Scheduled Sunday ICT Service Break 31.5.09

The following services will be affected by the Service Break from 8 am until 6 pm this Sunday:

• Cambridgeshire.gov.uk and cambridgeshire.net
• CamWeb
• One.net (ICS)
• Aspire
• Estart
• EDRM

Cambridgeshire.gov.uk, Cambridgeshire.net and CamWeb
Due to ongoing resilience issues, and the work needed to resolve them, the corporate internet site will only be partially available on Sunday 31 May.

The entire site will be unavailable for part of Sunday morning, and payment facilities, online forms, and CMS authoring will all be unavailable throughout the day.

The content of both the internet and CamWeb sites will be totally static while this work takes place, and will exactly reflect their appearance at approximately 12 noon, Friday 29 May. Please ensure that anything you wish to be visible over the weekend has been published by 11.45 am on Friday 29 May.

Please do not make changes on the corporate internet site or CamWeb between 12 noon and 2 pm on Friday.

CamWeb authoring will be unavailable all day Sunday.

One.net (ICS)

The One.net application will be intermittent throughout the duration of Sunday’s Service Break.

Aspire, Estart and EDRM

These services will be unavailable from 8 am until 6 pm on Sunday.

Remote Access Services

Corporate Netilla will be unavailable on Sunday.For your information there are three Netilla services operated by the County Council:

Corporate Netilla is used by County Council staff accessing County Council IT systems via the public internet. Access to the system is granted by authentication using a keyfob in conjunction with normal County Council network login details.
NHS Netilla is used by NHS staff to grant access to County Council systems from a PC on the NHS network via the secure link between the networks. No keyfob is required for this service.
Schools Netilla is used by Cambridgeshire schools staff to access County Council systems. Access is granted by authentication using a keyfob

As soon as each service becomes available we will advise the Out of Hours Helpdesk (01223 717333) so that they can answer any queries you may have. Should you have any queries regarding the availability of services on Sunday 31 May 2009 please contact the Business Support Helpdesk on 01223 717333.

Information is posted and updated with details of upcoming Service Breaks on CamWeb. Please follow this link to go directly to the IT Service Break Information page

Summer ToPP Marksheet Training Course

Audience: Headteachers, Assessment Coordintors

Phase: Primary

Subject: Summer ToPP Marksheet Training course - New Features in ToPP

Make sure you have the latest templates and tracking grids and can make best use of them this summer. The course will focus on entering and analysing the summer teacher assessments, transfer of data from eyeProfile to Sims and much more.

The most recent release will allow you to record an assessment of 'none' for pupils where there was no assessment at the end of Key Stage 1, meaning that all pupils are represented on marksheets and tracking grids. Centrally hosted schools will have the opportunity to work on their own data.

Just a few places left on this course which will run at Godmachester on Friday 5th June. Email ict.courses@cambridgeshire.gov.uk for more information.

It's Census Day!

Here's some handy links for today:

• Link to COLLECT Website
• Notes for COLLECT Website
• Helpline Overview
• Census Errors & Resolutions

Please note:

* Central Hosting Schools have been sent their own version of the Census Validation File by email, and it's also available on the Central Hosting front page. Please upload this before validating and submitting your census file.

* Free School Meals - there is no option to enter the FSMs taken today, this is only picked up from the Spring Census. It will just look at those pupils who are eligible for FSM.

* Update Class Type - this can be done through the Census itself, or by going into SIMS.net Tools Census Tools Update Class Type - be sure to tick all pupils as Nursery or Other before saving.

* Funded Hours - These have been carried over from the previous Census. Review the figures, make changes as necessary and save.

* Where's the Census File? - In SIMS.net, click on Routines, Statutory Returns, School Census. Click on Search, this will show the census files created. Make a note of the filename, an authorised file will end with ".xml". The folder where the file is stored is at the top of the page, under School Census Folder. Note this information down, and you will be able to locate the file when uploading to COLLECT.

Good luck!

