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Teacher/Staff Permissions Overview

[For Admins + Managers] Learn about various roles that can be assigned to staff profiles and how to update a staff member's role when needed

Sabrina avatar
Written by Sabrina
Updated over a week ago

Admins and Managers are able to create new accounts and update existing accounts for staff members to assign the specific role they will need depending on the level of access they should have at the program.

Continue reading below to learn more about these roles, how to add them, and how to update roles on existing accounts!


Understand Staff Roles

There are 4 different role options you will see available when adding or updating a staff member's permissions:

  • Staff: default staff role with no ability to edit student information

  • Lead Staff: staff role with access to edit student information

  • Manager: admin role without Billing and Subscription access

  • Admin: admin role with all access (including Billing and Subscription)

  • (Multi-Sites Only) Organization Reports: Able to only view and run reports for the organization

  • (Multi-Sites Only) Multi-Site Admin: full access to brightwheel & able to assign this role and Organization Reports role to any staff

  • Administrators will have full access to add and manage Staff, Lead Staff, Manager, and Administrator profiles.

  • Managers will have access to add and manage Staff, Lead Staff, and Manager profiles, but not administrators. If you are a Manager and need to add or update a staff member's profile to Admin, please contact an existing administrator at your program to complete this action.

It's also important to call out that on the web, Managers have the ability to change student statuses to help maintain the admissions pipeline, but the ability to set the student to active and inactive is up to Admins who have higher permissions.

ℹ️ While Staff and Lead Staff without Admin privileges will only be able to see Students in their assigned Rooms on the app, they will be able to view all Student Profiles in the school on the web, regardless of assigned Rooms. If you do not want Staff to be able to view all Student Profiles, we recommend leveraging our Room Device feature.


Multi-Site Roles

The Multi-Site Admin and Organization Reports roles are only available to programs with multiple locations within brightwheel.

  • The Multi-Site Admin can also be called the multi-location administrator, or Super Administrator, and they have full access across multiple locations.

  • The Organization Reports role allows the staff member to access brightwheel on the web to view reports for all the sites they are listed at with this permission. This is great for when you have a staff member that only needs access to reports and does not need access to student profiles, billing details, messaging, activities, and more!

💡 Visit our Multi-Site Reporting resource to learn about the reports the Organization Reports role has access to.

ℹ️ Only Multi-Site Admins can remove, or assign this role to other Multi-Site Admins along with the Organization Reports. To manage staff roles Multi-site Administrators can follow the steps below, or refer to our Manage Multi-Sites resource to leverage the Multi-Site Dashboard tool.


Add Staff

As you are creating a new staff account, you can choose which role to assign to them during the creation process.

  • Review our Add Teachers and Staff Profiles resource to learn more about how to add new staff accounts to your program.

  • If you've already set up the staff profile but didn't invite them to join your program yet, review our Invite Teachers and Staff to brightwheel resource to learn how to get them invited!

  • If you've already created a staff member's profile and they need to have their current role updated, you can update permissions on the web following the steps below!


View Staff Roles

All staff roles can be quickly viewed from the Staff List on the web. This allows administrators and managers to easily see all roles in one spot as opposed to having to click into each staff member's profile.

  1. Navigate to the Staff & Payroll page on the web

    1. Multi-Site Admins can also leverage the Multi-Site Dashboard tool to view staff roles across multiple locations at once

  2. On the Staff tab, view the 'Staff List', specifically the Role column
    💡 Use the Role filter to sort by a specific role!


Update Staff Permissions on the Web

If an existing staff profile needs to have a new role assigned, the staff member's permissions can be easily modified from the web.

  1. Navigate to the Staff & Payroll section on the website

    1. Multi-Site Admins can also leverage the Multi-Site Dashboard tool to manage staff roles across multiple locations at once.

    2. To update a staff member who is currently assigned the Organization Reports role, you will need to go to the Multi-Site Dashboard linked above

  2. Use the search bar, Room filter, or Role filter to narrow down the list and locate the staff member needing their role updated

  3. Once located, click the name of the staff member to open their profile

  4. Click Edit in the 'Brightwheel role & status' tile

  5. Use the Role drop-down menu to select the appropriate role for the staff member

  6. Click Save to apply changes


Update Staff Permissions on the App

Existing staff accounts can also have their permissions updated from the mobile app, but only if the staff member needs to be updated to Lead Staff in order to have editing permissions for student profiles.

If the staff member needs to be updated to Manager or Admin, please complete the steps above on the web!

  1. Log in to the brightwheel app

  2. Tap on School Profile

  3. Choose the Staff card at the top of the screen

  4. Select the staff member you wish to edit

  5. Scroll down to Permissions

  6. Toggle on/off Edit Student Information


Automatic Security Notice for Admins

🚩 When a new Admin profile is added or existing permissions are updated, brightwheel sends an automatic email to all Admins. Managers won't receive updates on new Admins. This notice ensures immediate visibility on Admin additions and updates, aiding in quick identification.

If an unexpected or known administrator role is added, promptly contact brightwheel Support for investigation and assistance.

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