Alerts were another set of data we migrated from the database of qualified teachers (DQT) to the Teaching Record System (TRS).
Alerts notify users of any restrictions, sanctions or prohibitions on a teaching record, including:
- permanent and interim prohibitions issued by the Secretary of State for Education
- sanctions imposed in other European Economic Area (EEA) member states
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) barring decisions
- failed induction
- Section 128 restrictions
- decisions not to issue a prohibition
We needed to design a way for users to view, add and manage them in the TRS console.
Why ‘alerts’?
During research with Dynamics CRM users to better understand how they interact with data in the DQT, we found that they typically referred to restrictions, sanctions or prohibitions as ‘alerts’.
“Prohibitions are a type of alert and ‘alerts’ is a catch-all term for all types of alert (which includes prohibitions, DBS barring or a decision not to prohibit).”
We adopted this language in our designs to align with users’ mental models.
Adding an alert
Users can add an alert by clicking ‘Add an alert’ in the Alerts section.
This takes them to a page where they can select the alert type.
Once they have selected an alert, we ask them to enter further details about it. This is optional.
The user can then choose whether to enter a link to the TRA panel outcomes page on GOV.UK.
The user must then enter an alert start date.
After this, they must select a reason for adding the alert and can choose to enter more information and upload evidence.
The user can then check and confirm the details they entered before adding the alert.
Once added, the alert and its details appear under ‘Open alerts’ in the Alerts section.
A notification banner will also now be displayed on the personal details page with a link users can click to view the alert.
Details of the alert are also added to the Change history section, including who added it and when.
Closing an alert
Users can close an alert by adding an end date to it.
First, the user clicks ‘Add’ in the open alert in the Alerts section.
They must now enter an end date for the alert.
We then ask why the user is adding an end date, whether they want to provide more details, and whether they want to upload evidence.
We then show the alert details and the reason for closing it, and ask if they’re sure they want to close it.
If they click ‘Confirm and close alert’, they return to the Alerts page where they will see the closed alert in the Closed alerts section.
Reopening an alert
Users can reopen a closed alert by clicking the alert in the Closed alerts section.
They will then see the details of the closed alert and can remove the end date, which reopens the alert.
We then ask why the user is removing the end date, whether they want to enter more details, and whether they want to upload evidence.
We then show the alert details and ask the user if they’re sure they want to re-open it.
Clicking ‘Confirm and reopen alert’ takes the user back to the Alerts section where it now appears under Open alerts.
Deleting an alert
Users can delete an alert by clicking ‘Delete’ in the open alert.
We then ask if the user wants to add why they’re deleting the alert and whether they want to upload evidence.
We then show the alert details and ask if they’re sure they want to delete it. We also warn that deleting an alert will permanently remove it from the TRS.
If they click the destructive ‘Delete alert’ button, they will return to the Alerts section where the alert is no longer visible.
Viewing alerts
There are different access permissions for viewing and editing alerts in TRS Console.
Viewers and support officers can view alerts and see if someone has a DBS alert. They cannot view the details of DBS alerts.
Alerts managers and access managers can edit the details of alerts and DBS alerts.