required before you can submit. You can also start a venue request from inside an activity request while picking a venue.

I can't delete a request​

Cause — Only New / Draft requests show Edit and Delete.

Fix — Once a request is Pending, Approved or Rejected it can't be deleted. A Rejected or More info request reopens instead — to read the review notes or to edit and resubmit.

A coordinator sent my request back and I don't know why​

Cause — Decline and Request more info both require notes, which live on the request row rather than in an email.

Fix — Use View review notes on the request's row to read exactly what the coordinator said.

I can't approve a request — the Approve button is disabled​

Cause — The requested venue clashes with another approved event.

Fix — A Venue conflict detected pop-up names the conflicting event. The clash must be resolved before you can approve.

I can't see the Review action on a Pending request​

Cause — Review only appears on Pending requests, and only for coordinators.

Fix — Ask an activity coordinator or school leader to action it.

I can't find the All activities tab​

Cause — All activities only shows for activity coordinators and super admins.

Fix — Expected. General staff see Your requests; coordinators and leaders see All requests plus a My requests tab for their own submissions.

I duplicated an activity but the dates are blank​

Cause — Replicate clears the dates and times deliberately, so you set fresh ones rather than copying the old schedule.

Fix — Enter the new start and end dates (and the meeting/pick-up times if the activity type uses them). Submit stays disabled until they're filled. The original activity is untouched — Replicate creates a brand-new request.

I can't change a booking on the Booking status tab​

Cause — Booking status is a read-only view.

Fix — Resources are booked from within an activity request, on its Resource booking step.

I can't create anything from the activities calendar​

Cause — The calendar is read-only — it's there to help you pick an available date before you submit.

Fix — Use Request activity on the overview to start a request.

I can't approve or decline a parent volunteer​

Cause — Reviewing parent volunteers is approver-only — activity coordinator, school leader, or super admin. General staff can see the list but not the controls.

Fix — Ask an approver. They can also select several rows and use the batch Approve / Decline actions, or Remove someone already signed off.

Extra-curricular​

The All requests tab isn't showing everything​

Cause — For approvers, All requests opens pre-filtered to Pending — it's the triage queue.

Fix — Clear the Pending chip to see every status. Your own Your requests / My requests tabs always show all statuses.

The Venue details section is locked​

Cause — It stays locked with "Please select event date first" until the event date is set.

Fix — Set the event start and end dates in General information, then return to Venue details.

The event or registration dates won't accept my entry​

Cause — Each start must be before its end, and start dates can't be in the past.

Fix — Adjust the dates so both windows are valid and in the future.

My image or fixtures file won't upload​

Cause — There are limits per file type. An Event image must be ≤10 MB, .png/.jpg/.jpeg, and one file only. Fixtures documents must be ≤10 MB each, .pdf/.doc/.docx.

Fix — Resize or convert the file to fit and try again.

Resource collection is asking for more information​

Cause — If you book anything under Select resources, the Resource collection section then requires Picked up by, Collection date and Return date.

Fix — Complete those three fields, or remove the booking rows if you don't need resources.

A risk category won't let me move on​

Cause — Each risk area — Student list, Activity based, Transport, Staff capacity — must either list risks (each with a mitigation) or be marked as no risk. You can't leave one blank.

Fix — Work through each category and mark it explicitly.

I can't edit my extra-curricular request​

Cause — Edit and Delete are only available while a request is New or Draft.

Fix — Once Pending, Approved or Declined you act on it through Review, View review notes, or Replicate instead.

I can open a request for review but can't act on it​

Cause — The Approve / Decline / More info buttons appear only to staff with approve permission. A coordinator who isn't authorised for that activity can open the request but can't decide it.

Fix — Ask an authorised coordinator or school leader.

A student needs to come off the enrolment before I approve​

Cause — Exclusions are set at review time, not afterwards.

Fix — On the review screen, open the Attendees section and use Exclude students. Those students won't be enrolled when you approve. The control is review-only.

The Waitlist table isn't on the activity​

Cause — The Waitlist table only appears when the activity has a waitlist turned on.

Fix — Waitlists are set at request time with Enable waitlist. Without it, students beyond the maximum can't join.

There are no buttons on the waitlist rows​

Cause — There are no per-row buttons — selecting rows is how you choose who to act on.

Fix — Tick one or more rows. A batch action bar appears with Approve and Remove.