Secondary End Of Year 2009 Notes

New notes for the Secondary End Of Year 2009 have been posted to the Secondary Planet.

Click on the links to read them now:

End Of Year 2009 - Word Format

End Of Year 2009 - PDF Format

These notes and other helpsheets on the Secondary Planet are subject to change, so check the SIMS Home Page and this blog for further updates.

SIMS End of Year Notes - Version 2

An updated version of the Helpline SIMS End of Year Procedures 2009 notes are now available on the SIMS Home Page.

Click the links below to download:

• End of Year 2009 - Word Document
• End of Year 2009 - PDF Document

These and other SIMS-related notes can be found on the SIMS Home Page.

Finance Planet - New Corporate Finance Panel

A new panel has been added to the Finance Planet of the SIMS Home Page, and this will serve as a section devoted to any Corporate Finance News.

You can view this panel by clicking here.

Be sure to check back on this page for further updates. New items - Contacts List for Bank Account Schools, Barclays Contacts and Corporate Requirements Framework 2009/2010.

Census Summer 2009 - Updated Validation File

A replacement SIMS census validation file has been issued, as there were problems with attendance calculations in the original validation software.

In order to import this file into SIMS.net, please do the following:

School Census Summer 2009 Update Fileset

1. Right-click on the mfs file above and select "Save as..."

2. Choose a folder to save the file into, for example C:\Program Files\SIMS\SIMS.net.

3. Find the file you have just saved, and right-click on the file and choose "Rename". Delete the "zip" part of the file name, and replace it with "mfs".

4. Log into SIMS.net, and click on Tools Setups Import Fileset.

5. Navigate to the folder where you saved the mfs file and click on "Import Fileset".

It will confirm that the file import is complete. Once this is done, please re-validate your census return. It may be necessary to create a new census return if the calculations on the summary are still incorrect.

Attention Centrally Hosted Schools - Data Protection - Dealing with Staff Leavers

Purpose: Important Information
Audience: School Secretary

It is essential to contact the ICT Helpline immediately giving notification of any staff member leaving your school. Their accounts will need to be deactivated to maintain the security of your schools data.

On no account must a new member of staff log on with the leavers account details. The ICT Helpline can deactivate or create CH user accounts but if your school has an assigned Administrator for the Central Hosting Admin Tool, please contact them immediately and they will be able to deactivate these accounts for you.

Summer Census - Helpline Overview

The Helpline Overview of the School Summer Census 2009 has now been added to the SIMS Home Page - this document is available in two formats:

• Helpline Overview - Word Doc
• Helpline Overview - PDF Doc

There are also step-by-step guides to running the School Census available on this page, and they are available for the following school types: Primary, Secondary and Nursery.

To view these documents, click here to be redirected to the SIMS Home Page Census panel.

Using the End of Key Stage Wizards 2009

Notes have been created to guide SIMS Assessment Operators and Co-ordinators through the process of downloading and entering data into the new Key Stage Wizards.

The notes are available in two formats:

Word Format

PDF Format

If you have any queries about the process, please contact the helpline. These and more notes relating to Assessment are available on the SIMS Home Page.

SIMS Year End Procedures 2009

Updated notes have been added to the SIMS Home Page to guide SIMS.net users through setting up the new Academic Year.

Click on the links below to download these notes:

Word Document

PDF Document

These and other SIMS helpsheets are available on the SIMS Home Page - bookmark the Year End Procedures panel and this blog for further updates.

Scheduled Sunday ICT Service Break 10.5.09

The following services will be affected by the Service Break from 08:00 until 18:00 this Sunday:

• User data and profiles will be effected briefly due to security patching
• Network connectivity for Seymour House will be down due to VoIP installation
• The corporate internet site and Cambridgeshire.net will be read only all day
• Camweb will be unavailable
• Corporate Netilla will be unavailable for the day
• LanDesk will be unavailable due to software upgrades

Access to data and profiles

User data and profiles will be unavailable due to security patching.

