Year End Guidance Notes for Northamptonshire Schools 2013
For Northamptonshire Schools
The following guidance notes have been produced in conjunction with NCC to support Northamptonshire schools in completing the End of Year procedures in SIMS. The 3 sets of guidance notes are:
Pastoral End of Year procedures for Secondary schools
Academic End of Year Procedures for Secondary schools
This document summarises the main Census queries experienced by our Service Desk . For each query there is a suggested solution, but if that does not resolve your query please contact the Service Desk on 08448 938000, esd@capita.co.uk
Guidance Notes for School Census Spring 2013 are available below. Please note that you need to have upgraded to the Spring release of Sims .net 7.150 to be able to run this return.
The following guidance notes have been produced in conjunction with NCC to support Northamptonshire schools in producing the Summer 2013 Census Return.
If you require further assistance with your Census please do not hesitate to contact the helpdesk 0844 8922406.
FMS v6.150 Spring 2013 – Cash Flow and Income & Expenditure Reports
There are currently two reported issues within FMS reports. Patch 18127 is available to correct both reports and the patch will be included in the FMS6 Summer 2013 release. We apologise for the inconvenience and further details upon the specific issues are detailed below. Income and Expenditure 2012/20
The value of the mapped ledger code against E17 Rates is distorting the value within the Income section of the report on page 4.
This does not affect the statutory CFR Return for 2012/2013.
Cash Flow Reports - Summary and Detailed
The value of the unpaid AP transactions is being displayed with the incorrect signage on the Cash Flow Report which distorts the report and projects an incorrect bank balance.
The solution to both or either of these problems is to apply Patch 18127 which can only be applied to the Spring 2013 release.
Patch 18127 is available upon request from your SIMS Service Desk (Telephone 0844 893 8000 or ESD@Capita.co.uk.
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03/05/13
Key Stage guidance for EYFS, Year 1 Phonics, Year 2 Phonics recheck and KS1 Summer 2013
For Northamptonshire Schools
The attached documentation is now available for downloading to assist schools through the required processes to complete their Key Stage Returns to the Local Authority.
A copy of all guidance has already been posted to all Northamptonshire schools.
The Submission Dates for returns are:
Early Years (EYFSP) data to local authority – From Tuesday 11th June 2013. Deadline Friday 24th June 2013
Year 1 Phonics data to local authority – From Monday 17th June. Deadline Monday 1st July 2013
Year 2 Phonics recheck data to local authority – From Monday 17th June. Deadline Monday1st July 2013
Key Stage 1 data to local authority – From Monday 3rd June 2013. Deadline Friday 21st June 2013
The attached documentation is available for downloading to assist schools through the required processes to complete the Key Stage 2 return to NCA Tools.
A copy of this guidance has been posted to all Northamptonshire Schools.
Teacher Assessment and P Scale data can be submitted as early as Monday 13th May 2013. However, the deadline date is Friday 28th June 2013.
The attached documentation is available for downloading to assist schools through the required processes to complete the Key Stage 3 return to NCA Tools.
A copy of this guidance has been posted to all Northamptonshire Schools.
Teacher Assessment and P Scale data can be submitted as early as Monday 13th May 2013. However, the deadline date is Friday 28th June 2013.
As part of the moderation process, Northamptonshire Local Authority will be notifying schools at the beginning of the summer term that they will be required to submit predicted end of key stage 1 results in Reading, Writing and Maths. Nicola Scott has supplied schools with instructions on completing the process.
The template supplied will allow schools to enter key stage 1 data for each of the above subjects and export data via AnyComms (AVCO)
SIMS 2013 Spring 2 AMPARK Update Release Now Available
The SIMS 2013 Spring 2 AMPARK release includes the latest AMPARK resources. The original AMPARK released on the 21st March and has been updated in order to include the removal of the Overall English Test column in the English Key Stage 2 Wizard which will be relevant to all English Primary schools. Secondary schools who record KS2 results for Year 7 pupil intake in Sept 2013 may also wish to update to this version of AMPARK.
If you have already taken the original SIMS 2013 release there is no need to upgrade to the AMPARK update release as you can import the new AMPARK files yourself into SIMS. The files and documentation are available to download below.
The Spring Release of FMS version 6.150 is now available.
This upgrade to your SIMS finance system contains some new features in addition to enhancements and fixes. The most significant of which are in the following areas: (in all cases more detailed information is available later in these notes)
CFR Changes for 2013
Periodic Depreciation Processing in Asset Management
Budget Variation Report
Cash Flow Report
Enhancement to Balances and Reserves Report
BACS Process - The BACS process has been improved to make it more robust.
New Check Box in BACS eAdvices for STARTTLS Encryption
New Display Order in Cheque and BACS Processing
For more detail on the changes in the FMS 6.150, please read the FMS Release Notes available below.
Printable upgrade instructions for this update are also available below.
Warning: Upgrading and Patching is performed at your own risk. Please ensure you have good backups before proceeding.
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28/03/13
Spring 2013 SIMS upgrade (7.150)
Overview
The SIMS 2013 Spring Release of SIMS.net version 7.150 is an essential upgrade for all schools delivering files for the May School Census in addition to number of enhancements and fixes. Schools must take the SIMS.net Spring release in order to complete the School Census in May 2013.
Before upgrading to the SIMS 2013 Spring Release, ensure that the School Census January 2013 has been completed and signed off. Once the upgrade to SIMS 2013 Spring Release has taken place, it is not possible to carry out any further work on the January Return.
The Spring Release contains enhancements to The Home Page, Assessment, Conduct, Cover, Discover, Early Years Attendance, Exams Organiser, Fees Billing, InTouch, Nova T6, Partnership Xchange, Personnel, Publications, Registrations and Admissions, Reports, SIMS Learning Gateway and System Manager.