I removed a participant by mistake​

Cause — Removing takes the student off the activity straight away.

Fix — They have to register again, or be approved from the waitlist.

An approved activity isn't showing post-event feedback​

Cause — The post-event feedback section only appears after the activity's end date passes.

Fix — Expected. Check back after the activity has run.

Wellbeing​

The Create wellbeing note button is disabled​

Cause — Creating a note needs Wellbeing write access (pastoral and student-support staff, leaders). It's also disabled when you're offline.

Fix — Reconnect if you're offline. Otherwise ask for write access — read-only staff see the button greyed out.

I picked the wrong student on a note​

Cause — The student is fixed once you publish. The Subject section is hidden when editing.

Fix — A note can't be reassigned to a different student. Cancel or resolve the note and raise a new one against the correct student.

Parents were notified and I didn't intend that​

Cause — Notify parents defaults to On.

Fix — Turn it off before publishing on future notes. Staff notification works the other way — adding any staff member switches it on; leaving it empty leaves it off.

Publish note is disabled​

Cause — It stays disabled until every required field is valid — Title (up to 100 characters), Note type, Description, Sentiment and Priority are all required.

Fix — Complete the missing fields and Publish enables.

My attachment won't upload to a note​

Cause — Note attachments are capped at 10 MB each and limited to .jpg, .png, .pdf, .doc and .docx.

Fix — Resize or convert the file. Comment attachments are one file, max 10 MB, any file type.

Edit details, Add comment and Add task are hidden or disabled​

Cause — A resolved or cancelled case is read-only. An info banner explains this on the case.

Fix — Reopen the case by setting its status back to Active from the status menu, or by ticking it in the landing-page table and clicking Mark Active. It becomes editable again.

I can't change a case's status from the Closed/resolved notes tab​

Cause — Tick-boxes only appear on the active notes list.

Fix — Find the case in the landing page table, tick it, and use the batch action bar. That's the reliable route for status changes.

I just resolved the wrong cases​

Cause — Batch status changes apply to everything ticked.

Fix — The confirmation toast shows an Undo option for about 8 seconds. Clicking it reverts every note to its previous status, even across a mixed selection.

I can't raise a note from a student's profile​

Cause — The Wellbeing tab on a student profile is read-only.

Fix — Work from the Wellbeing area itself to raise a note or manage a case.

The wellbeing table heading says "My wellbeing notes", not "All"​

Cause — The heading reads All wellbeing notes only if you have view-all permission (leaders and coordinators). Otherwise it shows only notes you created or were assigned.

Fix — Expected. Ask a leader if you need the wider view.

The metrics cards won't filter the table​

Cause — The metrics cards are read-only summary figures, not clickable filters.

Fix — Use the table's own search and priority filter instead.

I can't find a task assigned to me​

Cause — Tasks live across cases rather than in one list on the landing page.

Fix — Click Track my notes on the Wellbeing landing page and open the Open tasks tab. It defaults to showing Open tasks — clear or change the status filter to see completed and cancelled ones.

I deleted a task by mistake​

Cause — Deleting a task is permanent. The confirmation warns that the action cannot be undone.

Fix — The task has to be recreated. To move a task out of the way instead, set its Status to Cancelled rather than deleting it.

Notifications​

The bell badge doesn't match the tab counts on the Notifications page​

Cause — The two views count differently. In the bell panel, the tag on each tab shows the unread count and the bell badge is the combined unread across both tabs. On the full Notifications page, the same-looking tag shows the total number of items in that tab.

Fix — Expected. Use the All / Unread / Read filter on the page to narrow to what you want.

I can't find a mark-as-read button​

Cause — Clicking a notification row marks it read. There's no separate control.

Fix — Click the row. A Message then takes you to what it's about; an Alert just marks read, as alerts don't link anywhere.

I stopped getting pop-ups​

Cause — A pop-up only appears when Push notifications is on and Do not disturb is off. Either one switched off stops them.

Fix — Check Do not disturb in the bell panel header, and Push notifications under Settings ▸ Notifications. Do not disturb is remembered between sessions.

Items still arrive while Do not disturb is on​

Cause — Do not disturb only stops the on-screen pop-up toast.

Fix — Expected. Notifications still arrive in the panel and the bell badge still updates, so nothing is missed.

There's no navigation link to the Notifications page​

Cause — The bell panel is the only way in.

