How to use the Entity Importer tool to add data to Arbor

This article is designed for schools who do not require a migration due to being a brand new school or schools who are taking our 'Manual Migration' service. It explains how you can import various data types onto your new Arbor site. 

Schools who are setting up their school before they go live or schools who would like to add further data to their site from an external source can refer to this guide. 

Permissions Needed: General Admin: Import Data

Note: The tools listed below add data to your live Arbor site. They do not remove or amend data. There is a potential for duplication of data. Check that the data does not already exist on your Arbor site before using the tools listed below. After finishing your imports, we recommend checking for duplication using the Data Quality Dashboard. 

Entity Importers

The Entity Importer is a bulk upload tool that is inbuilt into Arbor. The tool allows you to download templates that you can populate with the data that you want to show on Arbor. Once you have added your data to the template, you can use the Entity Importer tool to automatically upload that data to Arbor in bulk. 

Finding the 'Entity importer' tool

Go to School > Data > Import > Entity Import on your live Arbor site. This screen will display all the templates that you can import to Arbor. 

Note: We recommend working through the list from top to bottom in order. However, if you don't want to import certain data, you can skip a section, unless the next step requires data from a previous step.

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Click the name of one of the entity importers, for example 'Pay Scale Template'. This will take you to the Entity Importer page.

You can click on these to view more information for successful imports, or to remove unsuccessful imports.

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Click back in your browser to return to the previous page as needed

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How to use the 'Entity Importer' tool

Downloading and Open the Template

1. Click the green button to download the spreadsheet. It includes columns where you can place the information.

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Filling in the Template

2. Once downloaded you need to work your way through the sheet, matching the preset format. 

Different columns require data to be in different formats.

These include:

  • select from a drop-down menu of options (so you can't paste in the information)
  • numerical format only (for example, 01/01/2001) and letters are not allowed
  • mandatory fields which must be filled out

You can see a full list of the requirements for each file in the Entity Importer rules section below.

3. Save your completed template (this must be saved in the same format as downloaded XLS)

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Uploading the Template

4. Click Browse to select your XLS file from your computer

5. Click Upload.

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6. You must check your uploaded data

  • If all information is incorrect or you wish to start again, delete the import
  • If there are issues with the data, you can fix them from here by clicking on the field highlighted in red.
  • Click Import if you have checked the data and are happy to import it.

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You'll then see the completed import. You can click it to access the imported data.

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Entity Importer rules

Different columns require data to be in different formats. These include:

  • select from a drop-down menu of options (so you can't paste in the information)
  • numerical format only (for example 01/01/2001) and letters are not allowed
  • mandatory fields which must be filled out

Roll Call Attendance

The Roll Call Attendance importer is most useful for schools that have gone through Manual Migration, as attendance is usually migrated from previous MIS systems. This importer follows a slightly different process than the rest of the importers.

For this import, the file must be in CSV format. You can have additional columns (for example attendance notes), but these will not be imported.

The order of the columns is not important as you will be asked to match each column to the Arbor data fields when you upload the file.

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When imported, you will receive a notification.

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You can click on the file to:

  • Delete the import if you imported an incorrect file where no data could be matched. Top Tip: If data was matched to a student, this won't delete what was imported, just the record of the import.
  • Reimport your file
  • download a log of the upload as a .txt file.

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What can be imported using the 'Entity Importer' tool

Staff data

Pay Scale template

Data Field Format Mandatory
Pay Scale Name Text Yes
Pay Range Drop Down Yes

 

Note: Before you can import the above, you need to have first set these up in your site by either importing the Pay Scale template or set them up manually in Arbor following these instructions: Managing and Updating Pay Scales

Data Field Format Mandatory
Pay Scale  Drop Down Yes
Gross Salary Numerical Yes

 

Staff template

Data Field Format Mandatory
Title Drop Down No
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
National Insurance Text and Numerical Yes
Preffered First Name  Text No
Preffered Surname Text No
Sex Drop down No
Date of Birth  Numerical No
Ethnicity Drop down No
Religion Drop down No
Disability Status Drop down No
Staff number Text or Numerical No
School ID card Text or Numerical No
Timetable abbreviation Text or Numerical No
Business role Drop down No
Mobile number Numerical No
Home Number Numerical No
Email Address Text and Numerical No
Address Line 1  Text and Numerical No
Address Line 2  Text and Numerical No
Town Text No
Postcode Text and Numerical No
Country Drop down No

 

Staff absence

Data Field Format Mandatory
Title Drop Down No
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
National Insurance Text and Numerical Yes
Start date and time Numerical (01/01/2022 10:00) No
End date and time Numerical (01/01/2022 10:00) No
Staff absence category Drop Down Yes
Sickness category Drop Down No
Sickness subcategory Text (must relate to the above) No
Narrative Text No

 

Staff check

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
National Insurance Text and Numerical Yes
Check type Drop Down No
Check level Drop Down No
Number Numerical No
Check date Numerical (01/01/2022) No

 

Staff contract 

Please note that to use the Pay scale and Pay scale spinal point fields, you need to have first set these up in your site by either:

  • importing the Pay Scale and Pay Scale Spinal Point templates (detailed in the above section)
  • setting them up manually in Arbor following these instructions: Managing and Updating Pay Scales

For certain things in the list below you can have multiple instances. In this case, you'll need to import the first, then add the rest manually. You can see how to add these in manually here:

