This article advises how to create reports using Arbor's Custom Report Writer, detailing methods such as using templates, building from scratch, and importing reports. It emphasises the importance of checking permissions, offers a step-by-step process for report creation, and highlights available support resources for troubleshooting and advanced reporting features.
How long will it take?
- Check permissions - 5 minutes
- Create using a template - 5 minutes, but longer if you wish to customise
- Build from scratch - Can be as little as 5 minutes for a basic report, or up to 30 minutes for more complex reports
- Import - 5 minutes, but longer if you wish to customise
Check permissions
Ensure that everyone in your school has the right permissions to access data through the Custom Report Writer:
- You need the School: General Admin: Export Data permission to access this area of Arbor and create reports in your own area
- The Custom Report Writer: Superuser permission lets you see all reports at your school
See our guidance here on how to make sure everyone has the right level of access: Who can access Custom Report Writer reports and fields?
Creating your report
Go to School > Custom Report Writer to access the All Reports page. Here you can see and manage all of your reports - more details here: The All Reports page.
From here, click the green Create New Report button in the top right-hand corner of the page.
Create a report from a template
These are our built-in reporting templates - select the template you would like to use and click Create Report from Template. There's more detail about what these reports include in the links below.
- Student Starter Template
- Leavers
- Parent Contact Details
- Attendance of ASP Groups
- Covid-19 Related Absences or Covid-19 Related Absences 2020/2021
- Single Central Staff Record
- Free School Meal Students' Primary Guardian information for Supermarket Vouchers - this was used during the Covid-19 school closures, so you won't need to use this template.
The date range will pull in any students who were enrolled in your school between these dates into your report.
In Step 2 of the wizard, you'll find all the fields pre-populated with the info you need so you can click the Skip setup wizard link at the bottom of the page.
This will take you to the report's Edit page. You can then click Save & View report to finish your report.
Import a custom report
Follow the steps to import a report from another source, so you don't need to set it up from scratch.
- If your school is part of a MAT, you can send report templates across to other schools to ensure you're all reporting in the same way. Follow the details here: Importing a Custom Report Writer template or exporting a template to send to another school
- We have a growing resource of commonly requested pre-built templates available on the Help Centre which you can also download and import. Click here to see these templates.
Create a new report from scratch
The eight-step wizard will take you through the whole process of setting up a report for the first time: Creating bespoke reports in the Custom Report Writer
The video below shows the process of building a report:
More support
How can I build the report I need?
As the Custom Report Writer is a very in-depth tool, we recommend experimenting to see which reports you can create. Try creating reports about different topics, as the fields available to you will vary.
Don't worry - creating a report doesn't change your school's data at all, and any reports you create can be deleted by you whenever you need.
- Take a look at our commonly requested reporting area on our Help Centre that you can import: Creating common Custom Report Writer reports
- Try looking for reporting options built in to the area you're looking at. For example, the Students > Attendance > Statistics page should be a go-to: Viewing statistics for attendance
You can find these areas by searching on the Help Centre homepage, or scrolling down and clicking into an area.
Hit Ctrl+F (on Windows PC, Chromebook, or Linux system), or Command+F (on a Mac) on the keyboard to find key words
Can Arbor build reports for me?
If you're on Standard Support, our Support Team won't be able to edit your reports directly or build reports for you from scratch. However if you've had a go building a report but can't quite get it working the way you want, we can help with any questions you've got!
If you are supported by one of our Support Partners, please contact them for help with reporting.
There's also Advanced Support, our premium support service with a direct line to an expert. Schools on Advanced Support get a bank of 10 custom reports and 2 live feeds, which we'll set up for you. You can contact customersales@arbor-education.com for further details.
Having trouble with reporting?
Let's get you sorted. Here are the most common issues you may have, and how to easily fix them:
You can also check out the rest of our FAQs here: Custom Report Writer FAQs
What's next?
So you've got to grips with building a basic report and you're wondering what else you can do with them? Jump to the next part of your journey to Boost your school to the next level where you'll see how to:
- Share and schedule reports across and outside your school
- Use advanced editing features like complex filters, conditional formatting and custom calculated fields
- Integrate reports into other key areas to pull in data, such as Communications, Report Cards and Assessment marksheets.
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