Forms Parent Portal

Forms

Forms let you collect information from parents — permission notes, medical details, workshop sign-ups, and more. You build and manage forms in MSM, and parents complete them through the MSM parent portal. This guide covers creating a form, building its questions, adding students, emailing parents, and reviewing responses.

1Create form 2Build questions 3Add students 4Email parents 5View responses
1
Create a form
  1. Go to Forms in the main menu
  2. Click + Add in the top right
  3. Fill in the popup:
Field
Notes
Form Title
The name of the form — e.g. Band Camp Permission 2025
Template
Choose how to start the form — see options below

Starting options

Option
What it does
Blank form
Starts with an empty form — build from scratch
Band Camp Form
Pre-built template for band camp permission notes
Medical Form
Pre-built template for collecting medical information
Permission Form
Pre-built template for general permission notes
Workshop Permission Form
Pre-built template for workshop or event permissions
Copy from existing form
Duplicates any form already in your forms list
  1. Click Add — the new form opens ready for editing
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Tip: Starting from a pre-built template is the fastest way to get going — you can edit, remove, or reorder any of the pre-filled questions to suit your event.

2
Build the form

Inside the form, click the Form tab, then click Edit in the top right to enter edit mode.

Form settings

At the top of the edit view, you can configure the following settings before adding questions:

Setting
Notes
Form Title
Click the pencil icon next to the title to rename the form
Due date
Optional deadline shown to parents. Overdue dates appear in red on the forms list.
Active on Portal
Tick to make the form visible to parents in the MSM parent portal. Untick to hide it.

Adding questions and content

Click Add item to choose what to add next. Build the form by adding items in order from top to bottom.

Item type
Use it for
Heading
A bold section title to organise the form into named sections
Text Block
Instructions or information text — supports rich formatting such as bold and lists
Text Question
A short free-text answer from the parent
Select Question
Parent picks one or more options from a list you define
Checkbox Question
A single tick box — e.g. I give permission for…
Date Question
Parent selects a date using a date picker
Number Question
Parent enters a number. You can set minimum and maximum limits.

Question options

When you click on any question to edit it, you can set the following options:

Available options on questions
  • A response to this question is required — the parent must answer before they can submit the form
  • Allow a comment to be added — adds a free-text box below the question for extra notes from the parent
  • Place a line under the item — adds a visual divider below the question to separate sections
  • Allow multiple responses — for Select questions only — allows the parent to choose more than one option

Editing and reordering

  • Click any item in the list to edit it
  • Drag the ≡ handle on the left of any row to reorder items
  • To delete an item, open it and click Delete — this cannot be undone

Previewing the form

Click the eye icon next to the Edit button (top right of the Form tab) to toggle between edit view and preview. Preview shows exactly what parents will see in the portal.

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Note: The form is not visible to parents until you tick Active on Portal. You can build and preview the form at any time before making it live.

3
Add students to the form
  1. Inside the form, click the Students tab
  2. Click Add Students
  3. Select the students who need to complete this form and confirm

Once added, students appear in the list with their completion status. Use the All, Completed, and Not Completed filter tabs above the list to narrow the view.

To remove students from the form, tick their checkboxes and click Remove Students in the toolbar.

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Tip: Add students before making the form active on the portal. Parents can only see and complete a form if their child has been added to it.

4
Email parents
  1. In the Students tab, tick the checkboxes next to the students you want to notify
  2. Click Email in the toolbar — this button is only active when students are selected
  3. Compose your message or choose a saved email template
  4. Click Send

Each parent receives an individual email with a link to complete the form in the MSM parent portal.

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Tip: Use the Not Completed filter before selecting students to quickly identify and send a reminder to parents who have not yet responded.

5
View responses

In the Students tab, the Completed column shows a tick and the date and time the parent submitted the form.

Click on any completed student row to expand it and read their answers inline — you can see each question and the parent's response without leaving the page.

Use the All, Completed, and Not Completed filter tabs to quickly see who has responded and who still needs to.

Exporting responses

  1. Tick the checkboxes next to the students whose responses you want to export
  2. Click Export in the toolbar
  3. A CSV file downloads automatically, named after the form
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Tip: Export to CSV when you need to share responses with another staff member, print a sign-in list, or keep a record outside of MSM.


Managing your forms list

The Forms page shows all your forms with a completion progress bar for each one. A full green bar with a tick indicates all students have responded.

Column
What it shows
Form
The form title
Active
A tick if the form is currently visible to parents in the portal
Due Date
The response deadline — shown in red if the date has passed
Completion
A progress bar showing how many students have responded, with a count — e.g. 1/5

Use the Active and All toggle at the top of the page to switch between showing only active forms and all forms including inactive ones. Use the search box to find a form by name.

Quick reference

A handy reminder once you are familiar with the system.

Task
Where to go
Create a form
Forms > + Add
Edit form questions
Forms > open form > Form tab > Edit button
Preview what parents see
Forms > open form > Form tab > eye icon
Make a form live for parents
Forms > open form > Form tab > tick Active on Portal
Add students to a form
Forms > open form > Students tab > Add Students
Remove students from a form
Forms > open form > Students tab > tick students > Remove Students
Email parents
Forms > open form > Students tab > tick students > Email
See who has responded
Forms > open form > Students tab > Completed filter
Read a parent's answers
Forms > open form > Students tab > click a completed student row
Export responses to CSV
Forms > open form > Students tab > tick students > Export