Subject teacher guide

1.1Activate your account with an invite code

Teachers, staff and learners do not sign up on their own. Your school adds you, and you get a personal invite code (or a link that has the code in it) to set up your login.

1. 1

   Get your code

   Your school administrator gives you a six-character invite code, for example A7X3K9, by SMS, WhatsApp, on paper, or as a link. The code only works for your account.

2. 2

   Open the activation page

   Tap the link you were sent, or go to skulbase.com, choose Sign in and then “Activate your account”. If you opened a link, the code is already filled in.

3. 3

   Check it is you

   Press Continue. Skulbase shows the name the school registered. If it is not you, choose “Not you?” and ask the school for the right code.

4. 4

   Choose how you will sign in

   Pick a username (one is suggested for you) and a password of at least 8 characters, or continue with Google. Adding an email address lets you reset your password yourself later.

5. 5

   You are in

   You are signed in straight away and land on the home page for your role.

Good to know: Each code can be used once. If yours says it has expired or was already used, ask your administrator to reset your account; they get a fresh code in seconds.

1.2Sign in

Once your account is active, sign in with your email address or username and your password, or with Google if you activated with Google.

1. 1

   Go to the sign-in page

   Open skulbase.com and choose Sign in.

2. 2

   Enter your details

   Type your email address or username, then your password, and press Sign In. Or press “Sign in with Google”.

3. 3

   Forgot your password?

   Choose “Forgot password?”, enter your email address, and type the six-digit code we email you along with a new password. This also works if you have only ever used Google, and afterwards both ways work.

Tip: Save skulbase.com to your phone’s home screen. It opens like an app and remembers you are signed in.

1.3Finding your way around

The menu only shows the pages your role can use. On a computer it runs down the left-hand side; on a phone the main pages sit in a bar along the bottom.

• On a computer, the arrow at the top of the menu makes it narrower (icons only) or wider (icons and names). Skulbase remembers your choice.
• Press the / key, or tap “Search menu”, to jump to any page by typing part of its name.
• Your name at the bottom of the menu opens your account menu: switch between light and dark appearance, or sign out.
• If you hold more than one role (for example an administrator who is also a class teacher), use “View as” in the account menu to switch views.
• On a phone, the bottom bar shows your four most-used pages. Everything else is under More.

2.1Reading your dashboard

The top shows the term and how many marks you have left to enter. “Continue” opens the next mark sheet to finish.

• At a glance: marks still to enter, exams fully marked, your subjects’ average, and how many marks you have entered.
• My marking lists every exam you enter marks for this term, with progress. Tap one to open it.
• Quick actions open marks, results, release, assignments and announcements.

3.1Enter or correct marks

Marks go in on Exams & Marks, on the “Enter & Correct Marks” tab. You pick the term, the exam, the class and the subject, and a mark sheet opens with every learner in the class.

1. 1

   Open Exams & Marks

   Choose Exams & Marks in the menu. The “Enter & Correct Marks” tab is open.

2. 2

   Choose the term

   The current term is selected for you and marked NOW. Pick another term to correct older marks.

3. 3

   Choose the exam

   Tap the exam, for example Midterm or Endterm. Only exams your school has set up for that term are shown.

4. 4

   Choose the class and subject

   Pick the class, then the subject. Teachers only see the classes and subjects they teach.

5. 5

   Open the mark sheet

   Press “Open mark sheet”. Saved marks are already filled in.

3.2Using the mark sheet

The mark sheet lists every learner with a box for their score. The grade fills itself in from your school’s grading system.

1. 1

   Type the scores

   Click the first score box, type the mark and press Enter to jump to the next learner. The grade appears as you type. Remarks are optional.

2. 2

   Save

   Press “Save changes” at the bottom. The bar tells you how many learners still have no mark.

3. 3

   Correct a mistake

   Find the learner with the search box, type the right score over the old one, and save. Undo puts a mark back as it was; the bin removes a mark for a learner who did not sit the exam.

4. 4

   Filter the list

   Use the tabs (All, Not entered, Entered, Unsaved) and the stream filter to find who is left.

• “Online” at the top right shows the sheet is connected. If the network drops, your typing is kept on this device and saved when you are back online.
• Scores are out of the exam’s maximum (shown at the top, for example “Out of 100”).
• A subject with several papers can be split with “Split into papers”; each paper then gets its own column and the final mark is worked out for you.