This release contains major changes to the Home Page and Teacher\Student view. Further details and videos can be found in the release notes.
The Documentation Centre in SIMS is now available via the Internet as a default rather than from the local server. A separate download is available for schools wishing to retain SIMS handbooks on their local server.
Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 support has been introduced for SIMS and FMS only from the Spring 2013 release. The Spring release is the last release where Windows Vista supported. Customers should not migrate to SQL2012 if they have InTouch, SLG, Discover or SOLUS3. Please read the release note carefully for more details on SQL2012 support.
Warning: Upgrading and Patching is performed at your own risk. Please ensure you have good backups before proceeding.
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07/03/13
OCR Results Issue March 2013
An issue has been identified where Examination results data within the OCR Results file may contain previous seasons and incorrect results data. This data can be removed by creating a Results Marksheet within SIMS Examination.
Detailed instructions and advice are provided in the linked document.
The National Insurance Table for 2013-2014 has now been provided by HMRC and instructions to update your records are detailed in the attached document below. The instructions are particularly helpful to new staff who have not entered National Insurance details into SIMS before, as well as a reminder for existing school staff on the yearly process
You will need to enter the table details in your Personnel module within SIMS with a start date of 01/04/2013 to ensure accuracy of calculations throughout the year. Instructions to do this can also be found within SIMS | Documentation | Quick Reference Sheets | Finance | Periodical Activities in Personnel.
Should you require assistance with this, please contact the Servicedesk on 0844 893 8000.
Updating the table will also ensure that you can generate revised Salary Projections, using different scenarios, within FMS as long as you have this link set up. Instructions for linking salary projections to FMS can be found within FMS | Help | Documentation | Handbooks | Budget Management and Personnel Links in FMS. We also offer detailed guidance within our Personnel Links and FMS training courses (which also advise on how to update National Insurance tables). For more information please contact our Training Sales desk on 0844 893 9000.
This query should only be triggered when the number of free school meals taken on Census Day is greater than the number of pupils eligible for free school meals on Census Day. However, there are instances where this query has been triggered even though the DfE Summary Report and the Detail Report indicated the number of free school meals taken on Census Day is equal to or less than the number of pupils eligible for free school meals on Census Day. It seems reasonable to go ahead with upload to COLLECT in these circumstances quoting the information in the DfE Summary Report as a reason for accepting the validation query.
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21/01/13
Important Information for Users of Examination Organiser
Following the Autumn 2012 upgrade, when printing and displaying the Candidate Statement of Results report via Reports | Results | Candidate Statement of Results, the order of the candidates in the groups is incorrectly displayed by Forename instead of by Surname.
There is now a revised version of the Exams Client program file which resolves this issue.
This new executable file must be applied to all workstations expected to utilise Examination Organiser. Before installation, log out of SIMS on the workstation.
Note – the self extracting file supplied assumes that SIMS client files are in the default location of C:\Program Files\SIMS\SIMS .net. If this is not the case, revise the file location in the self extracting file before clicking on UNZIP.
To download and install the file, proceed as follows:
The file will be downloaded via the link below, if security warnings appear during the download, click Run/Open to proceed.
If an additional security warning appears in your browser as the source could not be verified, click on Run to allow the download to proceed.
When this is complete, click UNZIP to automatically extract the file to the location C:\Program Files\SIMS\SIMS .net
Applying this fix ensures that the order is corrected to Surname and Forename when the report is output.
Following the Autumn 2012 upgrade, users with the following access rights;
Personnel Assistant
Personnel Events Officer
Bursar
may have experienced the following error messages when editing a staff member’s record that will have prevented the changes being saved.
“Data Must Be Entered In At Least One Field Other Than the Notes Field”
and
“Unable To Save, the Contract Date Is Not Between the Employment Start and End Dates”
There are now revised versions of files used in Personnel which resolve this issue.
These new files must be applied to all workstations expected to utilise Personnel and edit staff data. Before installation, log out of SIMS on the workstation.
Note – the self extracting file supplied assumes that SIMS client files are in the default location of C:\Program Files\SIMS\SIMS .net. If this is not the case, revise the file location in the self extracting file before clicking on UNZIP.
To download and install the file, proceed as follows:
The file will be downloaded via the link below, if security warnings appear during the download, click Run/Open to proceed.
If an additional security warning appears in your browser as the source could not be verified, click on Run to allow the download to proceed.
When this is complete, click UNZIP to automatically extract the file to the location C:\Program Files\SIMS\SIMS .net
The following guidance notes have been produced in conjunction with NCC to support Northamptonshire schools and PRUs in producing the Spring 2013 Census Return.
If you require further assistance with your Census please do not hesitate to contact the helpdesk 0844 8922406.
There is a new fileset 122 available which provides the following improvements to the DfE validation.
DfE Validation
Rule 1741 has been updated
Rule 1925 has been updated
Rule 1926 has been updated and is now classified as an error rather than a query
DfE Summary Report
Header for Section 14 now displays "Autumn" rather than "Summer"
Leavers Basic Details Report
Column for Ethnic Data Source has been removed
Return File
Year Taught In is no longer included for any type of leaver, including Sixth Form leavers
To download the file, proceed as follows:
The file will be downloaded via the link below, if security warnings appear during the download, click Run/Open to proceed.
If an additional security warning appears in your browser as the source could not be verified, click on Run to allow the download to proceed.
When this is complete, click unzip to automatically extract the file to the location C:\Downloaded Patches.
To import the file, enter SIMS.net with the appropriate access level (System Manager) and import via Tools | Setups | Import Fileset.
