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Up-to-date information for SIMS.net users.

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SIMS News

SIMS Year End Procedures 2010 - Version 2 of the notes have been uploaded. These notes are subject to change, check back for updates. 30/3/10

SIMS SQL 2008 Migration - New notes have been uploaded. Click the link to view the new panel. Version 5 of the migration notes have been added. 29/3/10

Producing Student List and Student Analysis Reports in SIMS - These new SIMS reports will replicate the reports previously available in Nova T4. 9/4/10

Census Summer 2010 - New items added, click the link to read more. 5/5/10

Archiving Attendance Marks - Click the link to read about this new option in SIMS.net. 6/10/09

School Workforce Census - New item - Staff Qualifications. 9/9/09

SIMS Primary, Nursery & Special Calendar 2009/2010 - New file uploaded. 27/8/09

Creating CTF Files - A new helpsheet has been created to guide SIMS.net users through the process of creating, exporting and importing CTF files. Click the link to read more. 30/7/09

Personnel 7 Staff Service Terms - New files have been uploaded. 27/7/09

SIMS How To... - A comprehensive list of helpsheets are available for your everyday SIMS.net issues. Updated helpsheets added. 3/4/09

Staff Absence Form - Click to view the new School Workforce Census section. More notes to follow. 11/2/09

SIMS.net Address Tidy & Merge - Version 2 of the notes have been uploaded. 23/2/09

How to record a School Closure - New notes have been created to show SIMS users how to use Attendance 7 to record an enforced closure. 27/11/07

First Language Codes - We have come across a number of schools where all the First Language codes have become deactivated. Click on the link to read more. 24/10/08

Recording Parental Responsibility - Notes have been uploaded to guide schools through the definition of parental responsibility. Click on the link to be guided to the panel below. 8/10/08

SIMS.net Emergency Contact List - A new SIMS.net report file has been created for Centrally Hosted schools as a contingency in case the CH system becomes unavailable. See the panel below for more information. 10/4/08

Creating User Defined Groups in AM7 and Attendance - Learn how to create specific groups for recording assessment and attendance data. 23/1/08

Updating SEN Lookups in SIMS.net - New notes have posted to guide SIMS users and SENCOs to use the correct SEN need types. 22/1/08

How to create labels in SIMS.net using Office 2003 - New notes have been created to show SIMS users how to create address labels and more using Reports. 27/11/07

Problems with Address Validator - If you have been experiencing problems with validating addresses in SIMS.net, then click on the link to access the helpsheet. 5/9/07

Do you want to become a SIMS Partner? - Capita and the Education ICT service are looking for schools that are making good use of most aspects of SIMS and who would like to become a SIMS Partnership school. Click the link to find out more...

Managed ICT Service News - As the Managed ICT Service has generated a lot of interest recently, a webpage has been created in the Portal which holds the most current information about the service. The page includes the following information: Who's currently using this service, User Guides and Frequently Asked Questions. Click on the link above to find out more. Alternatively, go to the Portal homepage and search for "Managed ICT Service".

Other SIMS Matters

SIMS How To...

Admission Form - Word Doc

Resolving Family Links and Addresses

B2B Transfer of Attendance Data

Password Protocols for MIS Software

Web Address Validator Guide

Attendance Code Conversion

Profiles 7 Presentation

SIMS SQL 2008 Migration

Click the links below to read the notes:

Updated 15th July - Version 5 of the migration notes

SIMS SQL 2008 Migration Notes for Primaries - NEW VERSION 5

SQL 2008 Prerequisites

SQL 2008 Minimum Requirements

Notes for Secondary Schools can be found here.

Creating CTF Files

Creating CTF Files - New notes have been created to guide SIMS.net users through the process of creating, importing and exporting CTFs, complete with a FAQs section. The notes are available in two formats:

Creating CTF Files - Word Format

Creating CTF Files - PDF Format

Primary Calendar 2009/2010

Primary, Nursery & Special Calendar - A new calendar has been uploaded for the 2009/2010 academic year. Available in two formats:

Primary Calendar - Word Format

Primary Calendar - PDF Format

Census Spring - 20th May 2010

Documents

Helpline Overview of the School Census Summer 2010:

Census Overview - Word Format

Census Overview - PDF Format

School Census Summer 2010 Preparation Notes:

Primary/Nursery/Special - Word | PDF

Secondary - Word | PDF

Producing the School Census Summer 2010 Notes:

Primary - Word | PDF

Nursery - Word | PDF

Special - Word | PDF

Secondary - Word | PDF

Errors & Resolutions - Version 4.0 2010

SIMS.net Reports

To make checking your SIMS.net data easier, the following report has been created. Simply download the file below, and read the accompanying notes.

CENTRALLY HOSTED SCHOOLS Please note: As you will be unable to rename file extensions in this system, it will be best to download the Report File outside Central Hosting, renaming the file and then bringing this into your SIMS.net.

Modes of Transport Report File - Notes on how to import - This will provide a checklist that can be printed out, and this can passed around the classes to ascertain which mode of transport each pupil uses to get to school.

COLLECT website

Read the notes below, then click on the link to access the COLLECT website.

COLLECT Website Notes - Link to COLLECT website

School Workforce Census

More items to be added soon. New item - Staff Qualifications.

