I spent yesterday working at Westhoughton High School with a fantastic group of people. Before I launch into the SIMS part of this post, I wish express my thanks to the staff at the school for their hospitality, patience and assistance in helping me help them.
Despite a combination of some serious SIMS issues (hence the title of this post) and it probably being the busiest day of the academic year, they managed to keep laughing, which is a testament to their strength of character and team spirit. The fact that colleagues were more than willing to work through lunch and stay beyond their normal finishing time (without complaint) was an inspiration; it was a privilege to have the opportunity to spend the day working with them.
What has become clear to me over the past few weeks is how difficult the transition between academic years in SIMS is for secondary school staff, especially (but not exclusively) for those who are relatively new to the system. While it is to be expected that those new to post will struggle a little with the complexities of a huge system like SIMS, seasoned officers and senior teachers are still caught out by the seemingly unexplainable errors encountered during the End of Year process.
Overwhelmingly, it is the issues caused by the transfer between Nova-T6 and SQL (SIMS .net) followed by the transfer of data from SQL to Nova-T4 that generates the most complaints. Although I know Capita have plans to fully replace the essential functionality in Nova-T4 (a programme started with the release of Cover 7), I would have hoped that, after almost four years of SIMS .net in Bolton schools, we wouldn”t be transferring data between so many databases.
Colleagues have also commented on the End of Year documentation issued to schools. Historically we have made available Capita’’s Secondary School SIMS End of Year Procedures document but, while it will get you through the process, you”ve told us that it isn”t the easiest document to follow. It will quite often refer you to other documents and doesn”t, I believe, offer users the step-by-step, sensibly sectioned guide desired.
As a result, I”m launching a review of how our service supports the End of Year processes in secondary schools. I”d like to discuss with colleagues the ways in which you think we can improve the service and what you”d like to see in the way of documentation and communication.
I”d also like to consult with schools on how we can be more effective in supporting you throughout the examinations calendar. We are working closely with other local authorities in trying to convince examination boards to adhere to certain deadlines and standards, a subject I”ll be discussing in a later post.
If you wish to express an opinion on any of the above, please feel free to leave a comment below and/or drop me a line. I look forward to hearing your views.
A number of documents have been made available by the Information Management Unit to assist schools in preparing for, producing and submitting the Autumn 2008 School Census.
Hot on the heels of my 
Two teachers based in the UK, now working with Microsoft, have just started a new blog: 
Following in Phil’s footsteps, Ian and I are currently attending a 3-day PRINCE2 Foundation course in Manchester.
