FMS Lock File has grown too big

The FMS Lock File issue has reappeared for some schools. It will throw out an error message saying that the "Lock File has grown too big" and it won't allow any further work to be carried out in the finance module.

Click here to read the notes on how to resolve this.

The notes contain instructions for both Central Hosted and Non-Central Hosted schools.

These and other finance helpsheets can be found on the Finance Planet of the SIMS Home Page.

Post-16 Pupils - Approximate Leaving Dates

Capita have released information on giving Post-16 pupils approximate dates of leaving to ensure course end dates are correct.

Click here to read these notes now.

These and other Secondary school related documents can be found on the Secondary planet of the SIMS Home Page.

SIMS Spring Upgrade

The SIMS Spring 2010 Solus Upgrade 7.128 has been released to all schools (Centrally Hosted schools will have been upgraded during the scheduled down time on 17th April). This upgrade is essential for all schools and needs to be performed as soon as possible.

Included in this upgrade:

• Software required to run the School Summer Census.


• End of Key Stage Wizards for 2010


• New reports aimed at replacing the class reporting available in Nova T4 (via Reports Student Lists) (Guidance Notes available for download from the SIMS Home Page on the Portal)
  
• For Primaries - new meal list report (available from Reports Attendance Selected Student reports)
  
• Fixes and enhancements
  
• Please import the new version of Predefined SIMS .net Reports v7.128

Details of all the new functionality and fixes contained in this upgrade can be found in the Release Notes which can be accessed from the Documentation Centre in SIMS .net (via Documentation at the top of the Home Page in SIMS .net)

FMS Upgrade 6.128
This upgrade has also been released to all schools - please upgrade to keep your SIMS and FMS at compatible versions. This upgrade includes new functionality for recurring payments.

Secondary User Groups (SUGS) 25th/26th May

This is an opportunity to catch up on the latest developments in SIMS.

Capita will be presenting their new "Discover" data analysis and reporting system first showcased at BETT. This is your opportunity to provide feedback on its development.

There are 2 free places for schools with Silver or Gold support in their SLA.

Please phone 01480 376670 to book your place.

Weekly and Monthly Tasks in SIMS .net

Below is a suggested list of tasks that need carrying out on a weekly/monthly or a periodical task we are suggesting is carried out during the coming month that over time will lead to improvements in your school’s data quality.

Helpline guidance notes for these tasks can be found on the SIMS Home Page of the Portal - the index offers an easy way of identifying the guidance you are looking for.

Weekly Checks Tick sheet
[] Personnel - Record Staff Absence
[] Personnel - Review Changes - Send All
[] Attendance - Deal with Missing Marks
[] Attendance - Deal with ‘N’ Codes
[] Dinner Money - Print Debtors & Creditors list

This Month’s Checks Tick sheet
[] Perform SIMS .net Spring Upgrade
[] Import the latest version of Predefined SIMS .net Reports
[] Import the End of Key Stage Wizards
[] Schools running eyeProfile update all machines to the latest version
[] Start Preparation for School Summer Census
[] Ensure statutory fields for all new admissions are complete
[] Attendance for Spring Term 2010 is complete
[] All Exclusions during the Autumn Term 2010 have been recorded in SIMS. Net
[] Secondary Schools prepare for reporting on Post 16 Learning Aims.

Producing Student List and Student Analysis Reports in SIMS

The Spring SIMS upgrade (version 7.128) brings additional reporting options into SIMS .net.

These reports are aimed at reproducing much of the Nova T4 reporting functionality, providing a new way to quickly generate class lists.

Class teachers can generate these reports simply by right clicking the class on their My Classes Today Timeline on the Homepage of SIMS.

Alternatively, depending on users’ permissions, a range of Class Lists and Analysis reports are available from Reports. Columns can be removed and/or additional columns of data added by dragging and dropping from the options to the right of the screen.

Please download the notes “Producing Student List and Student Analysis Reports in SIMS” which are available for download from the Portal.

Please ensure ALL SIMS users, particularly teaching staff are made aware of these new reports.

eProfile - Essential Upgrade

All schools that use eProfile for recording their Foundation Stage Profiles MUST update all machines with eProfile installed to the latest edition.

The upgrade can be carried out quite simply by visiting Suffolk Website:-

www.suffolkcpd.co.uk/fsp

and clicking on the Download button.

(N.B. this web address has changed since the last upgrade).

Please repeat on ALL machines in your school with eProfile installed.

This upgrade needs to be performed to ensure that the results file created at the end of key stage is in the correct format for uploading to S2S. It is also necessary so that the results file generated for your MIS at the end of the year is in the correct format for importing into SIMS .net.

Schools Summer Census 2010 - Thursday May 20th

Start preparations for the Summer Census.

• Ensure all statutory fields for any admissions have been completed.


