Positions & Permissions
A position is a named staff role — for example, Head of Department, Librarian, or Sports Coach — that carries a specific set of permissions. Every staff member has a position, and their access to features inside the school is determined by that position, not by their user account alone.
This guide explains how to create a new position from Settings and how positions work day-to-day.
What positions control
Section titled “What positions control”When a staff member is assigned a position, they inherit its permissions. Permissions cover things like:
- Viewing or editing student records
- Marking and editing attendance
- Entering and publishing grades
- Managing timetables and classes
- Collecting or viewing fee records
- Accessing school settings
Two staff members with different positions — even on the same school — may see entirely different menus and options.
Staff types
Section titled “Staff types”Every position belongs to one of two staff types:
| Staff type | Who it is for | Base permissions |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching Staff | Teachers with classroom roles — subjects, sections, timetable, grades | Teacher-level defaults |
| Non-Teaching Staff | Admin, support, finance, operations — no classroom assignment | Staff-level defaults |
The staff type cannot be changed after a position is created.
Default positions
Section titled “Default positions”When you set up your school, Premeena seeds a set of default positions automatically:
Teaching Staff — Teacher, Head of Department
Non-Teaching Staff — Principal, Vice Principal, Admin Assistant, Accountant
These defaults are a starting point. You can assign staff to them immediately or create new positions to fit roles that are unique to your school.
System positions
Section titled “System positions”Alongside the default positions, Premeena automatically creates two System positions that exist in every school:
| System position | Staff type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Unassigned (Teaching) | Teaching Staff | Safety net for teaching staff who have lost their position |
| Unassigned (Non-Teaching) | Non-Teaching Staff | Safety net for non-teaching staff who have lost their position |
Why they exist
Section titled “Why they exist”When you delete a position, any staff members assigned to it need somewhere to go. Rather than leaving them without a record — or blocking the deletion entirely — Premeena moves them automatically to the matching Unassigned system position. Their profile and history stay intact; they simply lose all feature access until you reassign them.
What “Unassigned” means for a staff member
Section titled “What “Unassigned” means for a staff member”A staff member in an Unassigned position:
- Retains their account — they can still log in.
- Has no permissions — they cannot access any school features until reassigned.
- Appears in Staff lists — so you can find and reassign them quickly.
Restrictions
Section titled “Restrictions”System positions are marked with a lock icon in the interface. You cannot:
- Edit their name or description
- Add or remove permissions
- Delete them
What to do if staff land here
Section titled “What to do if staff land here”If you see staff members in an Unassigned position after deleting a position, go to Staff, filter by the Unassigned position, and reassign each member to an appropriate position so they regain access.
How to create a new position
Section titled “How to create a new position”-
Open Settings
Section titled “Open Settings”From your school dashboard, click Settings in the left sidebar, then choose Positions & Permissions from the settings navigation.
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Click “Create Position”
Section titled “Click “Create Position””Click the Create Position button in the top-right corner of the page. This opens the Create Position modal.
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Enter a name
Section titled “Enter a name”Type a clear, descriptive name for the position.
Examples: Librarian, Sports Coach, Head of Exams, IT Coordinator
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Add a description (optional)
Section titled “Add a description (optional)”Use the description to record what this position is responsible for. This is visible to other administrators and helps when assigning staff later.
Example: “Manages the school library — book inventory, student borrowing, and reading programmes.”
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Choose the staff type
Section titled “Choose the staff type”Select either Teaching Staff or Non-Teaching Staff.
- Choose Teaching Staff if the person will be assigned to classes, subjects, or a timetable.
- Choose Non-Teaching Staff for administrative, support, or operations roles.
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Click Create Position. The new position card appears immediately in the list under the correct staff type group.
How to customise permissions
Section titled “How to customise permissions”After creating a position, click its card to open the Position Detail view. The permissions panel shows every available permission, grouped by area (Attendance, Grades, Fees, Students, Settings, etc.).
Each permission shows one of four states:
| Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green check | Granted by default for this staff type |
| Blue check + Custom badge | Not a default — you explicitly added it |
| Grey × + Removed badge | Was a default — you explicitly removed it |
| Faint × | Not available / not granted |
To add a permission — click any row that shows a faint ×. It turns blue (custom added).
To remove a default permission — click any row with a green check. It turns grey with a Removed badge.
To undo all changes — click Reset to Defaults. This removes every custom override and restores the position to its base defaults.
Changes take effect immediately. Staff assigned to the position see the updated access on their next page load.
Practical use cases
Section titled “Practical use cases”Librarian
Section titled “Librarian”Create a Non-Teaching Staff position called Librarian. By default, non-teaching staff have limited access. Use the permissions panel to grant Students — view so the librarian can look up student records. Remove fee and settings permissions they do not need.
Head of Exams
Section titled “Head of Exams”Create a Teaching Staff position called Head of Exams. Start from the teacher defaults (attendance, grades, timetable), then add Grades — publish if you want this role to be able to publish results without waiting for an admin.
Sports Coach
Section titled “Sports Coach”Create a Teaching Staff position called Sports Coach. Revoke Grades — edit if coaches should mark attendance for sports periods but should not enter academic grades.
Finance Officer
Section titled “Finance Officer”Create a Non-Teaching Staff position called Finance Officer. Add Fees — collect and Fees — manage to grant full fee access, and revoke Settings — edit so they cannot change school configuration.
Assigning a position to a staff member
Section titled “Assigning a position to a staff member”Positions are assigned when you invite or edit a staff member. Go to Staff, open the staff member’s profile, and select the position from the Position field. A staff member can hold only one position at a time.
Deleting a position
Section titled “Deleting a position”Open the position’s detail view and click the trash icon in the top-right corner. A confirmation dialog explains what happens:
- The position is permanently removed.
- All staff currently assigned to it are moved to the relevant Unassigned system position (no permissions).
- Those staff members will not lose their records, but they will lose access to features until you reassign them to a different position.
System positions (marked with a lock icon) and the pre-seeded default positions cannot be deleted.
Who can manage positions?
Section titled “Who can manage positions?”Only users with the Roles — edit permission can create, modify, or delete positions. By default this is limited to the school owner and administrators. Staff with Roles — view only can see positions but cannot make changes.