Setting Up and Managing Cover Cycles

Use Manage Cover Cycles to create, edit or delete cover cycles in the Cover Manager module. Cover cycles are periods of time, usually terms, which you must select to use when arranging cover.

An example of Manage Cover Cycles is shown below:

Create or Edit a Cover Cycle

To create or edit a cover cycle, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Cover Manager module and select the Configuration tab.
2. Select Manage Cover Cycles from the right hand menu.
3. Either:
   • Click Create Cycle to add a new cover cycle.
     or

   • Click  in a selected cover cycle to edit it.
     An example of the window displayed is shown below:

     

4. Complete the sections in the Cycle Details tab. More information is shown below:

   Section	Explanation
   Cycle Details	Cycle Name. Enter a name for the cover cycle. Use a unique name which is easy to identify. Cycle Code. This is automatically filled when you enter a cycle name. It used as a short name for the cycle  when space is limited. You can choose to override the automatically generated name, if required. Academic Year. Select the academic year for the cycle. Cover cycles are listed by academic year in the module. The year you choose does not change the data drawn in from the Timetable Manager module.
   Date Information	Start Date. Enter a start date for the cover cycle. Finish Date. Enter a finish date for the cover cycle. Term dates are a common choice for a cover cycle but you can choose to set other cover cycle dates, if required. Do not change the Date Information if you have already started using a cover cycle.

5. Select the Cycle Division tab and allocate a school division to your cycle. Care must be taken when allocating divisions for your cover cycle, you must ensure that divisions have been allocated to staff in the Human Resource Manager module.
   Either:
   • Select a division from the list displayed to allocate to your cover cycle. This is useful if you want to manage cover for the junior and senior school separately. Select 'All Divisions' to include the entire school in your cover cycle.
     or
   • Hold Ctrl and select multiple divisions, if required.
6. Select the Cycle Rollover tab to copy information held in other cover cycles. This saves time when you have setup data, such as staff parameters and availability, which remains unchanged between cover cycles. This tab is only available when you first setup a cover cycle.

7. Click Save & Close.
   Your cover cycle is displayed in Manage Cover Cycles with the divisions and dates you have allocated to it. Basic teacher statistics are listed under icons to assist you with managing cover. Hover over an icon in Manage Cover Cycles to see a reminder of its meaning. An explanation of the icons displayed is show below:

   Icon	Explanation
   	The average number of covers per available teacher. This helps you to monitor the amount of cover your teachers are committed to.
   	The number of teachers available for cover.
   	The number of teachers suspended from covering lessons. These teachers are linked to the Cover Manager module but are not available for cover at present. Suspended teachers appear in logs and statistics in the module when they have covered lessons in the past.
   	The number of teachers excluded from covering lessons. These teachers are linked to the Cover Manager module and are no longer available for cover. Excluded teachers are not listed in logs or statistics anywhere in the module, even if they have covered lessons in the past. This can be used for teachers who have now left the school.
   	The number of staff listed in the Human Resources Manager module which are linked with the Cover Manager module. Only staff you have filtered to link with the Cover Manager module are listed, for example choose to only link 'Teaching Staff'.
   	This is not currently in use.
   	Click to edit the cover cycle settings.
   	Click to delete the cover cycle. Do not use if the cover cycle is already in use as all records associated with the cycle are removed.

Delete a Cover Cycle

Only delete cover cycles that have not been used. Deleting a cycle removes all cover records arranged during that cycle.

To remove a cover cycle from the Cover Manager module, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Cover Manager module and select the Configuration tab.
2. Select Manage Cover Cycles from the right hand menu.
   
3. Either:
   • Click  in your selected cover cycle.
     You are prompted Are you sure you want to delete this cycle?
     or
   • Click Delete All Cycles.
     You are prompted Are you sure you want to delete all the cycles?
4. Click Yes.
   A log of your actions is kept in the Logging tab but no details of the cover cycles are kept.