• SEN and Gifted and Talented registers are up to date.


• Attendance for the Spring Term 2009 is complete.


• Any Exclusions during the Autumn Term 2009 have been recorded in SIMS .net.

Secondary schools with Post 16 students should start preparing for the Post 16 Learning Aims data collection that forms a part of this census.

Learning Aims for the period 2/10/09-21/05/10 will be collected. It is also possible to flag any Learning Aims submitted in error as part of the Autumn Return (i.e. for the period 23/5/09-2/10/09).

End of Key Stage

The Spring SIMS .net upgrade includes the new End of Key Stage Wizards for 2010. Please import the Wizards appropriate to your school stage as soon as possible after the upgrade has been carried out.

Please note, Uploading Procedures for KS2 and KS3 Assessments have changed this year, please refer to the Guidance notes which are available for download from the Portal.

There are no free seminars this year to support the End of Key Stage Data Collection process. Instead we are offering Workshops to support the use of eProfile, Early Years Foundation Stage
Target Tracker and Primary Target Tracker on 26 April at Waterbeach and 4 May at Godmanchester and for SIMS schools 12th May at Godmanchester.

Workshops are available for new users, see Key Dates below, visit the Training link from the
SIMS Home Page on the Portal, or telephone our Courses Admin. Team on 01480 376670.

S2S Unique Learner Number (ULN) Service - Secondary Schools

The S2S ULN Service is a new system to help schools to obtain and verify ULNs for their students.

The ULN Service makes it easy to exchange student and ULN data electronically between the school and MIAP. The ULN Service offers two methods for obtaining ULNs:

• CTF file upload and download
• Simple ULN lookup

Guidance notes are available for download from the Secondary Planet on the SIMS Home Page of the Portal.

Key Stage Apr - May 2010

• Managing Student Data - SIMS .net, new users - 20th & 27th Apr (WB)
  
• End of Key Stage Workshops - 26th April (WB)
  
• End of Key Stage Workshops - 4th May
  
• Cambridgeshire Headteachers ICT Conference, Wyboston - 5th May
  
• SIMS .net Reporting for Primary Schools - 10th May
  
• Key Stage Entry Made Easy (SIMS .net) Workshops - 12th May
  
• RAISEonline Snr Leaders and Teachers - 13th May (WB)
  
• eyeProfile Reporting to Parents - 20th May
  
• Secondary User Groups - 25th (ML), 26th (CPDC) May

All courses based at Godmanchester unless otherwise stated. Other venues: (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

SIMS and FMS Spring Upgrades

The latest versions of the SIMS and FMS upgrade notes are now available on the SIMS Home Page.

Click the links below to read these notes now:

• SIMS Spring Upgrade 7.128
• FMS Spring Upgrade 6.128

The SIMS Permissions spreadsheet has also been updated:

• SIMS Permissions 7.128

These and other upgrade notes can be found on the SOLUS planet.

Migration of SIMS .net and FMS from SQL 2005 to SQL 2008

Microsoft are ceasing support for SQL 2005, as a result schools will need to migrate to SQL 2008.

Non-Centrally Hosted Primary Schools use the free version of SQL 2005 Express. They will need to carry out a migration procedure to migrate their data to SQL 2008 Express. Minimum System Specifications must be met before this migration can be performed. A letter detailing these requirements has been sent to schools. The Helpline documentation for the SQL2008
installation and migration procedure are available for download from the Primary Planet of the SIMS Home Page on the Portal.

Secondary Schools require the full SQL 2008, as their databases are too large for the Express Edition. This will need to be purchased along with the necessary licences. (for information on cost, please contact the Procurement Team at Waterbeach). Capita will provide a tool to facilitate the migration of SIMS and FMS data. Notes for this process will be available for
download from the Secondary Planet on the SIMS Homepage of the Portal.

Please contact the Helpline immediately if you have a Windows 2000 File Server.

Centrally Hosted Schools do not need to carry out this migration, their databases have already been migrated.

Financial Processes

Please would all FMS users note that if they receive instructions/guidance from Schools Corporate Team or School Financial Advisors (or other queries on the BCR toolkit) that they are unsure about, these need to be referred to the originator of the email and not to the Helpline.

Any technical questions about how to do something in FMS that are requested by the school by
Schools Corporate Team still need to go to Helpine.

Weekly and Monthly Tasks in SIMS .net

Below is a suggested list of tasks that need carrying out on a weekly/monthly or a periodical task we are suggesting is carried out during the coming month that over time will lead to improvements in your school’s data quality.

Helpline guidance notes for these tasks can be found on the SIMS Home Page of the Portal - the index offers an easy way of identifying the guidance you are looking for. Alternatively why not use the Documentation Link from the Home Page in SIMS .net.

