Sentral is a K-12 SIS used widely in Australian schools, particularly in NSW. Beyond pure SIS data, Sentral also handles attendance, behaviour and wellbeing notes — some of which can flow into PortalHQ.
What PortalHQ reads from Sentral
- Students — name, year level, gender, date of birth, status, photo.
- Parents — name, email, phone, relationship to students.
- Staff — name, email, role.
- Classes and courses — class lists, teachers, subjects.
- Timetables — periods, room allocations.
- Terms — calendar terms and dates.
- Year groups, houses, and rolls — grouping data.
- Attendance (optional) — Sentral attendance data can flow to PortalHQ for cross-referencing.
What PortalHQ writes back to Sentral
- Co-curricular activity enrolments — where configured.
- Pastoral / behaviour notes — where configured.
Write-back is more capable for Sentral than for some other SIS due to Sentral’s API surface. Talk to your PortalHQ rep about which write-backs make sense for your school.
How the sync runs
| Sync | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Full sync | Overnight (daily) |
| Delta sync | Hourly |
| Write-back | Continuous queue |
Setting up the integration
- Enable the Sentral REST API on your instance.
- Generate API credentials — usually an API key per integration.
- Share credentials with PortalHQ securely.
- PortalHQ configures the connector with the right Sentral endpoints.
- Run a test sync and validate the data.
- Enable the schedule.
Sentral-specific notes
- Module structure — Sentral organises data into modules (Enrolments, Timetables, Attendance, etc.). API permissions are per-module. Make sure the API user has access to every module PortalHQ needs.
- Mobile push integration — PortalHQ can deep-link from the parent app to the Sentral mobile app for specific actions if you have both apps installed.
- Attendance write-back — if your school wants PortalHQ-marked co-curricular attendance to flow to Sentral, this is configurable. Limited to specific session types.
Common issues
| Issue | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sync fails | API key invalidated | Regenerate the key in Sentral and update PortalHQ. |
| Missing modules | API user doesn’t have access to a module | Update Sentral API permissions. |
| Slow timetable sync | Sentral timetable module is slow to query | Talk to PortalHQ support about scheduling adjustments. |
| Write-back duplicates | Multiple PortalHQ events generating one Sentral note | Tune the write-back filter to consolidate. |
Monitoring
The integrations dashboard shows sync status. Sentral integrations are usually stable once configured but worth checking weekly for unexpected errors.
Migration
Moving to or from Sentral is a planned project. PortalHQ can preserve historical data via ID mapping during the cutover.