School Workforce Census Main Page

B2B Personnel Handbook - Click the link to read the process behind B2B Personnel.

Maintaining B2B Personnel (Primary) - Once your first B2B Personnel import/export has been completed, you can maintain any further changes in Personnel by performing the tasks in this document. Available in two formats:

Maintaining B2B Personnel - Word Format

Maintaining B2B Personnel - PDF Format

Staff Qualifications - The School Workforce Census requires qualification information for certain members of staff. Click on the links below to read how to add this information, available in two formats:

Staff Qualifications - Word Format

Staff Qualifications - PDF Format

Staff Absence Form - This is a handy form for school administrators to collect staff absence information for inputting into SIMS Personnel. This form is available in Word or Adobe Acrobat PDF format, click the files below to download:

Staff Absence Form - Word Format

Staff Absence Form - PDF Format

Staff Data Collection Sheet - To make sure your personnel information is up-to-date, you can use the report file and word document below:

Staff Data Collection Sheet - RPTDEF file

To import this report file into SIMS.net, right-click on the icon above and select "Save Target As...", choose where to save the file, find the saved file and rename it "staff datacheck personnel 7.RptDef" then import the file into SIMS.net via Reports | Import.

Staff Data Collection Sheet - Blank Word Doc

This is a blank template of the SIMS Report file on the left. You can print out or email this file for staff members to complete manually.

Year End Procedures 2010

Release Version 2: Release Date 30.3.10: Please note the Year End 2010 notes are subject to change, please check back regularly for updates.

Year End Procedures in SIMS - Version 2 of the 2010 notes added. Click the links below to download the notes:

Year End 2010 - Word Format

Year End 2010 - PDF Format

Importing an ATF file - Click to read this helpsheet. If you are unsure about the procedure, please contact the helpline.

First Langauge Codes

First Language Lookups

Please check that the extended list of First Language Lookups is still active in SIMS. We have come across a number of schools where all the First Language Codes have become deactivated. If when you click on the drop down next to First Language in a Student's Details, or if you look at the actual First Language lookup list (Tools | Lookups | Maintain | First Language) only the very limited list including Other than English, Believed to be English appears, then the complete list needs to be reactivated. This can be achieved quite easily.

Download the First Language Lookup zip file appropriate to your school from the link below. This file does not require unzipping. In SIMS use the route Tools | Lookups | Import Lookups. Browse for the saved file, highlight the file and click open.. Click on the Import button at the top left of the screen.

Primary.zip

Secondary.zip

Special.zip

Parental Responsibility - Guidance

Click on the links below to read the notes:

Parentline Guidance

Teachernet Guidance

DCSF Guidance

Link to Parentline website

SIMS.net Emergency Contact List

Click here to download the zip file

NOTE: This is a SIMS.net Rptdef (Report Definition) file that should be imported into SIMS.net - when you download this it will be saved as a .zip (compressed) file. For further guidance on how to unzip files, click on the video links included below.

In order to download and import this file:

1. Click the link above to start the download.

2. Click on Save.

3. Choose a location to save it to (i.e. C:\Program Files\SIMS\SIMS.net)

4. Locate the zip file and double-click it to initiate the download.

5. Unpack the rptdef file to the same SIMS.net folder. (See below if you need help with this step)

6. Start SIMS.net, click on Reports and then Import to upload the report.

Never used WinZip before? Click below to find out how:

For Centrally Hosted Schools

For Non-Centrally Hosted Schools

Personnel 7 Staff Service Terms

New file uploaded - Changes have been made to the posts lookups. The latest Service Terms/Pay Awards are now available for importing into Personnel. They are specific for school type so please ensure you select the correct file for your school type.

How to import the new Service Terms - click on the link to read the notes, then download the relevant zip file below.

Primary.zip

Secondary.zip

Special.zip

How to use WinZip - Camtasia Video - Click on the link and watch the video. The zip file above will need to be extracted before use, and this will show you how.

How to unpack files inside Centrally Hosted MIS - Camtasia Video - Click on the link and watch the video. This applies to CH MIS Schools, and those PCs that don't have WinZip installed.

It is advisable to import the CCS-Base_lookups before importing the file relevant for your school type. This should be done in SIMS.Net using Tools | Lookups | Import Lookups and locating the file in c:\sims

To load the file schools need to save both files somewhere like my documents. Then open SIMS.net with an ID that has Personnel Manager rights. Then use Tools | Staff | Pay Related Import. Click on Select a file and locate the file where it was downloaded to (they will only see one file on the screen). Double click on the file and the details of the contents will populate the screens. Users should see four Service Terms - HD, NT, TE and TS. Click Import to bring the data in.

Users should also be aware that the ten point Unqualified Teachers range has been reduced to a six point range. The details of where the old points map onto the new are contained on the teachernet website using the following url: www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=12638 The New pay scale has been added to the TE Service Term as UQN. Users will have to edit all contracts utilising the UQT scale and add the new scale and point.

SIMS How To...

Click here to access the helpsheets

In order to improve the speed of this webpage, the SIMS Helpsheets and Quick Reference Guides have been given their own dedicated page. Click to display the popup menu. These helpsheets are updated regularly.