Cover Manager onboarding combines a dedicated school installation, shared Microsoft sign-in, MIS staff linking and school-specific workflow settings. The school supplies its Entra Tenant ID, an administrator to approve the shared application once and the required MIS details. Education Host supports configuration; school IT does not create a separate Microsoft app registration.
What should the school prepare first?
Identify both an operational owner and an IT or MIS contact. The first can confirm how absence and cover should work; the second can arrange Microsoft consent and the data connection. A rollout is harder when technical setup is complete but nobody has agreed the approval or allocation rules.
- The school's Microsoft Entra Tenant ID and an appropriate administrator for consent.
- The MIS provider and details needed to scope the Wonde connection.
- Named owners for staff linking, absence approval and daily cover.
- Absence reasons and the intended approver for each.
- Staff cover eligibility, workload rules and supervision requirements.
- A small set of realistic scenarios for the setup review.
Exchange integration details through the agreed setup channel. Do not put credentials in a shared guide, a public screenshot or a general staff handout.
How is Microsoft sign-in set up?
Education Host configures the school's connection to the shared Cover Manager Microsoft application. A suitable school Entra administrator grants consent once, and the school keeps its own hosted application and database.
Normal Microsoft sign-in does not create teacher records automatically. Staff need to be imported and linked before their first login. Test access with the intended school roles, not just the support administrator who configured the installation.
Which settings need an operational decision?
Configure the school process deliberately rather than accepting settings because the page loads. Cover Manager supports approval routing by absence reason, optional school cover rules and independently managed duty settings. Each should match a decision the school can explain to staff.
| Area | Decision to confirm |
|---|---|
| Approval | Who decides each absence reason, including an approver's own requests? |
| Lesson cover | Who is eligible, what limits apply and who reviews suggestions? |
| Duties | Which times, locations and staffing levels recur each week? |
| Cover work | Will the school use the optional instructions/work workflow? |
| Support | Who handles local questions and has Help centre access been connected? |
What should a school test before rollout?
Walk through a complete day with a small group of the people who will use the system. Verify a planned request, the intended approval, the affected lessons, a confirmed allocation and the daily briefing. Add a duty and an unexpected absence case so the review covers more than a straightforward request.
Check that staff can open the connected Help centre. Its per-school registration is part of setup; installing the application alone does not establish that Help is ready. Note any unresolved access or data issues and decide who will resolve them before widening access.
How should the first week be managed?
Choose a clear start point, explain which system is the agreed record and keep someone available to resolve questions. Avoid running two independently maintained cover lists without saying which one controls the briefing.
Review the first week's open sessions, failed sign-ins and unclear approval routes. Expand use once the school can repeat the workflow reliably. There is no universal onboarding duration: data permissions, linking and school decisions determine what remains to be done.