Fix — Click the bell, then View all at the bottom of the panel.

The Notifications page only shows 10 items​

Cause — The page loads the first 10 and pages from there.

Fix — Click Load more to reveal another 10 at a time. Switching tab or changing the filter resets the list back to the first 10.

Dismiss all didn't clear everything​

Cause — Favourited notifications are kept; everything else is removed.

Fix — Expected. Note the two Dismiss all controls behave differently: in the bell panel it clears immediately with no confirmation, while on the Notifications page it asks first.

I get different notifications from my colleagues​

Cause — The system decides which notifications to send based on your role and responsibilities.

Fix — Expected. The bell, panel and controls are the same for everyone; only the contents differ.

Student profiles​

The search isn't returning students​

Cause — Search needs at least 2 characters, results appear after a short pause, and searching for students needs search access.

Fix — Type at least two characters and wait a moment. Results split into Pages and Students. If the Students section doesn't appear at all, you don't have search access for students — ask an administrator.

A profile field shows a dash​

Cause — An empty field shows a dash (—).

Fix — Normal, not an error. It means the school holds no value for that field.

An alert icon won't open​

Cause — Only active alerts are clickable. A muted or greyed icon means the alert isn't on file for that student.

Fix — Expected. The four icons — Custody, Physical, Learning, Medical — stay in place even when inactive, so the row reads the same for every student.

I need to know who can collect a student​

Cause — Custody detail lives on a different tab from the alert.

Fix — Click the active Custody icon on At a glance — it takes you to the Caregivers tab. Check Custody arrangements and the Authorised contacts table there before releasing the student to anyone.

I can't edit a student's record​

Cause — Student profiles are read-only throughout — you view and copy, you don't edit.

Fix — Expected. Contact whoever maintains student records at your school.

Cause — Each link only appears when that document exists.

Fix — Where nothing is attached, the section shows a "nothing attached" line instead. Expected behaviour, not a fault.

I can't change my own profile details​

Cause — Your profile page is a read-only view of your account, not an editor. The data comes from your organisation's directory.

Fix — Ask whoever manages your directory account to change the detail. A card with nothing on file shows Not provided.​

AI & Felix​

I can't find an agent anywhere in the navigation​

Cause — None of the agents has a menu, button or tile. They are built as standalone products, and StaffXP reaches them through Felix.

Fix — Expected. Open Felix and describe what you want. See How Felix and the AI agents work for what each agent answers to.

Felix returned nothing when I asked for a dashboard​

Cause — StaffXP has several dashboards, so dashboard on its own doesn't identify one.

Fix — Name it: rewards dashboard, attendance risk dashboard. You don't have to match the wording in this guide exactly — close and near matches are recognised — but the identifying word has to be there.

Felix picked the wrong student, or can't find the one I mean​

Cause — Felix matches on close spelling. A misspelling that is also a real word can't be told apart from what you actually typed.

Fix — Check the name and student ID Felix offers before confirming. If several students match, they're all listed — pick from those. If Felix says it can't identify the student, retype the name in full rather than rephrasing the request.

The attendance risk figures are out of date​

Cause — The attendance compliance checker isn't real time. It runs to a schedule set per school in CE — daily, weekly, or at a longer interval — and shows the results of its last run.

Fix — Check the Last updated and Next update labels beside the risk tiles. Attendance taken since the last run isn't reflected until the next one. If the cadence is too slow for your school, ask your school admin to change the schedule in CE.

I asked Felix to run the attendance risk report and nothing happened​

Cause — The checker can't be triggered on demand. Analysing every student in scope is too heavy to run on request.

Fix — Expected. Felix queues the request rather than running it — you'll get a message saying so. Wait for the next scheduled run.

The attendance risk dashboard has no risk bands, or is empty​

Cause — No attendance thresholds have been configured for your school, so the agent has nothing to sort students against.

Fix — Ask your school admin to set them in CE. Until they exist no student can be banded, and the leave request approver can't assess risk either.

The recommendations on a student's risk profile look generic​

Cause — Your school's intervention library is missing or thin. The must do list is drawn from it.

Fix — Ask your school admin to upload the intervention library in CE. Without it the recommendations come from the model's general reasoning rather than school policy, so they're neither controlled nor repeatable.

A leave request was approved without anyone reviewing it​

Cause — Your school has auto-approval switched on for that leave type and absence reason.