Seymour House VoIP installation

There will be no network access at Seymour House on Sunday while the site is upgraded to a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone system.

Corporate internet site

Due to ongoing resilience issues, and the work needed to resolve them, the corporate internet site (Cambridgeshire.gov.uk) will only be partially available on Sunday, from approximately 08:00 to 18:00. Payment facilities, online forms and CMS authoring will all be unavailable. A news item to this effect will be posted shortly on the home page of the internet site.

Remote Access Services

Corporate Netilla will not be available on Sunday.

For your information there are three Netilla services operated by the County Council:

Corporate Netilla is used by County Council staff accessing County Council IT systems via the public internet. Access to the system is granted by authentication using a keyfob in conjunction with normal County Council network login details.
NHS Netilla is used by NHS staff to grant access to County Council systems from a PC on the NHS network via the secure link between the networks. No keyfob is required for this service.
Schools Netilla is used by Cambridgeshire schools staff to access County Council systems. Access is granted by authentication using a keyfob

As soon as each service becomes available we will advise the Out of Hours Helpdesk (01223 717333) so that they can answer any queries you may have. Should you have any queries regarding the availability of services on Sunday 10 May 2009 please contact the Business Support Helpdesk on 01223 717333.

Information is posted and updated with details of upcoming Service Breaks on CamWeb. Please follow this link to go directly to the IT Service Break Information page

School Summer Census - Thursday 21st May

The School Summer Census this year will be on Thursday 21st May. This Census collects Student basic information, Contact details, Funded Hours (Foundation Stage Pupils), Attendance for the Spring Term 2009, Exclusion information for the Autumn Term 2008 and Learning Aims for Post 16 Schools.

Full details of what data will be collected can be found in the DCSF “School Census - Preparation and Guidance for 2009” specific to your school phase. If you are unable to locate your copy from the Spring Census, these have been uploaded to the SIMS Home Page on the Portal.

Other Guidance available to download from the Portal includes:-

• Capita Notes on Producing the Summer Census - specific to each school phase.


• Powerpoint Guidance for Post 16 Learning Aims - please begin work on this area NOW,
  It is necessary to be on the March release of SIMS .net, version 7.116, in order to have the software required for generating this return.

Please begin working on Census preparation as soon as possible, if all is checked and ready to go, all that will need to be done on Census Day itself, is to authorise and upload the return.

Central Hosting - Dealing with Staff Leavers

It is ESSENTIAL that the ICT Service are notified IMMEDIATELY when staff with Central Hosting accounts leave your school. These accounts will then be deactivated to maintain the security of your schools data.

If you have an Assigned Central Hosting Administrator in School, please notify them IMMEDIATELY and they will be able to deactivate these accounts.

End of Key Stage - Key Dates

Please import your End of Key Stage Wizards for 2009 as soon as you have upgraded to the March version of SIMS .net (version 7.116).

• End of Key Stage Data Entry Training for Admin Staff - 15th and 22nd May


• Deadline for Foundation Stage Profile Results to be Uploaded via S2S - Tuesday 7th July


• Deadline for Key Stage 1 Teacher Assessments to be Uploaded via S2S - Tuesday 7th July


• Deadline for Key Stage 2 & 3 Teacher Assessments to be Uploaded via QCA (NAA) Website - Friday 10th July

Cover for Examinations

The March upgrade has introduced a new feature in Cover to deal with examinations.

This new feature enables Cover Staff to manage room changes necessitated by Exams, and to allocate invigilators. Notes on this process “Dealing with Exams” are available on the Portal.

Assessment Manager

Please be aware that after the March SIMS upgrade this box may pop up. We would strongly recommend that schools that use ToPPS CLICK NO and do not import these resources.

Failure to do so will import a load of unnecessary Templates, Aspects, Gradesets and Resultsets into your SIMS .net system. This page may also appear when configuring your Homepage with Performance Analysis information; again please select ‘No’. If at all unsure, please contact Helpline.

