This short guide shows you how to use your school's app — finding news and events, taking part in surveys, contacting the school, and choosing the topics you want to follow. You can read it in order or jump straight to what you need.

1. Getting started

The first time you open the app, you'll choose your school and let it load.

1. On the Organisations screen, find your school — scroll the list or type its name in the Search box — then tap it.
2. The app fetches the latest information and shows a Synchronising data message. This can take up to 60 seconds the first time, so please give it a moment.

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2. Finding your way around

Tap the menu icon (the three lines) at the top-left of any screen to open the menu. From here you can reach everything:

• Dashboard (home), All News, Calendar and Surveys.
• Your school's topic shortcuts (Year 1, Trips and so on) and quick links (Website, Facebook).
• Contacts, Organisations (to switch school), Settings and App Info.

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3. Home and news

The home screen shows your school's latest posts, newest first. Each post shows its title, when it was posted and who by.

Tap a post to read it in full. To see every post in one place, open All News from the menu.

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4. Following the topics you care about

Posts are labelled with categories such as Year 1, Sports or Trips. Tap a category — from the menu, or a coloured label on a post — to see just the posts for that topic.

You can also choose which topics you're subscribed to in Settings (see section 8).

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5. Calendar

Open Calendar to see what's coming up. A dot under a date means there's an event that day. Tap a date to see the details below the calendar.

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6. Surveys

When your school would like your feedback, you'll find it under Surveys.

Tap a survey to open it, then tap your answer. Your response is anonymous.

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7. Contacts

The Contacts screen lists your school's key phone numbers, addresses, email and website. Tap a phone number to call it, an email address to write a message, or a website to open it.

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8. Settings

Open Settings from the menu. Here you can:

• Categories — choose which topics you'd like to see. Turn any topic off to stop its posts appearing.
• App Version — shows which version of the app you're on (useful if you ever report a problem).
• Sync History — shows the recent updates the app has fetched.

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9. If something isn't working

If the app doesn't look right, try these steps in order:

1. Give it a moment. Synchronising data can take up to 60 seconds — especially the first time, or if you haven't opened the app for a while.
2. Check for updates. Make sure you're on the latest version: visit the app store at jigsawschoolapps.com/qr/. If an update is shown, download it and see if that fixes the problem.
3. Still stuck? Report it to your school, and they'll pass it on to Jigsaw School Apps.

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That's everything you need to get the most from your school's app.