Linking siblings to each other, linking a guardian to a child or removing the link

To mark two students as siblings, you must link them to the same guardian. This lets the system know that they are related, as it automatically determines the relationship. Both siblings must be connected to the guardian through a relationship of Natural Mother or Father, Adoptive Mother or Father, Step Mother or Father, or Adoptive Parent.

Permissions

You will need the Student profile: Guardians: Administer All/My Students permission to link students and guardians. If you don't have permission, you'll need to ask your admin team to give you permission using these instructions.
 

How to link students and guardians

Two students become linked as Siblings in Arbor if they meet the following conditions:

• They both have profiles
• They are both linked to the same guardian (this guardian does not have to be a Legal or Primary Guardian)
• They both have one of the following relationships with the guardian:
   
  • Natural or Adoptive Mother or Father
  • Step Mother or Father 
  • Adoptive Parent

To link two, ensure all of these conditions are met with the steps below.

Step 1 - Add the students

First, make sure you have created all the student profiles you would like to link together:

In your search box, type each child's name and press Enter on your keyboard (this ensures you see all results, not just enrolled students) to check that they appear.

If you need to add a new student because one or both children do not appear, click here to see how.

Make a note of their details to ensure you link the correct students and guardians later.

Step 2 - Add the guardian to one student

If the guardian already exists, type the guardian's name you want to link both students to into your search box and press Enter on your keyboard to check if they already exist in Arbor.

If they already exist, skip to step 3.

If the guardian does not already exist, navigate to the first student's profile and scroll down to the "Family, Guardians, and Contacts" section. Click +Add. 

Add their details, then click to add the guardian. Ensure that the guardian relationship is set to 'Natural' or 'Adoptive Mother/Father', 'Step Mother/Father', or 'Adoptive Parent'.

Step 3 - Add the other student to the guardian

In your search box, search for the guardian's name and click on it (if you do not see the guardian, hit Enter on your keyboard to see all results).

You will see that on their profile, in the Linked Students section, they may already have a student linked to them. You can then click +Add to link another.

In the slide over, add the details of the relationship with the new student, then click 'Link Student'.

Ensure that the guardian relationship is set to Natural, Adoptive Mother or Father, Step Mother or Father, or Adoptive Parent.

The two students will then be linked as siblings in the background.

Step 4 - Remove any duplicates

If you originally had one guardian profile linked to each student, you'll need to remove the duplicate. Guardians should only have one profile to prevent login issues.

You can see how to remove the duplicates here: Resolve duplicates or delete guardian profiles

Foster siblings

For two students to be considered siblings, they must both be linked to the same guardian as their Natural or Adoptive Mother or Father, Stepmother or Father, or Adoptive Parent.

For siblings who have foster parents or primary guardians who are not their biological parents, the students will not automatically be shown as linked siblings.

You can set up a 'dummy' profile for a parent, which will then link them together.

This dummy profile is not a real guardian; it just exists for linking purposes. Things you can consider:

• Giving the profile a name so it's clear this is a dummy profile (for example: first name Linking, last name Siblings)
• Leaving the profile as bare as you want (you do not have to record contact information, for example)
• Not setting the dummy profile as a primary or legal guardian

Unlinking siblings

As students are linked together by having one or more parents in common, to unlink students as siblings, you'll need to remove these links. Removing the links to the parent guardian will prevent the students from being displayed as linked.

To remove the link between a student and their guardian, navigate to the student's profile and click on the guardian in the Family, Guardians, and Contacts section.

In the slide over, click the Edit button.

Click the grey 'Remove Relationship' button.

If the guardian is only currently linked to one student, you'll see a tick box for Permanently remove Guardian details from Arbor.

• Selecting this option will permanently delete the guardian profile. Top Tip: This cannot be reversed.
• Not ticking this box will only unlink them from the student. You can find and delete this guardian later if needed: See guardians with no linked students.

Click Remove guardian relationship.