What is covered in this article?
- Overview
- Family Circumstances vs Family Type — What's the Difference?
- Default List Values
- Viewing the Fields in Student Details
- Editing the Lists
- Using the Fields on Forms
- Filtering by Family Circumstances and Family Category
- Using the Fields as Lead Score Criteria
- Importing and Exporting Data
Overview
Family Circumstances and Family Category are two student-level fields in Enquiry Tracker that allow schools to capture and track important context about a prospective family's situation. Both fields come with a default list of values that can be tailored to suit each school's needs via Admin > School Lists.
These fields help admissions teams build a more complete picture of each family, support more informed enrolment decisions, and allow schools to filter and segment their pipeline based on family context.
Family Circumstances vs Family Type — What's the Difference?
While both fields relate to family context, they serve different purposes:
Family Circumstances — A multi-select field that captures specific circumstances relevant to a family, such as whether a child is in out-of-home care, there are court orders in place, or other considerations that may be relevant to the enrolment process. Multiple values can be selected for a single student.
Family Type — A multi-select field that allows schools to categorise families according to broader classifications, such as whether a family is a New Arrival family or a Staff Member family. Multiple values can be selected for a single student.
Both fields are visible in Student Details and can be collected via forms, exported in data reports, and used in filters and Lead Score calculations.
Note: Family Type can be included on all form types, however, Family Circumstances is only available on Apply Forms.
Default List Values
Each field comes pre-loaded with a default set of values. These can be customised by a School Admin at any time via Admin > School Lists.
Family Type default values:
- New Arrival Family
- Refugee Family
- Defence Force Family
- Staff Member Family
- None of the Above
Family Circumstances default values:
- Out of Home Care
- Foster Care
- Kinship Care
- Ward of State
- Court Orders in Place
- Domestic Violence Order
- Mother Deceased
- Father Deceased
- Mother Incarcerated
- Father Incarcerated
- None of the Above
Viewing the Fields in Student Details
Both Family Circumstances and Family Type are displayed in the Student Details screen, in the Student section alongside other student-level fields.
The fields can be set manually by a school user directly in Student Details, or populated automatically when a family submits a form that includes either field.
Editing the Lists
Each field has its own default list of values that can be viewed and edited under Admin > School Lists. School Admins can add, remove, or rename list items to reflect the terminology and options that are relevant to their school.
To edit the list for either field:
- Go to Admin > School Lists.
- Locate Family Circumstances or Family Type in the list.
- Use the Include in List toggle to show or hide individual values.
- Add new items or edit existing ones as needed.
- Save your changes.
Note: Values that are unchecked from the Include in List toggle will no longer appear as selectable options on forms or in Student Details, but will still appear as filter options so that existing data remains searchable.
Using the Fields on Forms
Both Family Circumstances and Family Category are available to add to your school's forms. They are hidden by default and must be explicitly enabled for each form where you wish to collect the information.
Classic Forms (General Enquiry, Event Registration, Prospectus Request) — Family Type can be added via Admin > Manage Fields for the relevant form.
Apply Forms — Both fields are available to include in Apply Forms. When added, they appear in the Family section of the form, after Family Connection.
Once a family submits a form with either field completed, the values are automatically synced to the student's record in Student Details.
Note: Neither field is mandatory by default. Schools can configure whether they are required via Admin > Manage Fields.
Filtering by Family Circumstances and Family Category
Both fields can be used as filters to help you identify and work with students based on family context. The filters are available in the following screens:
- Students List — Filter by Family Circumstances or Family Type to narrow down your student list.
- Contacts List — The same filters are available when viewing contacts.
Using the Fields as Lead Score Criteria
Both Family Circumstances and Family Category can be added as criteria when configuring Lead Scores. This allows schools to automatically weight students based on family context as part of their enrolment pipeline scoring.
To add either field to your Lead Score configuration, go to Admin > Lead Score and select the relevant field and values.
Importing and Exporting Data
Both Family Circumstances and Family Category are included in Enquiry Tracker's standard CSV import and export functionality. This means you can:
- Export student data that includes these fields for reporting or analysis outside the system.
- Import data with these fields pre-populated, making it easy to bulk-update existing records or migrate data from another system.