Student portfolio: teacher recommendations and parent responses

What the Portfolio tab is — and what it is not

The Portfolio tab is one of the five tabs on a student's profile page. The five tabs are Profile, Observations, Assessment, Portfolio, and QR Code.

Each entry on the Portfolio tab is attached to a specific term and academic year. When you look at the Portfolio tab, you see one card per term, with the teacher's recommendation text and the parent's response (if one has been written) shown on the same card.

Who can write what

Each role only sees their own write controls. A teacher sees the Add recommendation button; a parent sees the Add response or Edit response button. Neither side can edit the other's text.

Adding a teacher recommendation

Teachers and admins write recommendations from the student's profile in the main School Vault portal.

1. Open the student's profile from the Students list or by searching for the student's name.
2. Click the Portfolio tab.
3. Click Add recommendation.
4. A text area opens with the placeholder: "What should this child's parent know this term?" Write your recommendation. There is no character limit, but aim for a concise paragraph of 3–5 sentences covering key progress, areas of strength, and one specific target or follow-up for the parent.
5. Click Save. The recommendation is saved and immediately visible to the parent in their portal.

Viewing a recommendation as a teacher or admin

After saving, the recommendation appears on the Portfolio tab card for the current term. The card shows:

• The term name and academic year
• The recommendation text (under the teacher's name)
• The parent's response text (once added), below the recommendation

You can see the recommendation and the parent's response, but you cannot edit the parent's response.

Adding a parent response

Parents access the Portfolio tab from the parent portal (the School Vault parent-facing app or web view).

1. In the parent portal, navigate to the child's profile.
2. Open the Portfolio section.
3. Click Add response (or Edit response if a response already exists for this term).
4. A text area opens with the placeholder: "Share your thoughts or questions for the teacher." Write any comments, questions, or acknowledgements in response to the teacher's recommendation.
5. Click Save. The response is saved and immediately visible to the teacher and school admin.

Parents can edit their response at any time — the button changes from Add response to Edit response once a response exists for the current term.

Past terms

All Portfolio entries are preserved indefinitely. When you open the Portfolio tab, the most recent term appears at the top. Scroll down to see entries from previous terms and years. This creates a longitudinal record of teacher observations across the child's school career — a useful reference at transition points (moving to a new class or new teacher) and parent meetings.

Parent notifications

When a teacher saves a recommendation, the parent receives a notification. The notification type (in-app, SMS, WhatsApp) depends on the school's notification settings (Settings → Notifications). To confirm which notifications are enabled for your school, see article 4.6.

Common mistakes

• Expecting the Portfolio tab to work like a document folder. Teachers sometimes try to upload term reports or artefact photos here. Photos belong in Observations (which supports image uploads); documents should be shared through a separate channel.
• Not writing recommendations before report cards are distributed. Parents who receive a report card without a Portfolio recommendation often contact the school asking for narrative context — write the recommendation at the same time you finalise marks.
• Teachers trying to edit a parent's response. The UI does not show an edit control for the parent's text when viewed from the school side — this is by design. If a parent's response contains something that needs to be addressed, contact them directly.
• Assuming recommendations must be long. A concise 3–5 sentence recommendation is more useful than a long general summary. Focus on: one key achievement this term, one specific observation, and one thing the parent can support at home.
• Confusing the Portfolio tab with the Observations tab. Observations record specific moments (with photos, linked to curriculum indicators, dated). Portfolio is a term-level summary addressed to the parent.