In the file location box which appears use the browse button to the right to navigate to C:\Downloaded Patches folder, the file 0122-StatutoryReturns-Spring2013_Update_Fileset.mfs will show in the browser, click Open.
The details of file 0122-StatutoryReturns-Spring2013_Update_Fileset.mfs will show, click the Import Fileset button to complete the process.
The Import complete message will appear to indicate successful completion.
Close the screen.
You will need to log out and back into SIMS for this to take effect.
Guidance Notes for School Census Spring 2013 are available below. Please note that you need to have upgraded to the Autumn release of Sims .net 7.148 to be able to run this return.
Guidance Notes for School Census Spring 2013 are available below. Please note that you need to have upgraded to the Autumn release of Sims .net 7.148 to be able to run this return.
Attendance for Polling Day Thursday 15th November 2012
The # code should be used for whole school planned closures including the use of schools as polling stations.
To generate this code you can add this as a Staff Training Day by using the following route:
From Focus | School | School Diary ensure the Academic Year 2012/2013 is selected then select Action | Create New Event and select Teacher Training day.
Enter a Description e.g. Polling Day
Select Staff Training Day in the Category field.
Enter the Session date as 15/11/2012 and ensure both AM and PM session are ticked.
Click the OK button to add the Staff Training day, which will then be displayed in the appropriate section of the School Diary and populate Attendance for the whole school with the # code.
For further information about use of the School Diary please refer to the Quick Reference Sheet "Using The School Diary". This can be found within the Documentation Centre and is accessed by clicking the Documentation link on the Sims .net Homepage, then Quick Reference Sheets and then SIMS Core.
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If any further assistance is required please contact the Service Desk on 0844 893 8000 or by email to esd@capita.co.uk.
If any further assistance is required please contact the Service Desk on 0844 892 2406 or by email to support@dotict.co.uk.
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05/11/12
School Workforce Census – Supporting Information
The following document has been made available to assist schools and academies in producing the School Workforce Census, which contains reminders on key processes as well as answers to frequently asked questions.
Please be advised that we will be conducting maintenance on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st October 2012.
During this period connectivity to the following services will unavailable between 08:30 and 19:00:
Hosted SIMS Learning Gateway
InTouch
SOLUS2 / SOLUS3
Hosted SIMS / FMS
Web address validation / Bulk address validation
We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.
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08/10/12
Autumn 2012 School Census Additional Information for Leavers
Some leavers can be excluded from the Return who should be included (Updated 05/10 17:10)
The group of leavers included in the Census for a school with a Sixth Form should include those who left in the Autumn Term 2011. Unfortunately, there is an issue with our coding that means that this group is not included.
We recommend that schools with Sixth Forms delay uploading to COLLECT until they have checked if they have any Post 16 leavers between 01/08/2011 and the 31/12/2011 (inclusive) who were on roll for more than six weeks in that period.
We have provided a Report Definition to help schools identify Post 16 leavers between 01/08/2011 and the 31/12/2011. Any of the students listed that left before completing six weeks of their courses do not need to be included in the Census.
We are very sorry for this mistake on our part. The work around is to apply the unlock patch and then add the student Learning Aims information directly in the Census application. The work around will not be suitable for a large group of students, so we have created patch 17512 to solve the problem and this patch is being made available from SOLUS.
If the school opts for patch 17512 they will need to recalculate the Learning Aims panel to benefit from the corrected functionality and all manual edits to that panel will be lost. Direct entry of the missing Learning Aims information can proceed without recalculation and loss of manual edits.
To download the file, proceed as follows:
The file will be downloaded via the link below, if security warnings appear during the download, click Run/Open to proceed.
When this is complete, click unzip to automatically extract the file to the location C:\Downloaded Patches.
To import the file, enter SIMS.net with the appropriate access level (System Manager) and import via Tools | Setups | Import Fileset.
In the file location box which appears use the browse button to the right to navigate to C:\Downloaded Patches folder, the file Yr 12 Plus Leavers 01-08-11 - 31-12-11.RptDef will show in the browser, click Open.
The details of file Yr 12 Plus Leavers 01-08-11 - 31-12-11.RptDef will show, click the Import Fileset button to complete the process.
The Import complete message will appear to indicate successful completion.
Close the screen.
To Access the report you will need to navigate to Reports | Run Report
The report will be accessible from the Focus | Student report browse.
Addition Important information for Post 16 schools only
Entering data into the Learning Aims Panel in School Census – Patch 16961
It is the case that in some post 16 schools, data required to appear in the Learning Aims panel is not associated with basedata. In this case, data has to be entered manually into the Learning Aims panel. The default state is for this panel to be locked for data entry. Patch 16961 has been made available, on SOLUS 2 and SOLUS 3, for all post 16 schools to enable the panel to be unlocked for data. Once this patch has been applied, data not associated with basedata can be manually entered.
Some leavers can be excluded from the Return who should be included
The group of leavers included in the Census for a school with a Sixth Form should include those who left in the Autumn Term 2011. Unfortunately, there is an issue with our coding that means that this group is not included.
It is recommend that schools with Sixth Forms delay uploading to COLLECT until they have checked if they have any Post 16 leavers between 01/08/2011 and the 31/12/2011 (inclusive) who were on roll for more than six weeks in that period.
The work around is to apply the unlock patch and then add the student Learning Aims information directly in the Census application. The work around will only be suitable for a small group of students, so a patch to solve the problem is being developed as a matter of urgency.
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04/10/12
Autumn 2012 School Census Bulletin
Warning Message in the Summary Report regarding average number of attendance sessions in Summer Half Term
Extract from the DfE Readiness Bulletin 2
In addition a warning message is generated alongside this table when the average sessions per term are not in the range 34 to 60. However it has now been identified that the actual length of the first half of the summer term (up to 1st June 2012) exceeds 60 days and therefore we would expect this warning message to be generated for most schools even when the data is correct. Consequently we would recommend that schools ignore this warning message when generated as no further action is required to confirm genuine data.
