1. What if I forgot my password?
The ESF App does not require you to remember your password. In case you have changed your mobile device, you may sign out the app, sign in again with your school registered email and request a six digit unlock key.
2. What if I change my device?
Please remember to logout the app form your old device. Follow the same procedure to login:
Download the app
Enter the registered email in SIS.
Enter the Unlock Key sent you to by email within 30 minutes.
3. What if I am asked to input username and password?
Please clear the cache.
Log out from ESF App
Clear the cache and cookies in the device settings for your Browser
For iOS, below is Safari in Settings. If you click on "Clear History and Website Data", you can clear the old data. (You can keep the tabs)
For Android, Open Settings and select Storage. On the ESF App and Browser's info page, tap the Clear Cache option.
Unlock the ESF App with your email address.
4. What are the differences between iSAMS parent app and ESF App?
Please see below Comparison Table for details.
5. Messages I’ve Read have disappeared.
There are commonly two possible reasons for this:
After reading a message - it is automatically moved from the READ stream of messages to the UNREAD stream - simply click UNREAD to see the messages you have read
When a message is sent, the sender sets an expiry date for the message. This avoids the system becoming clogged with messages which are no longer relevant.
Tip: if you want to keep a particular message for longer or forever, forward it to an email address using the Forward button at the foot of the message details screen
6. I cannot Reply to or Forward app messages
Your device needs to have the default email account settings completed in your personal device settings. How you do this differs from machine to machine but if you Google <name of device> set up email , you will quickly find instructions personalised to your device: https://www.google.com/search?q=apple+X+set+up+email
7. I cannot see a tile or it doesn’t seem to work as a school describes
From time to time South Island School may change the configuration. We will inform you when we do this. You might be able to see a more up-to-date configuration by refreshing - simply pull the Dashboard down until you see the whirling icon as shown in below icon.
8. I have to unlock with a new PIN every time I open the App (Android)
The usual behaviour on all Apple and most Android phones is to retain the unlocked data for your Dashboard configuration - you should only have to unlock once at the start of each academic year. On some Android devices, by accident or design, the settings do not allow the App to continue running in the background when it is closed. If you search using Google for your phone model and instructions for retaining closed tasks in the background – I suspect some settings instructions will come up. This will very much depend on your phone and its settings.e.g. https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/6068458?hl=en
9. I Cannot See All My Children/Schools
First try swipe up and down on the Dashboard screen to check the whole Dashboard. Sometimes it is not obvious (depending on the device screen size) that there are schools/student underneath the first ones
If above doesn’t work, be aware that your Dashboard is built when you unlock with a PIN. When students move year/school (usually in early August) - you need to logout and unlock again to build your latest Dashboard
This is especially common for parents who took part in the Pilot in one of the 4 pilot schools
If you took part in the ESF App pilot last year (or were a curious early adopter) – at the start of each year you need to logout (or uninstall) the App and unlock with a new PIN.
This will then rebuild your App dashboard with your latest data including any new students, new ESF schools and updated student year groups .
Because the App has been updated since the pilot, we recommend:
1. Delete/Uninstall the ESF App
2. Go to the App store and search for ESF App to get the latest
3. Open the App and enter your email
4. Wait for the PIN to arrive by email (it is possible email will go to a spam folder)
5. Enter the PIN
6. Wait for unlock to complete, sometimes for as long as 3-5 min, whilst the new App dashboard is assembled – even after the whirling stops
Please note uninstalling and re-uninstalling does not normally wipe the App data - and so does not rebuild the Dashboard - you must logout and get a new unlock PIN
Parent using different emails in different schools/for different children. It’s possible you have registered children with different emails - please check with school administrator and update your email address if needed.
10. I’ve uninstalled and re-installed and I still do not see new children/schools (Android)
Some Android devices will try hard to retain your App data - even during a re-install. Try first to Clear storage and Clear cache from the App in the system settings. (see sample settings image below - your device might look different)
No need to reinstall - opening the App now should ask for an email and then send the fresh PIN needed
11. When I click "VLE", I see the VLE login screen. What is my username and password?
We do not provide username and password to parents for VLE/ESF App, as you should not need them to access VLE/ESF App.
If you are asked to input username and password, your device is keeping the old data and needs to clear the cache. Can you please try the following:
Log out ESF App
Clear the cache and cookies in the device settings for your Browser
For iOS,
Open Safari in Settings. If you click "Clear History and Website Data", tick "All history" and click "Clear history", you can clear the old data.
For Android,
Open your browser.
Android browser: Go to Menu > More > Settings or Menu > Settings > Privacy & Security.
Chrome: Go to Menu > Settings > Privacy.
Android browser: Tap Clear cache, Clear history, and Clear all cookie data as appropriate.
Chrome: Tap Clear browsing data at the bottom of the screen, leave the defaults selected (browsing history, cache, and cookies), then tap Clear.
Unlock the ESF App with your email address.