3.3Upload marks from a spreadsheet or a photo

Instead of typing, you can upload an Excel or CSV file, or take a photo of a handwritten mark sheet.

1. 1

   Upload a file

   On the mark sheet choose “Upload file”, pick your Excel or CSV file, and check the columns Skulbase detected (learner, admission number, score). Press “Validate & Preview”, check the rows, then save.

2. 2

   Scan a paper sheet

   Choose “Scan sheet” and take or upload a clear photo. Skulbase reads the names and scores; check every row, fix anything misread, and confirm. Nothing is saved until you confirm.

Tip: Admission numbers are the most reliable way to match rows to learners. Keep them in your spreadsheet.

3.4Release results to learners

Marks stay private to staff until they are released. Releasing a subject lets learners see its marks in their portal and on the report card’s QR check.

1. 1

   Open the Release Results tab

   On Exams & Marks choose “Release Results”.

2. 2

   Choose the class, term and exam

   The list shows every subject for that exam and how many learners have marks.

3. 3

   Check the ranking preview

   Scroll down to see the class ranking the release would produce, and any learners with missing papers (a missing paper counts as 0).

4. 4

   Release

   Release a single subject, or all of them at once. Released subjects show “Learners can see”.

• You can still correct marks after releasing; learners see the corrected mark.
• “Withdraw” hides a subject from learners again at any time.

3.5See a class’s results

The “Results & Reports” tab on Exams & Marks shows how a class did: every subject side by side, one exam at a time, the analysis, and individual report cards.

• Choose a class, then an exam, to see the broadsheet and rankings.
• Click a learner to download their PDF report card, or generate the whole class at once.

4.1Set homework and mark it

Assignments is where homework is set for a class. Learners see it on their dashboard, hand it in there (typed or as a file), and you grade it here.

1. 1

   Set an assignment

   Press “New assignment”. Choose the class and subject, give it a title and a due date, add instructions, and attach a file (up to 10 MB) if you like.

2. 2

   Follow progress

   The tiles at the top filter to Upcoming, Past due, Set by me and All. Each card shows how many learners have handed in.

3. 3

   Mark the work

   Open the hand-ins, read each learner’s answer or open their file, and give a grade from 0 to 100 with optional feedback. Learners see the grade and feedback on their dashboard.

• Work is due at the end of the due date, not at midnight before it.
• Teachers can edit and grade only the assignments they set; administrators can manage all of them.
• Once you have graded a hand-in, the learner can no longer replace it.

4.2Post announcements

Announcements are notices for the whole school. They show on the Announcements page and on learners’ dashboards.

1. 1

   Start one

   On Announcements press “New announcement”.

2. 2

   Write it

   Give it a short title (for example “Half-term break dates”) and the message.

3. 3

   Mark it important (optional)

   Important announcements are highlighted in red on the list and on dashboards.

4. 4

   Post

   Press Post. You can edit or delete your own announcements later from the list.

• Search, or filter to Important or to the ones you posted.
• Only administrators can text an announcement to guardians. Ask your administrator if something needs to go out by SMS.

5.1Upload an exam paper for moderation

The Exam paper bank keeps exam papers safe until the exam. You upload your paper, your head of department moderates it, the exams office prints it, and it is released after the exam.

1. 1

   Upload

   Press “Upload paper”. Give it a title (for example “End of Term 2 Mathematics”), choose the subject, class level and term, the paper label (P1, P2), how many copies are needed, and when it may be released after the exam. Attach the paper (PDF or Word) and, ideally, the marking scheme.

2. 2

   Submit it

   Open the paper and submit it for moderation. Its status changes from Draft to Submitted.

3. 3

   Act on comments

   If it comes back Returned, read the moderator’s comment in its History, replace the files and submit again. Once Approved it is locked for printing.

• Papers open stamped with the viewer’s name and the time, and every download is logged, so leaks can be traced.
• Past papers are available once released, for revision.

5.2Schemes of work, lesson plans and records of work

Professional Records keeps your schemes of work, lesson plans and records of work together, and works out how much of the syllabus each class has covered.

1. 1

   Write a scheme of work

   Press “Add scheme of work”, choose the class, subject and term, then fill in the weeks: each lesson with its topic or sub-strand and details. Set the number of teaching weeks and lessons a week.

2. 2

   Draft with AI (optional)

   “Draft with AI” fills the rows with a suggested scheme from the topics you list. It replaces the rows below, so check and edit every row before saving.

3. 3

   Submit for review

   Save, then press “Submit for review”. Your head of department or the DOS approves it or returns it with a comment.