A fuller extract from the DfE Readiness 2 Bulletin below refers to inconsistencies in the dates in headings of table 17 and table 18 (special schools). These have already been corrected by applying fileset 116 and can be ignored.
Importing Early Years Foundation Stage Tracking Files into SIMS
The Early Years Foundation Stage Tracking Resources are now available. These resources allow for infant and primary schools to start tracking the EYFS 17 learning goals twice a term and contain:
Progress Grid for reception year
Marksheets for reception year
Tracking Grid for reception year
Aspects exist for the 40-60 months and 30-50 months age ranges.
The revised EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) files must be downloaded to the AMPA directories and then imported into SIMS.
To download the files, proceed as follows:
The files will be downloaded via the links below, if security warnings appear during the download, click Run/Open to proceed.
When this is complete, click unzip to automatically extract the file to the correct location.
The link to the documentation below gives detailed instructions of how to import the downloaded files into SIMS.
Essential for post 16 schools and to be applied before Autumn School Census. Recommended for 11 – 16 schools
A revised outcomes file is now available for import into SIMS, this file accommodates both A* and D* grades
Once imported, these additional outcomes are available for selection in Course Manager. They are used in the Autumn School Census Learning Aims panel for post 16 schools.
Non post 16 schools will also find the import of this file useful when recording outcomes in Course Manager.
Important Note: this file can take a long time to import, possibly as long as 30 minutes. A patch 17472 has been made available to all secondary schools via SOLUS 2 or SOLUS 3. If this is applied before the import, the speed of import will be improved dramatically.
Revising Examination Basedata to accommodate separate Certification Elements when linking Awards to Courses in Course Manager.
Examination Officers and administrators of Course Manager should be aware that a support document has been made available to offer advice on the issue of linking awards to courses where examination basedata contains more than one certification element.
The following documentation is now available for downloading to assist schools through the required processes to complete the 2012 School Workforce Census Return.
The following guidance notes have been produced in conjunction with NCC to support Northamptonshire schools in producing the Autumn 2012 Census Return. Secondary schools with Post 16 student will also need to import the latest Outcome file.
If you require further assistance with your Census please do not hesitate to contact the helpdesk 0844 8922406.
Fileset 116 -
The DfE Summary Report files for SWC 2012
Updated validation files from DfE to resolve 1925 and 1926 issues for School Census Autumn 2012
Correction of address structure issue for Post 16 Leavers with two home addresses for School Census Autumn 2012
Updated lookup file from WG to take account of new Providers for Post 16 Autumn Return 2012
Outcome File -
This XML Outcome File is based on the CSV Outcome File provided by the DfE for June. This is the same the LA_Date_Jun2012_Final.XML file except that we have added support for A* and D*. Extract LA_Data_Jun2012_Final_SIMS2.XML from the ZIP and import via Tools | Academic Management | Course Manager | Course Manager Settings. It could take 30 minutes to import.
There are circumstances where AQA results files contain X results for candidates for English/English Language (4702 or 4707).
It is believed that this is only in cases where unit results from a previous series are used to “cash-in” their overall award.
It is expected that AQA will reissued results for the affected candidates.
AQA Further Maths (A*Distinction)
A* distinction which is applicable only to AQA Further Maths, had been omitted from the GCSE/FC grade list in the PI Equivalence table.
This will be resolved by patch 17401. As it is unlikely to affect many users, this patch will be released as an on request to our support desk.
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17/08/12
Important Information for Examination Officers - Linking Awards to Courses
SIMS.net version 7.146 (Summer 2012) has introduced changes in functionality with respect to linking examination awards to courses. These changes will affect staff administering the Examinations module.
Awards are now linked to courses in Course Manager. Full details of the revised procedures are given in the linked document below.
Linking awards to courses is essential in examination reports so that they contain all the necessary results information. If results are missing from reports, the most common likelihood is that the results are not associated with a course.
The SIMS Exams Results Day Survival Kit 2012 is now available to download and the document is intended to provide Examinations Officers with all the most up-to-date information to help them achieve successful Results Download Days on the 15th and 22nd August 2012.
The DfE have now (10 July 2012) indicated how the English Overall Test Level is to be calculated.
This link will take you to the page on the NCATool website which gives the official explanation of the calculation of KS Overall English Test Level for 2012
It is clearly stated in the DfE document that “There is no need for schools to calculate and report overall English results for each child”. However, the overall English test result will be form part of a Common Transfer File (CTF) and destination schools may wish to make use of this item of data.
Schools may wish to enter and report this data to parents and transfer it to destination schools
Two methods are offered to assist schools in recording and reporting this data . Either method may be used, both will result in Overall English Test Level appearing in individual pupil reports.
Method 1
The English Overall Level at KS2 cannot be automatically calculated by using the KS Wizards, although data can be entered. The document “Using SIMS to report the Overall Test Level in English KS2 2012” will assist schools in entering data into the Wizard Spreadsheets. The process involves the manual entry of data and the use of the DfE table to determine the Overall English Test Level.
Method 2
“Calculating the Overall Test Level in English KS2 2012” documents this method which involves downloading an additional Assessment Manager template which can be used to calculate the Overall English Test Level. This template has to be associated with your Year 6 pupils to create a marksheet outside of the Key Stage Wizard. Assuming a Writing Teacher Assessment grade and a Reading test result have be entered, the Overall English Test Level will be automatically be calculated.
A template file needs to be copied into the AMPA directory and imported into SIMS.
