Providers can seamlessly send digital forms to families in brightwheel, enabling programs to collect information from families for registration, program selection, and more! Information from forms can conveniently populate on student profiles in the designated fields and even add new contacts.
Submissions are stored in one place, making it easy to track the families that still need to submit any program forms.
Providers can also share documents with families using options like Document Requests, Fillable Documents, and Contracts.
Types of questions and fields available on forms
In brightwheel, there are two types of questions you can include on a form:
Preset (by brightwheel) | Pre-made questions in your account that correspond to existing fields on the child's profile (E.g. Name, contacts, allergies). Approved answers auto-update the information collected to student profiles. |
Custom (by provider) | You can add custom fields unique to your program. Answers to custom questions do not auto-update on student profiles. |
Additionally, you can specify the Field type, controlling the information families can enter on your form. This provides various formats for responses, such as requiring a yes/no answer, selecting from a dropdown, select a checkbox (For Fillable Forms only), drawing a signature, choosing a date and more!
Create a new form
Log in on the web
Go to Paperwork in the sidebar menu > Forms & Requests tab
Click Create new and choose the type of form
Add relevant fields, questions or documents. Mark fields as required by clicking the pencil icon next to a field
Click Create when finished
Share a form
Once you've created a form, you have different options available for how you'd like to share it, including adding it to an Admissions packet. Please visit Sharing Digital Forms for additional information.
Available preset fields
Each form is comprised of sections of fields that guardians will be able to fill out. These fields directly correspond with the sections of a child's profile.
The following information can be collected on a form with preset questions:
Child information: name, birthday, allergies, doctor's name & phone, gender |
Parent/Guardian information: name, relationship to child, email, phone number
💡Tip: You only need to include the Parent/Guardian section just once. Guardians will see all current contacts listed on the child's profile (except emergency contacts) and have the option to add additional contacts to the form. |
Enrollment information: desired start date, ask if a sibling is attending & sibling name |
Family mailing address |
Parent signature |
Create your own custom sections & fields
Custom sections and fields can be added to any form. At this time, any information collected in the custom section/field will not be displayed directly in the student profile, but will remain accessible through the form submission.
Click the + New Section button or click the Add fields button within a section to add a Custom Section.
ℹ️ Each field must have a unique name. If you need multiple fields for the same type of information, such as parent names, use distinct labels like 'Parent Name 1' and 'Parent Name 2' to prevent duplicates.
Request guardian signatures
If you need signatures on a form, you can require guardians include a typed signature (text or cursive) and/or draw their signature.
To require a drawn signature, click the pencil icon next to a field, then select the Drawn signature field type.
Available field types
When you create a question or field, you can decide how the Guardian responds by selecting from the following field types. For instance, you may want families to provide their program and schedule preference with a drop down selection question.
Text
Yes/No
Number
Date
Paragraph
Single or multi select dropdown
Checkboxes (For Fillable Documents only)
Drawn signature
Typed signature
State
Country
Reviewing form submissions
After a form is created, you will have a few options for managing these forms such as requesting changes on a guardian's submission or approving a form submission.
See Review form submissions resource for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I collect a registration fee with forms?
Can I collect a registration fee with forms?
While there is not currently a way to collect fees on a individual form, you can charge a submission fee when sending a Admissions packet! To learn more, visit Add a packet submission fee.
What if I need to edit a form I’ve already sent to families?
What if I need to edit a form I’ve already sent to families?
You can easily edit and reorder sections within a form. Editing a form will not affect or change any historical submissions. For any other additions or changes, we suggest making the needed edits and then re-sharing the form with your families.
How do I make changes to a form that has already been submitted and approved?
How do I make changes to a form that has already been submitted and approved?
We recommend re-sharing the form that needs updating so guardians receive a new copy and submit the updated information.
Why am I receiving the error message, "The form must have at least one field" when sharing a form?
Why am I receiving the error message, "The form must have at least one field" when sharing a form?
This is occurring because there are no editable fields added to the form! If this was sent to families, they wouldn't be able to fill out the form digitally. To correct this, edit the form you've created and select at least one editable field following the guidance above.
Why are student profiles not updating when I approve a form?
Why are student profiles not updating when I approve a form?
Most likely you did not select Approve and Update when reviewing the form or you used a custom field instead of a preset question. Once a form is submitted and you selects Approve and Update, any data included in the preset questions will auto populate on the corresponding fields on the child's profile. Data included in custom sections will not auto populate on the student's profile.