4. 4

   Plan lessons

   Under Lesson plans, add a plan for a lesson: the date, topic, specific objectives, introduction, lesson development, conclusion, resources and your self-evaluation afterwards.

5. 5

   Record what you taught

   Tick lessons as Taught inside the scheme, or add a record of work with the date, work covered and remarks. Both count towards syllabus coverage.

5.3CBC assessment

CBC Assessment records each learner’s level for a strand and sub-strand: Exceeding (EE), Meeting (ME), Approaching (AE) or Below (BE) expectations.

1. 1

   Choose what you are assessing

   Pick the class, the learning area, the term, and the strand (for example Numbers) and sub-strand (for example Fractions).

2. 2

   Open the class list

   Press “Open class list”. Every learner in the class is listed.

3. 3

   Rate each learner

   Tap EE, ME, AE or BE on each row and add a comment if you like. The totals at the top update as you go.

4. 4

   Save

   Press Save. You can come back and change a rating later.

5.4Report a discipline incident

Any teacher can report an incident on the Discipline page. You see the incidents you reported; the discipline master decides the action and tells the parent.

1. 1

   Report it

   Press “Report incident”. Choose the learner, the date, the category (for example lateness or fighting), how serious it is (minor, major or critical) and describe what happened.

2. 2

   What happens next

   The discipline master records the action taken (for example a warning, counselling or calling the parent in), marks it resolved, and can text the parent with “Tell parent”.

6.1The school calendar

Calendar lists what is coming up across the school: exam windows, marks deadlines, report-card release dates, meetings and holidays. Everyone can read it; the DOS, deputy and principal add events.

• Events are marked by type (exam, deadline, report release, meeting, holiday) and by who they are for: everyone, staff, learners or parents.
• Parents and learners only see events meant for them.
• To add an event (if you are allowed), open “Manage events”, press Add, and fill in the title, type, dates, who sees it and any details. An event can be linked to an exam.

6.2Your timetable

Timetable shows the published timetable for the week: periods down the side, days across the top, each lesson with its class, teacher and room. On a phone it shows one day at a time.

• “Show” switches between your own timetable and any class, teacher or room.
• When a colleague is away and you are asked to cover a lesson, it is arranged under “Lesson cover”; check the timetable at the start of each day.

6.3Apply for leave

Staff Leave is where you ask for time off. The principal, deputy or HR officer approves it, and you can see the decision on the same page.

1. 1

   Apply

   Press “Apply for leave”. Choose the type (annual, sick, maternity, compassionate and so on), the first and last day, and the reason.

2. 2

   Arrange cover

   Under “Lessons and duties to cover”, say who will take your classes or duties, so the timetabler can arrange cover.

3. 3

   Wait for a decision

   The request shows Pending until it is approved or declined. You can edit or cancel it while it is pending.

6.4Ask the store for supplies

Inventory & stores → Requisitions is how you ask for exercise books, chalk, chemicals or equipment. The storekeeper approves the request and issues the items, and the stock count goes down automatically.

1. 1

   Request

   Press “Request from store”, choose the item, the quantity and what it is for (for example “Grade 7 exam booklets”).

2. 2

   Collect

   When the storekeeper approves and issues it, the status changes to Issued. Collect the items from the store.

6.5Ask for money to be spent

Expenses → My requests lets any staff member raise a payment voucher, for example to buy lab chemicals or pay for printing. The bursar or principal approves it before it is paid.

1. 1

   Raise it

   Press “Record expense”. Say what it is for, the amount, the date, the supplier and the vote head, and attach the invoice reference.

2. 2

   Follow it

   It shows Pending, then Approved (waiting for payment) or Rejected, then Paid with the payment reference.

7.1Using Skulbase on a phone

Every page works on a phone. Tables turn into cards, and the menu moves to the bottom of the screen.

• Use a current version of Chrome, Safari or Samsung Internet.
• Mark entry keeps your work on the phone if the network drops, and saves it when you are back online.
• Downloads such as report cards open in your phone’s PDF viewer, ready to share on WhatsApp or print.

8.1Where to get help

This guide is always available from Help in the menu, and as a PDF you can download and print.

• Your school administrator can add or reset accounts, fix classes and subjects, and change school settings.
• For problems with Skulbase itself, use the contact page at skulbase.com/contact, or call 0740 129 444.
• When you report a problem, say which page you were on, what you pressed and what you expected. A screenshot helps.