To download and deploy the file:
Click on the download file icon below
If you are using Internet Explorer as you browser, they may be an additional security prompt at the foot of the screen
If so, choose, Run
You may now be prompted with another security warning, if so choose Actions
In the dialogue box that appears, choose More Options and click on the Run Anyway button
Click on Unzip and the file will be copied to the appropriate directory. A screen report will show one file copied. Close the WinZip application when this report appears.
When the files have been downloaded, they need to be imported into SIMS. The document below will assist in this process.
Important information for schools submitting KS 1&2 data to LAs and the NAA using CTF
A patch to resolve a problem with EAL level P scale data in Maths and Science will shortly be made available for schools with KS 1 & 2 pupils.
Currently, EAL level data is not being transferred from the KS1 & 2 Wizard templates to the CTF files.
Schools should await the distribution of the patch, apply it and then create and submit CTF files for their LA or the NAA.
Three points to be aware of:
This issue only affects schools where pupils at KS1 or 2 have been Disapplied (D code) in Maths or Science and then been given a level of EAL in the P Scale marksheet.
This has no implications for information entered into the KS1 & 2 Wizard templates, data is unaffected.
If CTF files have already submitted by schools that have EAL level P Scale data, the necessary CTF files need to be recreated and resubmitted when the patch has been applied.
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22/06/12
Updated Key Stage Files 2012
Changes have been made to files that support the Key Stage process. Some information from the DfE was not available when the Key Stage Wizard files were created for the Spring Release.
These changes affect the KS 1 & 2 Wizards, calculation of average point score and a new KS1 phonics report.
Files have now been revised, the details are contained in the PDF document on the link below.
The most significant revisions are:
The KS1 National Figures for 2011 which are required for KS reporting to parents. Currently this report is not included in the KS1 Wizard used in the KS reporting process
There is a requirement for reporting of phonics results for Year 1 pupils. An individual report has now provided . This report is not included in the Phonics Screening Wizard and must be produced in Assessment Manager. Guidance is provided in the documentation below.
Key Stage 2 overall level in English is not calculated in the KS 2 Wizard as the DfE have yet to decide on threshold scores. The KS2 level in Reading and Writing are calculated in the Wizard template and form part of the individual report to parents. Schools may wish to enter an overall test level in English, if so, there is provision in the marksheet and it will be included on the individual report to parents.
The files need to be imported into the AMPA directory of the workstation that will be used to update the files in SIMS.
3 self extracting files are provided.
To download and deploy the files:
Click on the one appropriate to your school phase
If you are using Internet Explorer as you browser, they may be an additional security prompt at the foot of the screen
If so, choose, Run
You may now be prompted with another security warning, if so choose Actions
In the dialogue box that appears, choose More Options and click on the Run Anyway button
Click on Unzip and the files will be copied to the appropriate directory. A screen report will show the number of files copied. Close the WinZip application when this report appears.
Click on Unzip and the files will be copied to the appropriate directory.
When the files have been downloaded, they need to be imported into SIMS. The document below will assist in this process.
The following documentation is now available for downloading to assist schools through the required processes to complete their Key Stage 3 return to the STA.
A copy of the appropriate documentation has already been posted to all Northamptonshire Schools.
Teacher Assessment and P Scale data must be submitted by Friday 13th July 2012.
More information on the submission of Teacher Assessment and P Scale data can be found on the Dfe website at:
The following documentation is now available for downloading to assist schools through the required processes to complete their Key Stage 2 return to the STA.
A copy of the appropriate documentation has already been posted to all Northamptonshire Schools.
The Submission Dates for KS2 returns are:
Wednesday 11 July 2012 is the statutory deadline for submitting teacher assessment and P scale data, however STA will accept submissions until Friday 13 July 2012.
Schools must submit all attainment target levels and the overall core subject levels as per the Dfe rules for 2012. These can be submitted via NCA Tools from Tuesday 8th May 2012 but no later than Friday 13th July 2012.
Advice on Obtaining and Entering Historic Free School Meals information into SIMS
With the advent of the pupil premium, pupils who have been eligible for FSM over the last 6 years, attract additional funding. Schools may wish to ensure that their SIMS systems contain this historical data. As it is unlikely that school hold this data for all pupil premium pupils, the DfE have provided files containing this information in the form of a CTF file on their Key 2 Success website.
Below is the DfE document explaining the use of this site and additional information which will assist in the process of importing into SIMS. Please read these notes carefully before proceeding.
Key Stage Documentation for EYFS, Yr 1 Phonics and KS1 Summer 2012
Guidance Notes for Northamptonshire Schools
The following documentation is now available for downloading to assist schools through the required processes to complete their Key Stage Returns to the Local Authority. A copy of the documentation below has already been posted to all Northamptonshire Infant schools.
Primary schools will receive their postal copies once the Key Stage 2 documentation has been finalised when we have received further guidance on the calculation for the overall English level.
The Submission Dates for returns are:
Early Years (EYFSP) data to local authority – Monday 2nd July 2012
Year 1 Phonics data to local authority – Monday 2nd July 2012
Key Stage 1 data to local authority – from Monday 11th June 2012 to Friday 22nd June 2012
If you require any assistance with any of the SIMS Key Stage processes please contact:
Capita Northampton Helpdesk on 0844 8922406 – 8:30 to 16:30
Additional telephone support will also be available on the following dates:
Monday 25th June 2012
Monday 2nd July 2012
Queries relating to EYFS data should be directed to:
Spam is an ever-growing problem for all email and internet users. As soon as you begin to use the internet, Spammers find ways to obtain and use your email addresses in their global advertising campaigns. Spam emailing has risen at a rapid rate over recent years and although we are unable to stop Spam emails being sent there are several ways of identifying a Spam email. These methods are used to identify Spam messages, and react to them appropriately so that a users mailbox remains unpolluted. The attached manuals contain guidance on how to set up a rule in Outlook to send the Spam emails to a special new “Spam” folder and then how to monitor the captured emails regularly.