All the SIMS Manuals, Quick Reference Sheets etc. can be accessed from the Documentation Centre.

Weekly Checks Tick sheet
[] Personnel - Record Staff Absence
[] Personnel - Review Changes - Send All
[] Attendance - Deal with Missing Marks
[] Attendance - Deal with ‘N’ Codes
[] Dinner Money - Print Debtors & Creditors list

This Month’s Checks Tick sheet
[] Add the next Academic Year in SIMS .net
[] Create Pre-admission Groups for next Academic Year
[] Advise ICT Service of any maintenance/building works planned for your school over the Easter Holiday
[] Set up New CAT Year in Dinner Money
[] FMS - Check for and clear all outstanding Orders, Invoices and Credit notes
[] FMS - Ensure all income banked
[] FMS - Clear un-posted journals and un-reconciled bank transactions
[] Staff Absences - Ensure days lost and end dates have been entered

Dinner Money - New Catering Return for 2010/2011

The end of the financial year is approaching and Dinner Money users will need to create the new Catering Return for 2010/11.

Select Tools Dinner Money Setup.

Add new Catering Return as follows:-

• Name: 2010/11


• Frequency: Weekly


• Repeat Every: Monday

SIMS Training

The ICT Service offer a great range of courses covering all aspects of SIMS .net, including courses for beginners (Managing Student Data), Reporting in SIMS .net, Assessment Manager, Year End Procedures, End of Key Stage, SENCO, Attendance, Cover, Timetabling.

If you are interested in training but there are no dates published as yet, please contact the ICT Service Admin Team and register your interest. When sufficient numbers of requests have been received additional course dates can be arranged.

Alternatively on-site training can be provided at your school, either for groups of users or on
a one-to-one basis. Please contact the Helpline if you would like to know more.

Central Hosting - Reminders

Pre-defined SIMS .net Reports after Upgrades

A reminder to Centrally Hosted Schools. After each SIMS .net upgrade it is advisable to check for an updated version of the SIMS .net Pre-defined Reports.

Use SIMS .net route Reports Import and open the browser to select the
Reports to import. Locate the most recent import file e.g. PreDefined_Reports_v7.126.RptDef - the v7.126 will be the same as the SIMS .net version number that can be identified by clicking on Help and About SIMS .net. Open and import.

Knowlegebase

The Knowledgebase, which is accessed by the link on the Central Hosting Home page, is a mine of information. If you encounter problems logging into Central Hosting or Printing etc. the solution to your problem can often be found in the knowledgebase.

Data Quality - Address Tidy and Merge Tool

One of the most frequent problems with schools’ SIMS data is caused by duplicate addresses.

Where members of a family are attached to duplicate addresses family links of siblings will not be picked up, parents will not be picked up when parental addressees are generated automatically and mailing points will not work correctly.

Duplicate addresses may not be readily identifiable as they may appear identical. Warning signs are the “little house” symbol not being present in the Contacts box of the Student Details next to parents who live at the same address as a student. Siblings not appearing in the Family links box. Parental Salutation/Addressee not generating automatically. Mailing point not generating correctly automatically.

Guidance notes for using this tool are available for download from the SIMS Home Page on the Portal. If you have any queries, please contact the Helpline on 08450 450 973.

Cambridgeshire Headteachers ICT Conference 2010

This year’s Cambridgeshire Headteachers ICT Conference will be held on 5th May 2010 at Robinson College, Wyboston.

The conference is aimed at Headteachers. If Headteachers are unable to attend for the afternoon workshops, ICT subject leaders may take their place.

Keynote Speakers:-

• Chris Davies teaches MSC in e-learning at the Department of Education, University of Oxford
  
• Mike Morris is Cisco’s European Manager of Business Development for Education and Local Government

All schools with an SLA with Education ICT Service are allocated one free place, further places are available to non-SLA schools at a cost of £75.

Kay Dates Apr - May 2010

• Managing Student Data (SIMS .net, new users) - 20th & 27th Apr
  
• Target Tracker End of Key Stage Workshops - 4th, 5th May
  
• Cambridgeshire Headteachers ICT Conference (Wyboston) - 5th May
  
• SIMS .net Reporting for Primary Schools - 10th May
  
• Key Stage Entry Made Easy (SIMS .net) Workshops - 12th May
  
• Budget Input Workshops - 13th, 18th, 20th, 25th May
  
• RAISEonline Snr Leaders and Teachers - 13th May
  
• eyeProfile Reporting to Parents - 20th May

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

All courses based at Godmanchester unless otherwise stated. Other venues: (OC) = Oliver Cromwell, March; (ML) = March Library; (CPDC) = Cambridge Professional Development Centre; (WB) = ICT Service Waterbeach; (BMC) = Buckden Millennium Centre; (OV) = Over Community Centre.