Reporting FAQ

This article covers common queries regarding Reporting in Arbor. If you cannot find an answer to your question in this article, check our dedicated section of the Help Centre on this topic here.

Can we download a report on staff training?

No, it is not possible to report on staff training, aside from whether a staff member has done certain training. Please let us know any feedback you have on this area here: Staff HR Admin

Attending a training course doesn’t guarantee you’ve passed the training.

If you'd like to report on staff who have passed, we recommend recording this information in the Qualifications & Checks area: Creating Checks and adding checks and qualifications to staff profiles

You can then report on these:

• In the Custom Report Writer when creating a report about Staff
• In the Checks area: Review staff linked to each check.

Why can't I export my Custom Report template?

When you're exporting your custom report template you may be met with an error message that says 'Unfortunately, we cannot export this report because it contains some specific fields that will not exist on other schools' system'.

This error will happen when you have included assessment columns in your report as these can't be exported.

Although the assessment may be the same at another school the actual assessment will have a different underlying code value on each school site. You can remove these assessment columns to export the template and the school importing the template can then add their assessments to the report.

What happens to Custom Report Writer reports when staff leave?

If a staff member leaves your school or MAT, Custom Report Writer reports they scheduled will continue to be sent out.

Only SuperUsers can edit other people's reports.

So if you no longer want these reports to be sent out, someone with SuperUser access will need to unschedule the reports.

You may also want to ask someone with SuperUser access to give permission to anyone with the same role as the staff leaver to edit the reports by sharing it with them.

Can we see a list of fields available in the Custom Report Writer?

In Custom Report Writer there are many report fields to choose from to help you build your custom report. You can find a list of fields and filters available for each type of report (report Focus) from this page.

Can I sort my custom reports into folders?

No, it is not currently possible to sort your list of reports into folder in the Custom Report Writer.

Schools will often have a system for naming the reports to make this list easier to manage - for example, having the department name at the start of each report to make searching easier.

We also recommend that you give frequently-used reports a special character at the beginning of their name - for example '! Behaviour' or '% Attendance'. This will make those reports go to the top of the list.

Why do event and location dates not change when you change a custom date range in a custom report?

When using the Bulk Change Date Range button in a custom report:

• it will not automatically include or bulk change the date range for event or location columns. 
• it will change most column dates, such as Year groups, Registration forms, SEN status, Pupil Premium status etc. 

You would need to edit the report column manually in order to change the date range for the event and location columns for the report to pull through the correct data.

I can't find the custom report column I want. Can I request that it be added?

If you are certain a specific report column does not exist in Arbor, for example, it's not listed as an existing column for any report focus here, you will need to share this as Product Feedback. You can use the
Help & Learn with Arbor > Share product idea buttons on the left-hand side of any Arbor page to share your request with our Product team for consideration.

Can I group data items with dates by week, month or year?

No, it's not possible to group dates by week. For example, if you want a report on the number of behaviour points issued to a child by week, you cannot do this by grouping your report. Instead, you would need to add separate columns to your report, one for each week, and specify the date range for each column to correspond to the week you need. For an example of this, take a look at our guidance on reporting on attendance by week here: Week-on-week weekly attendance percentage report