Question Level Data Entry

Due to the continued demand for this service, once again this year schools can subscribe to have their Question Level Data for Optional SATs (Y3, Y4 & Y5) input to RaiseOnline on their behalf.

Please do sign up for this service as soon as possible, to enable us to plan for the number of schools that indicate their intention to subscribe.

To register interest please telephone 01480 376670 or email ict.courses@cambridgeshire.gov.uk before 20th May.

Schools Workforce Census

The process of activating B2B Personnel in SIMS .net and importing Staff contracts has now begun in earnest. After contracts have been imported, staff absence data can then sent electronically by B2B Personnel to ONE.

You can help by checking for any duplicate staff entries in Personnel. Ensure the Status of ALL is selected. Where duplicates are identified, remove any NI and Teacher numbers from the version that is not required and place a couple of zzz in front of both the legal and preferred names. Also check the original name is not saved into the Previous Names Box.

At briefings in November, December and January, schools were informed that they needed to maintain a "Service Agreement" record for any staff employed by the Local Authority but working in the school. This could include peripatetic staff, ICT technicians and possibly catering staff. DCSF now advise that these Service Agreement records will NOT be required.

Schools will also be contacted directly by DCSF about this. The requirement to provide a Service Agreement record for non-LA staff remains. The text of the DCSF statement appears on the School Workforce Census portal page (resource ID 4465).

Year End Procedures in SIMS .net

It’s not too early to begin your Year End Procedures in SIMS. The academic year 2009/10 can be added at any time although it may be prudent to do this at a time of the day when few users are in SIMS as it can take up a lot of processing capacity.

Set up Pre-Admission Groups ready for September and start entering Student details. Secondary Schools should have received ATF files containing basic information on Students allocated to their school for September.

Some Primary school have also requested these, please do download and follow the guidance notes for importing ATF files that are available on the Portal. There are few changes to year end procedures for this year. Last year’s guidance notes are available on the Portal. This year’s notes will be posted as soon as they have been finalised.

Dinner Money - Promotional Meals

Do not forget to claim back discounted meals from CCS.

If the school does not claim back the difference between the price of the promotional meals and the normal meal charges, the school will pay the full cost.

FMS - Inputting the 2009/10 Budget

Never input your budget into FMS6 before? Hate the yearly headache? Never sure where to find the right ledger code? Constant interruptions in the office?

Then why now book onto one of the Budget Input Workshops? Centrally Hosted Schools will be able to log onto their own school’s FMS database and input their budget. Places are limited.

• Friday 15th May 13.30-15.00 G/M
• Monday 18th May 9.30-12.00 W/B
• Monday 18th May 13.30 - 15.00 W/B
• Tuesday 19th May 9.30 - 12.00 G/M
• Wednesday 20th May 9.30- 12.00 W/B

£40.00 per session.

Key Dates May-June 2009

• End of Key Stage Data Entry Admin - 15th (G), 22nd May (WB)
• Budget Input Sessions - 15th, 18th, 19th 20th May
• EyeProfile Reporting - 14th May
• School Summer Census - 21st May
• ToPP Summer Marksheets and Analysis - 4th, 5th, 11th June
• Personnel 7 - 9th June
• Equipment Register - 10th (WB), 16th (WB) June
• Fischer Family Trust Secondary - 11th June
• Fischer Family Trust Primary - 16th June
• SENCO Training - 16th June
• FMS6 Refresher Workshop - 18th (WB) June
• End of Year Analysis of Performance data using Primary Target Tracker - 23rd (WB), 25th June
• Managing Student Data 3 (Year End Procedures in SIMS .net) - 2nd, 9th (WB), 16th (WB)

Venues: (G) = Godmanchester; (OC) = Oliver Cromwell, March; (ML) = March Library; (CPDC) = Cambridge Professional Development Centre; (WB) = ICT Service Waterbeach; (BMC) = Buckden Millennium Centre; (OV) = Over Community Centre.

To book on a course listed in Key Dates, telephone 01480 376670.