We suggest you select and download the guidance notes relevant for the version of Microsoft Outlook that you are using.
The following guidance notes have been produced in conjunction with NCC to support Northamptonshire schools in producing the Summer 2012 Census Return.
If you require further assistance with your Census please do not hesitate to contact the helpdesk 0844 8922406.
We will be providing a known errors report, week beginning 14th May.
This is the FMS patch required to rectify the year end 2011-2012 for Northamptonshire schools.
Please read the attached notes extremely carefully to identify the scenario which best suits your school – if you have any doubts do NOT attempt to install the patch - email Finschools@northamptonshire.gov.uk for further guidance. Please do not call the FMS6 Helpdesk.
The documentation for the patch can be downloaded from the link below.
The instructions are easy to follow – any problems with installing the patch (if required) please contact the Capita.ict Helpdesk 0844 8922406.
Please note this patch is for FMS 6.142, if you have a later version please contact the Capita.ict Helpdesk 0844 8922406.
Schools that have moved to SOLUS 3 for SIMS upgrades are recommended to upgrade to the latest version of this software before taking the Spring Releases of SIMS.net and FMS.
This version of SOLUS 3 is an upgrade to the Deployment Server and resolves issues in communications with SIMS workstations which may be on an earlier version than 3.4.103. In addition, it allows multiple FMS databases to be upgraded.
The notes on the link below will assist you in upgrading to SOLUS 3 version 3.4.107.
The following documentation is now available for downloading to assist schools through the required processes in order to manage the Admissions process using files provided by the Local Authority.
The DfE recently announced that they were releasing ctfs detailing historical free school meal information for import into a school's MIS. An issue has come to light with the way these files are handled on import into Sims .net. It is therefore recommended that schools either apply patch 16758 before import or wait until they have upgraded to the Spring release 7.144 which will be available shortly.
If the ctf has already been imported you may wish to apply the patch or wait for the upgrade and then import the ctf again to ensure that no information has been missed.
The service desk can supply this patch on request.
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09/02/12
Nursery Hours for 2 year Olds - School Census Spring 2012
Our understanding of the rule for inclusion of Nursery Hours for 2 year olds was that it was the same as for previous years and should only include only pupils who reach two years of age on or before the 31st August. We now understand that the DfE also wants to collect Nursery Hours for SEN children that reach 2 years of age on or before the 31st December.
SEN children that reach 2 years of age on or before the 31st December will be included in the Return, but Nursery Hours for those children will only be included where those children reached 2 years of age on or after the 31st August. Therefore, where a school has an SEN child that had only reached 1 year of age on or before the 31st August, but reached 2 years of age on or before the 31st December, the school may want to claim funding for that child but cannot do so using our School Census application. We understand that the DfE provides facilities for this missing information to be added directly into COLLECT.
We have now received clarification regarding this aspect of the DfE specification and we will be extending our facilities for entering Nursery Hours so that it includes SEN children that didn't reach 2 years of age until the 31st December.
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09/02/12
Attendance Code D - PRU Census 2012
As you know, the statistical meaning of attendance code D changed from authorised educational activity, which is a possible attendance, to attendance not required, which is not a possible attendance. We made this change to the statistical meaning of code D in time for use with the January Censuses, but similarly to the DfE, we did not take account of the distortion this would bring to the collection of attendance information for PRU Census 2012. This Census collects attendance information for the previous academic year and therefore should be using the previous statistical meaning of code D, rather than its current statistical meaning. The result is that each pupil's possible attendance is underreported by however many code Ds were applied to that pupil's attendance in academic year 2010/11.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this mistake. Please contact the Service Desk if you need a patch to correct this.
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18/01/12
SIMS Technical Roadmap Resource No 17910
The attached document, SupportNet Resource No 17910, provides information on the latest technical advice for schools using the SIMS Suite including Support End Dates for Microsoft products.
Table 17 of DfE Summary Report (Attendance Information).
There seems to be a problem with the DfE calculations for several of the rows in this table. Code Y should be counted as a session where pupils are not required to attend, but it is being counted as a session where pupils are expected to attend. For example, if a school used Code Y for a strike day last term all of their pupils will be shown as having at least one absence in row two of the table.
Please note that the information in the Return itself is correct and that this is reflected in the SIMS Attendance Detail Report.
We have reported this issue to the DfE but there will not be any updates to the Validation and Summary report files from the DfE to correct this.
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12/01/12
School Census Spring 2012 Fileset 92 - PRUs only
Pupil Referral Units only
There is a new fileset 92 available which provides the following improvements to the DfE validation.
1926 - Pupil No Longer on Roll record should NOT be submitted if there is no attendance or exclusions data for the required period.
This should no longer be wrongly triggered for pupils that left the PRU in Year 11.
2610 - Attendance sessions possible is missing or invalid.
The rule has been amended back to the 2011 definition, i.e. sessions possible must be present and greater than zero.
2615Q - Zero attendance sessions possible recorded for Pupil on Roll. Pupil should only be recorded with zero sessions possible if pupil was dual registered and spent all of the previous academic year for which attendance data is being collected at other registration. This query will be accepted by DfE on condition that a suitable explanatory notepad entry is provided in COLLECT.
The rule has been removed.
2620 - Attendance sessions possible missing or invalid.
The rule has been amended back to the 2011 definition, i.e. sessions possible must be present and greater than zero.
1855 - Child’s Hours at Setting is missing or invalid.
The rule has been amended so that it is no longer wrongly triggered when Hours at Setting is greater than 25.
