Focus Visits are structured visit records built around a focus chosen by your Local Authority. Unlike Other/Cluster Visits, Focus Visits use an LA-defined structure and may include a number of required sections that must be completed before the visit can be finalised.
Important: Always use Pendulum in a single browser tab. Creating, editing or deleting visits with multiple tabs open can lead to overwritten information or issues with report saving.
Focus Visit Structure & Setup
Before each term, Angel Solutions contacts key Pendulum contacts at each Local Authority to confirm the Focus Visit structure you'd like for the forthcoming term. The focus options and sections that appear are determined by templates you send us.
If you cannot create a Focus Visit, or you receive an error when trying to create one, it usually means we have not yet received confirmation of your LA’s focus structure from your Pendulum admins.
Please contact your LA Pendulum Admins and ask them to send the information to the Pendulum Support Team. If you are unsure who your LA Pendulum Admins are, please contact nexussupport@angelsolutions.co.uk.
The visit record is grouped into clear sections, helping you complete the key details, add people linked to the visit, manage actions and attachments, and prepare the final report.
Visit Focus
The main part of a Focus visit are the sections that appear on the right-hand side of the page. These are controlled by the Focus dropdown under the Key Details heading. You may have several options here, as your LA may have requested multiple different focuses with a variety of sections.
An example focus structure is shown in the screenshot below.
You can complete as many sections as you like, but some are mandatory. Required sections are marked with a star in the Required column. All required sections must be completed before you can submit the report to the school.
Click a section title to open it. The other sections in your configuration remain visible on the right-hand side, allowing you to easily move between them. When you click into another section, Pendulum saves the text in the section you are currently editing.
Some sections include LA Adviser Guidance above the text area. Click this to expand additional guidance about what information should be entered.
Some sections may also include a table or dropdown list beneath the text box.
Use Save to save your progress, or Back to return to the core visit page. Once a section has been completed, a green tick will appear next to it. You can still return to that section later to make changes.
Additional Details
The Additional Details section includes information such as:
- Administration time
- Visit reference
- Your name
- Visit Category
- Funding Category
Your LA may ask you to complete the Visit Category and Funding Category. These options are set by your Local Authority and should be selected from the available dropdowns.
For information on adding or editing visit categories, see the Managing Visit Categories guide.
Advisers & Attendees
Use the Advisers & Attendees section to add people or schools linked to the visit. Click Add / View beside the relevant option to add or update the details.
You can use the Cluster Visit option when more than one school was involved in the same session.
To do this, create the record against the school where the session took place, then click Cluster Visit to add any other schools visited, to make the record available to the other schools.
Actions & Attachments
The Actions & Attachments section shows any actions or files linked to the visit. These are explained in more detail further down this guide.
Report
The Report section allows you to manage the front cover options, download the report and control whether the visit is visible to schools.
Actions
Use the Actions section to add and view action points linked to a visit. These may be actions for the adviser, the school, or another relevant person.
When an action is added to a visit, it is stored on the visit record and linked to the individual school. It will also appear on the school dashboard and the Pendulum Actions Dashboard.
Adding an Action
To add an action, click Add/View Actions. Then click Create New Action.
Add a Title and select an Assignee.
The assignee can be:
- Yourself
- Another user with Nexus access within your LA
- A school staff member, by selecting From School and entering their details manually
Add a due date and enter the action details. You can also tick Key Action if the action should be marked as key.
When you are happy with the action, click Create.
The action will be embedded on the visit record. From this page, you can review the action, mark it as Completed, edit it or delete it.
To return to this page later, open the visit and click Add/View Actions.
Viewing Actions on the Actions Dashboard
Actions added to visits also appear on the Actions Dashboard and feed into the school dashboard for the relevant establishment.
Tip: If you cannot see an action you expected, check that the visit is finalised and review the Completion Status, Assignee, Due Date and Key Actions filters.
To edit an action, click the action title or the pencil icon. Update the required fields, or mark the action as complete or key, then click Save.
To download the visit linked to an action, click the icon in the visit column. This will download the visit record as a PDF.
To delete an action, click the bin icon.
For more information, see the Actions Dashboard guide.
Attaching Files
Once you have saved the visit record, you can add attachments from the Actions & Attachments section by clicking Upload Files. Note: The option to upload files will not appear until the visit record has been saved.
After click select Upload Files, click Add Related File and select the file from your computer. Alternatively, drag and drop the file into the upload area.
You can also add a description for the file if required.
By default, uploaded files are only available to users within Pendulum. Tick Make file available to schools, once submitted if the school should be able to access the document once the visit has been finalised.
When done, click Attach. The file will then be embedded on the visit.
Formatting the Report
Pendulum allows you to choose what data appears on the front cover of the visit report. To customise what is displayed for this visit only, click Cover Options.
Tick the options you want to include, then click Save and Close. The selected options will appear on the final report.
Important: Only Pendulum admins (Visit/Super Visit Managers) can control the default options across the entire LA. Advisers can still change these options on individual records.
Check the Headteacher details before submitting
It is important to check the Headteacher details before submitting a Focus Visit. The notification is sent to the listed Headteacher within Perspective Lite, and they are the person expected to access and respond to the report.
If the details are wrong, the report may be sent to the wrong person. Updating the Headteacher afterwards will not change the name on the original report, which can cause delays in the school receiving and responding to it.
Headteacher details are taken from the school’s Perspective Lite account. If the details are incorrect, you can request an update by going to Admin > Perspective Accounts and clicking GIAS Mismatch next to the relevant school.
If the school shows a GIAS Match, or you need more help, see the Updating Perspective Lite Headteachers guide.
If a school is not listed and does not have a Perspective Lite account, please contact nexussupport@angelsolutions.co.uk. Our support team can help set up a new Perspective Lite account.
You can use the attached template at the end of this guide to provide the required school details before you submit the visit report.
Submitting the visit
When all required sections are complete, the Notify School option becomes available. If your visit contains only non-mandatory sections, you must still complete at least one section before submitting.
Important: Once submitted, the Focus Visit record becomes locked. You will not be able to make further changes unless the school responds, or you recall the visit.
When you submit a Focus Visit, the Headteacher receives an email inviting them to review the report through their Perspective Lite account. If the Headteacher is happy with the report, they can mark it as Accurate, which finalises the record.
They have ten working days to respond. If no response is received in that time, the record is automatically finalised.
If the Headteacher believes there is a problem with the report, they can mark it as Inaccurate and add comments explaining why.
The visit is then returned to you and shown as an Inaccurate Record on your homepage. The adviser also receives an email notification.
To update an inaccurate record, open the Inaccurate Records area on the homepage and click View next to the relevant visit.
You can also click View Comments to read the Headteacher’s feedback.
After making the necessary changes, click Finalise to complete the updated record and make it available to the school again.
For an overview of what happens on the school side, see the Perspective Lite Records of Visit guide.
Recalling a visit
If you need to make changes after submitting a Focus Visit, you can recall it from the Pendulum homepage.
To recall a visit:
- Return to the homepage.
- Find the visit.
- Click the three dots beside it.
- Select Recall visit.
Once recalled, the visit returns to Draft so you can make updates.
Viewing and downloading reports
From the homepage, you can open a visit by clicking View. If the visit has already been submitted, each section will remain locked unless you recall it.
To view the report, either click the PDF icon beside the visit on the homepage or open the visit and select View Current Report.
You can also download a Microsoft Word version of the visit.
Tip: If you copy text back into Pendulum from Word, avoid changing the text formatting first, as unsupported fonts can cause formatting issues in the final report.