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CMS release notes – January 2021

The latest updates to the e4education software

25 January 2021 Katie Sixsmith

We’re always evolving, changing and improving our software solutions. In our first update of 2021, we have some new features and improvements including the introduction of our remote learning zone, a new e-shop payment provider and more video storage as standard!

So, let’s see what our in-house developers have in store for us this month!

Content Management System (CMS)

Our CMS is the powerful software behind all our school website designs and we continue to add more features requested by our users.

This month:

  • Our remote learning zone has been released, allowing schools to create and share remote learning content with parents and pupils via the school website. This feature can be turned on in your CMS by your account manager and has been designed to help complement classroom learning, providing a one-stop-shop for remote learning content. 

  • In line with the new remote learning zone, the Greenshaw Learning Trust have provided all schools in the UK with access to their free curriculum resources for secondary schools. This can be accessed and added to your website free of charge through the remote learning functionality 

  • The video manager has been upgraded to improve resolution and upload times. The default video storage limit has also been increased to 2GB as standard.  

  • The forms editor has been updated to enhance the presentation of survey results and graphs. Extra checks have been added to prevent duplicate form submissions and the email options have been restructured.  

  • Schools with multiple calendars in one view can now order the priority to give control over the colour displayed for the event. Previously this would have defaulted to the first selected.  

  • The temporary issues with editing drafts and friendly URLs have now been resolved. 

Communications Tools 

Our suite of communication tools is proving immensely popular with schools and we continue to add even more functionality.  

General

  • It is now possible to assign manually created groups to imported MIS data (such as students and staff).  

  • The student dashboard will now display a list of reports that have been uploaded. 

  • There is now a reporting area for viewing statistics for emails and text messages that have been sent.

  • When selecting recipients for text messages and emails, it’s now possible to select by class.  

Bookings & Payments 

Our booking functionality and payments have had quite a few updates this month:  

Course Booking

  • Course booking form settings have been improved. 

Club Booking

  • Discounts can now be renamed, and the layout of the discount area has been improved. Discounts will be called ‘Price Options’ in the CMS during the editing process. 

  • Exports and reports are now possible on Club Bookings. 

  • The exceptions' layout has been improved (for dates where clubs cannot be booked) and this now looks better over larger date ranges.  

  • A filter option has been added to the list of bookings to make it easier to navigate multiple club options.  

  • Cancelled bookings can now be reinstated if required.  

  • Offline payments (to be handed in person by the school) can now be offered as the only payment option if required.

Payments & E-Shop 

  • Stripe is now available as a payment provider within the CMS 

  • Updates have been made to improve the layout when text has been added to price columns. 

  • The full summary of e-shop costs will now be displayed immediately before payment. 

  • Product Updates
  • Websites