To download the file, proceed as follows:
The file will be downloaded via the link below, if security warnings appear during the download, click Run/Open to proceed.
When this is complete, click unzip to automatically extract the file to the location C:\Downloaded Patches.
To import the file, enter SIMS.net with the appropriate access level (System Manager) and import via Tools | Setups | Import Fileset.
In the file location box which appears use the browse button to the right to navigate to C:\Downloaded Patches folder, the file 0092-StatutoryReturns-Spring2012_Update_Fileset.mfs will show in the browser, click Open.
The details of file 0092-StatutoryReturns-Spring2012_Update_Fileset.mfs will show, click the Import Fileset button to complete the process.
The Import complete message will appear to indicate successful completion.
Close the screen.
You will need to log out and back into SIMS for this to take effect.
The following guidance notes have been produced in conjunction with NCC to support Northamptonshire schools in producing the January 2012 Census Return.
If you require further assistance with your Census please do not hesitate to contact the helpdesk 0844 8922406.
We will be providing a know errors report week beginning 16th January.
Guidance Notes by school phase for School Census Spring 2012 are available below.
Please note that the ‘selected time’ (Selected Period in SIMS) is based on the last digit of a schools DfE establishment number as follows:
0, 1 or 5 - The selected time is one hour/period AFTER the start of afternoon school
2, 3 or 6 - The selected time is one hour/period AFTER the start of morning school
4, 7, 8 or 9 - The selected time is one hour/period BEFORE the end of morning school
The following documentation is now available for downloading to assist schools through the required processes in order to manage the Admissions process using files provided by the Local Authority.
The latest version of FMS 6.142 requires a modification of the North Somerset specific summary report. Users will be familiar with the need to refresh this file after each FMS upgrade to put the North Somerset version of the file in place.
Before taking FMS 6.142, it is recommended that the existing shortcut on your desktop used to refresh the FMS file is deleted. This needs to be carried out on all workstations running FMS. When the shortcut is deleted, the new version can be downloaded.
Follow the detailed instructions to delete the existing files, download the revised files and created a new refresh shortcut.
Detailed instructions for the replacement of the North Somerset FMS report.
Self Extracting Files
When the new file has been put in place, the FMS 6.142 upgrade can proceed.
Once completed, use the desktop shortcut to refresh the revised North Somerset report.
Using of SIMS Behaviour Management to Record Incidents of Bullying, Racist, Homophobia and Disability Behaviour
(Bedford Borough Schools only)
Bedford Borough Local Authority and Capita have been working together to facilitate the recording of bullying, racist, homophobic and disability incidents. Use will be made of the SIMS School Management Information System to record these type of incidents, data will then be extracted by Group Call’s Data Exporter to produce information for the Local Authority. Modification of lookup tables within SIMS Behaviour Management is required.
Bedford Borough has advised its schools of revised working practices when recording incidents of this nature. The documents below give full details of how to record B/R/H/D incidents using Behaviour Management and how to apply patch 16116 (available via SOLUS 2 or 3) which modifies the necessary lookup tables.
The new codes are added to the existing list, therefore where schools have made changes to their local lookup tables they will still be able to selected their own codes. The codes and descriptions used in the revised lookup codes are described in the accompanying document.
Printable upgrade instructions for this update are also available below.
If you require detailed instructions on the use of SOLUS to upgrade SIMS products, visit the SOLUS 2 Documentation page.
Warning: Upgrading and Patching is performed at your own risk. Please ensure you have good backups before proceeding.
15/02/11
Advice for Academies
For schools looking at the option of becoming an academy, the SIMS Advice for Academies booklet is now available to download, which provides information on how SIMS can assist you. This item is also referred to in your February 2011 CSM Newsletter.
SIMS Infrastructure Upgrade to Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 and SIMS Summer Release 2011
Important information for SIMS System Managers
In order for schools to take the SIMS Summer 2011 Release of software expected to be available in late June, early July, schools will need to install additional infrastructure software on all computers accessing SIMS.
This software is Microsoft .NET framework 4 and is available as a free of charge download.
It will be essential to make this change to take the Summer Release 2011 which will deliver the requirements of both the Autumn School Census and School Workforce Census 2011. In addition, it is essential for the new SIMS Discover software which will be released separately.
This change is not required for the Spring Update 2011, as a result, the forthcoming release of SIMS will be based on .NET 2.0, inline with the previous releases.
A new version of SOLUS (SIMS On Line Upgrade Service) is in the process of being implemented in schools. SOLUS 3 helps to automate the process of deploying SIMS and other necessary components such as the .NET 4.0 framework. Schools will have been sent information regarding the implementation of SOLUS 3 and may wish to adopt this development before the Summer Release 2011. However, it is unlikely that all schools will adopt SOLUS 3 by late June.
To be clear, SOLUS 3 is not required for the Summer Release 2011, but .NET Framework 4 must be installed on each workstation before this release.
This task may be undertaken before or after the Spring Release 2011.
Accordingly the following notes are provided to assist schools in adding .NET Framework 4 to their SIMS server and workstations. They may wish to undertake this task at any time between now and the Summer Release.
Warning: Upgrading and Patching is performed at your own risk. Please ensure you have good backups before proceeding.
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07/01/11
Changes in FMS required for the new 20% VAT Rate (Swindon Schools)
Two patches have been provided for Swindon schools to facilitate the recent changes in the standard VAT rate from 17.5% to 20%. These patches may be used with all versions of FMS from 6.136 and can be downloaded via Solus. The following changes to your FMS system will be applied once the patches have been installed:
Two new VAT codes (In and Out) at 20% using new Ledger and VAT Codes.
The default rate of VAT is adjusted from 17.5% to 20% on Ledger Codes attracting the standard VAT rate.