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
National Insurance Text and Numerical Yes
Staff employment type Drop Down No
Start date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
End date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Staff leaving reason Drop Down No
Staff destination Drop Down No
Superannuation scheme Drop Down No
Contract reference Text or Numerical No
Payroll number Numerical No
Staff origin Drop Down No
Last pay review date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Contract post job title Text No
Contract post position Drop Down No
Contract post start date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Contract post end date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Pay scale Drop Down No
Pay scale spinal point Drop Down No
Custom FTE salary amount Numerical No
Actual hours per week Numerical No
FTE hours per week Numerical No
Actual weeks per year Numerical No
Linked allowance Drop Down No
Allowance effective date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Allowance end date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Gross allowance amount Numerical No
Additional payment reason Drop Down No
Additional payment amount Numerical No
Additional payment date Numerical (01/01/2022) No

 

Staff next of kin

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
National Insurance Text and Numerical Yes
Next of kin legal first name Text Yes
Next of kin legal surname Text Yes
Next of kin sex Drop Down No
Next of kin mobile number Numerical No
Next of kin home number Numerical No
Next of kin work number Numerical No
Next of kin work number Numerical No
Next of kin email address Text and Numerical No
Next of kin address line 1 Text and Numerical No
Next of kin address line 2 Text and Numerical No
Next of kin town Text No
Next of kin country Drop Down No
Next of kin postcode Text and Numerical No
Next of kin relationship Drop Down No

 

Staff qualification

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
National Insurance Text and Numerical Yes
Qualification Name Text and Numerical No
Qualification type Drop Down No
Qualification class Drop Down No
1st subject Drop Down No
2nd subject Drop Down No
Date awarded Numerical (01/01/2022) No

 

Staff vehicle

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
National Insurance Text and Numerical Yes
Vehicle type Drop Down No
Car make Drop Down No
Model Text No
Colour Text No
Car registration number Text and Numerical No
Parking allocation provided Drop Down No

 

Student data

Student dietary requirements

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Dietary requirement type Drop Down No
Note Text No

 

Student Disability Access Funding (DAF)

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Start date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
End date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Note Text No

 

Student Early Years Pupil Premium Recipient

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Start date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
End date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Economic reasons Drop Down No
Other reasons Drop Down No

 

Student suspension

Please note that once you import suspensions, the statutory roll call sessions won't be automatically filled with a planned absence and an E attendance code.

1. Go to Students > Behaviour > Suspensions to edit, choose which sessions are missed using these instructions: Editing the Suspension

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Decision date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Until date time Numerical (01/01/2022 10:00) No
Daily start time Numerical (10:00) No
Daily end time Numerical (10:00) No
Narrative Text No
Exclusion reason 1 Drop Down Yes
Exclusion reason 2 Drop Down No
Exclusion reason 3 Drop Down No

 

Student Guardian Relationship

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Guardian title Drop Down No
Guardian first name Text Yes
Guardian last name Text Yes
Guardian sex Drop Down No
Guardian relationship type Drop Down No
Is primary guardian Drop Down No
Is legal guardian Drop Down No
Emergency contact priority Drop Down No
Is key worker Drop Down No
Email address Text or Numerical No
Mobile number Numerical No
Home number Numerical No
Work number Numerical No

 

Student Hours At Setting

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Hours at Setting Numerical No
Funded Hours Numerical No
Extended Hours Numerical No
30 hour code Text or Numerical No

 

Student Medical Conditions

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Medical condition type Drop Down No
Severity Drop Down No
Start date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
End date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Symptoms Text No
Treatment Text No

 

Student Pastoral Notes

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Summary Text No
Content Text No
Start Date Numerical (01/01/2022) No

 

Student Permanent Exclusion

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Decision date time Numerical (01/01/2022, 10:00) No
From date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Narrative Text No
Exclusion reason 1 Drop Down No
Exclusion reason 2 Drop Down No
Exclusion reason 3 Drop Down No

 

Top Up Funding

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Start date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
End date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Note Text No

 

Student Young Carer

Data Field Format Mandatory
Legal First Name  Text Yes
Legal Surname Text Yes
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Start date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
End date Numerical (01/01/2022) No
Information provided by Drop Down Yes

 

Roll Call Attendance

Please note that we will only import data for students where:

Data Field Format Mandatory
UPN Text or Numerical Yes
Date Numerical (01/01/2022 or 2022/01/01) Yes
Roll call Text (AM or PM only) Yes
Attendance code Only Arbor attendance codes are accepted Yes
Minutes late Integers (whole numbers only) No

 

FAQ

Will the importer override any information?

No, the information will be added as new information. You must check your existing data to prevent duplicates.

Can I import a School Entity Import into MAT MIS or vice versa?

MAT Entity imports can only be imported into MAT MIS. 

School Entity imports can only be imported into School MIS. 

Can we use the same template to import data to multiple school sites?

No, each spreadsheet can only be uploaded to the School site it was downloaded from.

Does it matter which order we upload?

We recommend working through the list from top to bottom in order. If you don't want to import certain data, you can skip a section.

There are certain items, such as Contracts and Pay Scales, where it is vital that the steps are completed in order. For example, users must import or create Pay Scales before they can import Spinal Points, before they can import Staff Contracts.

When do we need to download the template again?

If you've changed the data in your Arbor site relating to the area you're uploading into, we recommend downloading a new template.

For example, each time you import or create new pay scales, the Pay Scale dropdown in the Pay Scale Spinal Point and Staff Contracts templates is updated. This means you would need to download and fill in a fresh template if you recently imported or created new Pay Scales.

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