This page is to cover some of the features in the Online Scout Manager (OSM)’s Parent Portal website which should hopefully help you (and us) with your child’s scouting experience with the 28th.
The 50 second CliffsNotes of the Parent Portal can be found here but we go into each area in a little more details below.
Parent Portal: Badges
Here you can view all the badges your child has completed or has still to do. It will also show the breakdown of what you have completed for each badge. You can click the link below for more information:
Badges at Home
Some will likely be familiar with this system during the pandemic but it is still fully open (all badges) for those who wish to complete badgework from the comfort of their homes.
You can find out more information about how to submit badge work below:
Note: Please use the following uniform diagram via our website for help on where to sew on badges.
Parent Portal: Personal Details
This is a really quick and easy way to keep all of your child’s details up-to-date on the system. A quick overview for you can be found here:
You can also add your child’s email address in the “Members” section of the personal details area. This will allow them to also receive information emails only, where appropriate and also access the system in the same way you do but with a slightly restricted view (so please don’t put parent emails in the members section). We would always include parents in such emails and emails are records via the “Emails” for 90 days.
Parent Portal: Programme
This is where you can view our weekly section meeting info. We are currently working on this area of the system, so you may not see too much information at this time. However, you can inform us (via the system) if your child isn’t able to attend this a meeting. If we require help for a particular meeting, then this will also be shown here as well.
Calendar Subscription: You can subscribe to the programme feed (via the button in the top right), so this information can be accessed directly via your calendar application on your mobile or laptop/desktop. We’ll have some instructions to how to set this up further down in this email.
Additionally you’ll notice for some meetings, a bright yellow box (similar to this) with a option to come along and help us out that night! There is no requirement to have any prior experience in Scouting, nor any expectation to help out every week. Any contribution no matter how big or small is appreciated and hugely valued.
Parent Portal: Events
Similar to the programme area, this allow you view all upcoming event information for you child.
Going forward we will try and have all events available to sign up for at the start of every term. So we’ll only ever have to send one email about events at the start of every term. However for people that don’t respond yes or no we’ll still send invites a week before the deadline for sign-up.
Where event details are finalised, events are open to sign-ups immediately; while others are intended for you to ‘save the date’ while we confirm final details.
Some events have limited capacity so places for all camps will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Once the event has been filled and you try to sign-up, you’ll be added to the “Reserve” list. If a space becomes available then the leader team will contact those in reserve and offer the space (similarly, this will also be done on first come first serve basis).
Where an event is open for sign-ups, please try to respond Yes or No as soon as you can. Not only does it prevent our software bombarding you with emails, it also helps us hugely with the planning process by allowing us to gauge roughly how many Scouts we are likely to be accommodating.
Calendar Subscription: You can subscribe to the events feed (via the button in the top right), so when you select your child as attending, it’ll automatically populate this into your calendar. We’ll have some instructions to how to set this up further down in this email.
Parent Portal: Payments
All payments for subs and events for your child will be made via this system to allow to easy management and tracking by the leader team. A overview of the system can be found here:
Parent Portal: Gift Aid
An online way to record your gift aid for your child and update where required.
Parent Portal: Emails
Provides a central place for the last 90 days worth of emails we send our via the system. This won’t include replies or entire email conversations.
Calendar Feed Setup Instructions
This will vary depending on which company you use for your calendar application. In every case, please ensure you use the “subscribe” option rather uploading a calendar file. This means that events & programme information will update automatically where required for [FIRSTNAME]. If you have multiple Young People, then there will be a feed for each of them for the relevant areas (programme or events). Below are the ways to subscribe to calendar for both Apple & Google calendar apps.
Apple: How to Subscribe to Calendars on iPhone and iPad
Google:
1. On your laptop, open Google Calendar.
2. On the left, next to “Other calendars,” click the plus icon -> From URL.
3. Enter the calendar’s link (from the Parent Portal)
4. Click Add calendar. Click the back arrow (top left) and the calendar appears on the left, under “Other calendars.”
Of course, if there is anything that we haven’t covered or you would like clarification on, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