It is essential that:
This upgrade is carried out on the SIMS File Server or, in the case of peer to peer installation, on the computer hosting the SIMS FMS database.
The user carrying out the upgrade must be logged in as Administrator (or with full Administrator rights).
The SIMS FMS database(s) has been migrated to SQL 2008 (either full product or SQL Express).
We recommend for you to read the documentation below which will assist in applying the new VAT Patches.
The recent changes to the standard VAT rate require modifications to FMS. The standard VAT rate is to be increased from 17.5% to 20% with effect from Tuesday 4th January 2011.
The document below gives detailed instructions on how to:
Add two new VAT rates (VAT In and VAT Out) at the new 20% rate
Change default Standard Rate VAT settings (optional activity) Update Recurring Journals / Payments and Accounts receivable parameters (optional activity)
This document applies to all versions of FMS.
It is likely that additional information will be sent to you by your Local Authority finance team concerning the exact codes to be used.
Schools should be clear which codes are to be used before adding the new VAT codes.
Important information for SIMS users in schools in Bedfordshire identified by Local Authority code 820.
All schools currently with a LA code of 820, schools in Bedfordshire, are affected by local government changes which became effect from 1st April 2009. These schools will now be associated with two new Local Authority codes, 822 for Bedford Borough and 823 for Central Bedfordshire.
Patch 13094 will automatically make the necessary adjustment to the SIMS database to ensure that schools have the correct LA code. There is no need to re enter information into the School Details area of SIMS.net. In addition, schools in the Other Schools area of SIMS.net are also adjusted. This means that the LA code of 820 is replaced by the appropriate new code for feeder and destination schools that you have on your system. This is important when sending and receiving CTF files (Common Transfer Files). Again no manual adjustment is required.
Now that these changes have become effective, this patch must be run before downloading any files from SOLUS as the old 820 for Bedfordshire is no longer recognised. Accordingly, this patch will need to be run manually without the aid of SOLUS.
Read the instructions for applying this patch, then use the links below as instructed.
Left Click on the document below to read it. Print it if you require a hard copy.
Right Click on the document below and choose "Save Target As..." to save a copy to your computer.
Warning: Upgrading and Patching is performed at your own risk. Please ensure you have good backups before proceeding.
26/06/08
Education Service Desk Web Logging
You now have the ability to log and track your Education Service Desk calls across the internet. These documents provide guidance on the process and solution search information.
Note: This patch is only an essential requirement for Wiltshire LA schools
There has been an on-going issue with the Full VAT report being generated each month by Wiltshire schools. This report sent to Wiltshire LA and imported into their system to maintain reports of VAT payments for each school. Since the migration of FMS to SQL 2005, this import has experienced difficulties requiring intervention by Wiltshire LA staff.
This situation is now resolved by patch 1383 which will make adjustments to the Full VAT report being generated by FMS.
Read the instructions for applying this patch, then use the links below as instructed.
Left Click on the document below to read it. Print it if you require a hard copy.
Right Click on the document below and choose "Save Target As..." to save a copy to your computer.
Essex has issued new Ethnic codes, details of which can be found on Essex Schools’ Infolink.
1. Click on the self extracting archive below and select "Run" or "Open".
2. Extract the files to the C:\Temp\Ethnic folder by clicking "Unzip", then "Close".
3. Open SIMS .net and click Tools | Lookups | Configure Ethnic Codes.
4. Select "C:\Temp\Ethnic\Ethnic.txt" and click the Configure button.
The six additional codes will not be visible until SIMS .net has been closed and re-opened.
First Language Codes required for School Census January 2007, to replace Home Language codes.
Import the appropriate file for your Local Authority by following the instructions below.
1. Click on the document below to read it. Print it if you require a hard copy.
2. Select your Local Authority and school Phase, then click the "Download" button.
3. Select "Run" or "Open".
4. Extract the files to the C:\Temp\FirstLanguage folder by clicking "Unzip", then "Close".
5. Follow the instructions to import the new language codes.
---Customer Information---
Named Contact:
School Name and Postcode:
Helpdesk Reference if already logged:
Priority:
Telephone Number:
Fax Number:
Date:
Time:
---Software Enquiry---
Please enter any relevant details (software title or module including version number) recording any error messages/updated information:
---Hardware/Systems Failure (Backup, Printing, Modem, Networking etc.)---
Equipment:
Fault/Error:
Last Action:
Other relevant circumstances:
Welcome to the Capita Education Support Services page
The Capita Group Plc is the UK's leading professional and support service organisation, providing an integrated range of services across the UK's public and private sectors.
Capita interacts with 33 million people across the UK on behalf of our clients across the public and private sectors. We aim to improve our clients’ service quality, reduce their costs of delivery and enable them to transform the way they deliver services to their customers.
Using the site
Download upgrades and patches from this page only when advised by your local Capita support team.
Feel free to read any documentation, and make use of any utilities available.
Downloads are often applicable to certain audiences only. Below the article title is a list of the school types that require or can make use of the download.
Escalation Points For The Service Desk
If you are happy with the service you have received , please tell us. It helps us identify good practice and encourages our staff. If you are unhappy with our service please let us know so that we can investigate and work on improvements. simsfeedback@capita.co.uk
Should you wish to escalate any issue relating to the service you receive from the Service Desk, please contact Alan Newman or Lee Osmotherly 1st tier team leaders on 0844 893 8000.
If you feel you need to escalate your issue further please contact Jean Mann (Service Desk Manager) jean.mann@capita.co.uk
Copyright (C) Capita Children's Services 2011, a trading division of Capita
Business Services Ltd. Registered in England No: 2299747.
Part of The Capita Group Plc, 71 Victoria Street, Westminster, London SW1H 0XA.