Fix — Expected, but worth checking. Auto-approval doesn't weigh anything up — it doesn't look at attendance, academic performance, or how often the student has been away. If a reason shouldn't be approved unseen, ask your school admin to take it off the list in CE.

The AI recommendation on a leave request says it can't assess risk​

Cause — No attendance thresholds are configured for the school, so the agent has nothing to compare the student's attendance against.

Fix — Decide the request on what's in front of you — the reason, the attachments, and any sibling request. Ask your school admin to configure thresholds in CE so future recommendations carry the attendance picture.

I approved or declined a leave request by mistake​

Cause — The decision takes effect immediately.

Fix — An undo is offered for roughly 15 to 20 seconds afterwards. Take it and the request returns to the queue to be decided again.

Cause — Consent flags are mandatory. A class update can't publish while one is outstanding.

Fix — Work through each flag. Either click Apply to take the suggested fix, or close the suggestion and edit the field yourself — for example by removing that student from the birthday list. Then select the classes and preview again to re-run the check.

A student's name shows as "a student" in the class update​

Cause — The suggested fix for a consent flag replaces the name rather than removing the entry.

Fix — If you'd rather the student didn't appear at all, close the suggestion and edit the birthday field directly to remove them.

The class update won't fill in learning topics​

Cause — There's no teaching-programme data source for the agent to draw them from.

Fix — Type them into the Learning topics field yourself. Events, birthdays and assignments due are filled in automatically; learning topics and reminders are yours to write.

I can't edit the events or assignments in a class update​

Cause — Those sections are read-only by design. They're generated from class data, the timetable and assignments, and are meant to be corrected at the source.

Fix — Fix the underlying event or assignment record. Birthdays is the exception and can be edited, so a student can be removed.

My photo or video won't attach to a class update​

Cause — There are size limits: 5 MB per image and 25 MB per video.

Fix — Resize or compress the file. Note the warning shown on any attached media — Felix can't check faces against consent records, so check your own photos before publishing.

The student progress report won't open​

Cause — The report comes from a separate agent rather than from Felix itself, so it doesn't open in the canvas automatically.

Fix — Click Open canvas. The extra click is expected, not a fault.

I can't run a progress report for the period I want​

Cause — The maximum period is five weeks, set by how much assignment data can be pulled and processed at once.

Fix — Run several shorter reports to cover a longer stretch.

A mark or rubric on the progress report is wrong​

Cause — The report is read-only. The data comes from Microsoft Teams Assignments.

Fix — Correct it in Teams. The report picks the change up next time it's run.

The progress report shows no reading or maths progress data​

Cause — Learning accelerator data — Reading Progress, Maths Progress, Speaker Progress — only appears where the student has actually used those Teams activities.

Fix — Expected, not a fault. Nothing is shown for a student who has none.

No postcard or notification went out for a reward I logged​

Cause — Your school may collect logs and send postcards, certificates and notifications in a batch rather than one at a time.

Fix — Expected. Felix shows the settings that apply before you send — check them there. They're set per class and per school by your school admin in CE, not by you.

Felix suggested the wrong value for a reward​

Cause — Felix matches the reason in your prompt against the school's values framework. Recognising intent from free text is still being improved.

Fix — Pick the right value yourself before sending, or switch to the Consequence tab. Nothing is logged until you send.

Felix says a similar wellbeing note already exists​

Cause — A guardrail stops the same incident being recorded twice. A very similar note was created for that student a short time ago.

Fix — Edit the existing note instead, cancel, or ask Felix for fresh suggestions. Check the earlier note before creating a second one.

Felix says my year group doesn't exist when I create a notice​

Cause — Felix checks what you type against your school's data before going any further.

Fix — Correct the year group and carry on. This is the check working, not a fault.

The notices summary missed something I know was posted​

Cause — "Missed" currently means notices created in the past 24 hours, in the categories you follow. It doesn't yet mean unread.

Fix — Open Notices for anything older, and check your interests are set — see Follow notice categories.

I can't open a class update I've already published​

Cause — A published class update is saved as a PDF in CE, which most teaching staff have no licence for.

Fix — Parents receive the update in the Parent Experience Platform as normal, so publishing has worked. A route for teachers to open their own published updates is being built — until it ships, ask a member of staff with CE access if you need a copy.