Primary Week by Week Onboarding Guide (Non SIMS Schools)

This guide is designed for primary schools that are migrating to Arbor from non SIMS schools. This week by week guide will give you an overview of the onboarding journey and more information about what to expect at each stage. 

Note: Schools will complete an eight week 'onboarding journey' before transitioning to Customer Success once they are live with the core functionality to run their school effectively. 

Week 1: Kick Off

Your onboarding officially begins with a 1-hour Kick-Off webinar led by the Digital Onboarding team. This session will cover essential aspects like your project team, the onboarding process, and available support and training. We will also provide details on your data migration which will take place in week four ready for your Go Live in week five. 

Your Actions:

• Watch your Kick-Off webinar - You will receive an email from the Digital Onboarding team which contains a link to book your Kick-Off webinar.
• Download your migration workbook - Also in your initial email from the Digital Onboarding team is a link to download all the resources you need to ensure your migration is successful.
• Look out for your Arbor Training Hub login email - Once received, ensure all key staff can log in. You will need to complete a survey in the email to assign training to other members of staff. 

Note: Only the school project lead is initially enrolled in training on the Training Hub. If you require additional staff to be enrolled in the training, you must complete and send back the survey in the email titled 'Get started with your Arbor training'.

Week 2: Data Cleansing and Training 

It is vitally important that you complete your data cleansing in your current system to ensure the data migrates to Arbor successfully. 

Your Actions:

• Complete all data cleansing - This is non-negotiable for a successful migration. Information on how to complete your data cleansing can be found in your onboarding workbook.
• Contact any Third Party Applications you plan to use alongside Arbor and let them know that you are changing MIS.
• Ensure all key staff have registered for the Arbor Training Hub and have started to book all their foundation webinar sessions before your Go Live date.

Note: If you are migrating from Bromcom you will need to let them know that you are migrating to Arbor and request a copy of your data. Instructions on how to do this are found here.

Week 3: Readiness for Go Live 

This week your focus should be on ensuring your data migration prerequisites are completed and all staff are completing the recommended training for their role. 

Your Actions:

• Agree Arbor Terms & Conditions - You will receive two emails from Arbor with instructions on how to access the Arbor Secure Upload Portal. You need to log into the portal and agree to the terms and conditions.
• Complete Data Cleansing by following the instructions in your onboarding workbook.
• Ensure staff are maximising their training sessions - Share online training resources and videos and ensure relevant Arbor Champions have full access to the Arbor Training Hub.
• Share the Teacher Essentials training videos with any teachers that will be logging in and taking attendance on your Arbor Go Live day.  

Week 4: Migration Week

This week Arbor will start the process of migrating your data into your new MIS. You won't notice anything but we will continue our background checks to ensure we won't encounter any issues with your migrated data. If we notice anything, we will call you to discuss the best course of action. You can continue to use your current system until the afternoon of your migration date allowing you to enter your afternoon attendance. 

Your Actions:

While there are no immediate actions required from you this week, it is important to review the tasks completed in the past few weeks to make sure everything is on track for your Go Live date. Specifically, please ensure the following are in place:

• Your team is trained on Arbor and ready for day one
• Your third-party providers are aware of your move to Arbor
• Data cleansing of your site has been completed

Note: A guide on how to make the most of your first week using Arbor can be found here. This gives you the steps to follow once you have access to your live Arbor site. Consider printing a simple "how to take a register in Arbor" guide for teachers to ease their first day.

If you are migrating from Bromcom you will need to upload your data migration backup to us using the Secure Upload Portal. Instructions on how to do this are here. 

Week 5: Go Live – Your First Day with Arbor!

This week you will begin using Arbor for all your MIS needs, starting with attendance. This is known as your 'go live' date. Once your Arbor site is ready, the Digital Onboarding team will send you a 'site release email'. This will include instructions on how to log in, any issues we have noticed with your migration and key steps you need to action. 

Your Actions:

• Review your site release email and log into your new MIS - Share the URL with any staff who will be using Arbor and ensure they bookmark it in their browser for quick access.
• Take attendance in your new Arbor MIS!
• Ensure all third-party integrations are functioning as expected.
• Check your migrated data - It is important that you verify the data we have migrated from your previous system to Arbor to ensure the accuracy and avoid any discrepancies. This is a critical step before you can sign off your data migration report.

Note: If you are migrating over a holiday, you will receive your site release email during the holiday. If you are migrating over a weekend, you will receive your site release email before Tuesday. You should aim to take your first attendance in Arbor on Wednesday. 

Week 6: Sign off your Data Migration Report

Your focus in week six is to ensure your data migration report is signed off. You should continue to check in with staff and how they are progressing with their new Arbor site and identify any potential training needs.

Your Actions:

• Sign off your data migration report - This is a vital step to ensure you are confident with the data that has migrated across into Arbor.
• Check in with staff to ensure they understand using their area of Arbor. Remind them they can always use the help centre, the Arbor Bot, or contact Support using one of the methods here.
• Continue your Post Go Live Training to build confidence now that you have access. 

Week 7 & 8: Configuration, Training & Handover

This week marks the end of your onboarding journey. You should continue configuring Arbor to your specific requirements and complete any remaining training on your Training Hub. 

Your Actions:

• Continue to check in with staff to see if there are any recurring issues. Remind them they can always use the help centre, the Arbor Bot, or contact Support using one of the methods here.
• Complete Post Go Live Training on your Arbor Training Hub and configure Arbor to your specific requirements.
• Onboarding completes and your Onboarding Manager will hand over to Customer Success Managers.

Note: If you are supported by a partner, you will transition from Onboarding to your Partner's support process rather than to Arbor's Customer Success Managers. Your Partner should have explained this process to you.  

What if you need help?

Your Onboarding team are available throughout this process to talk to if you get stuck. You can email them on myonboarding@arbor-education.com. If you would prefer them to call you back please mention that on the email and leave the best number to contact you on.