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.

All this support material has already been published on MyBriefing, but some colleagues in schools have suggested that a single location be made available with links to the latest guidance.

I have created a couple of pages to meet this requirement, so please click on the link below which best relates to your establishment.

Nursery, Special and Primary Schools - School Census Autumn 2008

Secondary Schools - School Census Autumn 2008

Colleagues over at the Teaching Ideas and Resources blog often refer to the Innovative Teachers Network. This is “a global community of educators who share a common interest in enhancing teaching and learning through the use of technology”.

Please click here to learn more about this free Microsoft-sponsored teachers” resource.

Bolton Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Hot on the heels of my previous post, Becta have published four additional guides to accompany their Keeping Data Safe, Secure and Legal document.

•  - Impact Levels and Labelling
•  - Data Encryption
•  - Audit Logging and Incident Handling
•  - Secure Remote Access

Click on the links above to access the documents as PDFs or visit Becta’’s Information Security Advice page for other formats.

Ray Fleming (Microsoft UK) has posted a related article on his blog which is worth checking out - click here for details.

Becta have announced that they”ll soon launch a community area for schools to discuss data handling. Rest assured we”ll be joining the debate representing (and hopefully alongside) Bolton schools.

Bolton Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Becta have updated their Information Security Advice page for schools and have provided a more detailed document (Keeping Data Safe, Secure and Legal) which expands upon previous advice.

This document brings into a school context the key messages from the recent Cabinet Office review entitled Data Handling Procedures in Government, the final report of which was published on 25th June 2008.

The Becta document is essential reading for any member of staff who has responsibility for handling and securing data, especially Network Managers, SIMS System Managers, ICT Coordinators and Head Teachers.

Microsoft UK have passed comment on the Becta document on their Schools Blog - click here for further details.

Ray Fleming, UK Education Industry Manager for Microsoft, is working on a visual representation of what the current understanding is with regard to Information Security. Click here to see more.

Another four Becta documents are set to follow:

• Impact Levels and Labelling
• Data Encryption
• Audit Logging and Incident Handling
• Secure Remote Access

I”ll be sure to bring them to your attention once published.*

*UPDATE 22nd September 2008: The additional guides have now been published. Please Click here for details.

Bolton Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A number of schools have reported that previous members of staff are showing as available for cover in Cover 7. I logged a call with Capita as we were led to believe this issue would be resolved in the August 2008 Main Release (7.108) of SIMS .net.

Capita have acknowledged that this issue hasn”t been fixed but informed me that there is a workaround.

In SIMS .net, navigate to Focus | Person | Manage Classroom Staff.

Click on Search and open the record for the member of staff you don”t wish to appear.

Beside Cover Option (on section 2: Classroom Information), select Does not provide cover from the drop down list.

Save the record by clicking on the Save button.

John H. and I have spoken to a few cover manager colleagues in schools regarding “getting started” with Cover 7. As a result, I”ll be arranging visits in order to assist you with the move away from using Nova-T4 for cover.

Two teachers based in the UK, now working with Microsoft, have just started a new blog: Teaching Ideas and Resources.

It might be worth checking out the site and adding the RSS feed to your favourite aggregator.

You might also be interested in the Microsoft UK Schools News Blog.

Bolton Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

I suspect Hyper-V is something we”ll here more and more about over the coming months; it’’s certainly caused a great deal of discussion here at Schools ICT.

Gareth Hall, Windows Server Product Manager for Microsoft UK, explains how to get the most out of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. Please click on the image below to link to the video.

Video: How to get the most out of Windows Hyper-V

For the serious techs out there, you can find out even more by clicking here.

Bolton Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Following in Phil’s footsteps, Ian and I are currently attending a 3-day PRINCE2 Foundation course in Manchester.

PRINCE2 stands for PRojects IN Controlled Environments. It’’s a structured approach to project management and provides a method for managing projects within a clearly defined framework.

The course is very heavy going (not to mention the homework and pre-course reading!), but we’re convinced that it’s the correct methodology for Schools ICT, not least because of its emphasis on customer involvement from the very start of the process.

Please click here to learn more about PRINCE2.

Bolton Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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.

As colleagues at Withins School have kindly informed me, subscribers to Capita’’s Exams.info service (chapter 17 in the Results Day Survival Kit 2008 document) will already be aware that two consolidated SIMS Examinations Organiser patches have been released.

There is a different patch depending on which version of SIMS your school is currently using. I have taken the liberty of authorising the relevant patches to schools; these can be installed via SOLUS in the usual way.

Please find below detailed information of what is included in each consolidated patch.

Consolidated Exams Patch for August 2008 Main Release (SIMS .net 7.108) Users - ID: 12229

This patch combines six previously available patches for use on the August 2008 Main Release (version 6.66) of Examinations Organiser:

• Patch ID 12222 Certificate Broadsheet Converting Varchar to Float error

Microsoft ole db provider for sql server, error converting datatype varchar to float.

Error received in Certification Broadsheet

• Patch ID 12208 Timeout error when importing Exam results

Some users have reported loss of contact with the Server midway through the import of large results files.

This appears to be an issue more related to local network configuration than to the database itself. Capita have not been able to replicate the error message as reported, but have succeeded in provoking a timeout error, which may be associated. Accordingly this patch was prepared to addresses this problem by further optimisation.

• Patch ID 12200 Duplicate Student and Grade Counts

Group Performance Analysis frequently doubles and trebles its grade count. This problem has been traced to a change in behaviour between SQL Server 2000 and 2005, which has necessitated some recoding of the procedure. Most users will be affected. This patch resolves the problem.

• Patch ID 12226 Certificate Broadsheet Divide by Zero error

Sims .net | Exams | Reports | Results | Certification Broadsheet

Select qualification as Key Skills

“Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server - Divide by zero error encountered.
 Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server - The statement has been terminated.”

• Patch ID 12218 BTEC Applied Science Added to PI Measure for Science

This patch updates the KS4 PI calculation to recognise Level 2 BTEC Applied Science as satisfying the specific ‘2+ A*-C in Science’ measure. Please note that in addition to applying the patch, users of this qualification will need to use the Basedata Element Properties form to assign the appropriate QCA code, 0008, which is not indicated in the basedata.

Item 10 of the Results Day Survival Kit draws attention to the erroneous discount code issued for Edexcel Double Science. A number of other issues have since come to light in the same area.

Codes 1320 (Additional Science) and 0028 (Additional Applied Science), new this year, will have been added by the August upgrade. Elements assigned to these codes will have imported correctly, except for the QCA code, which will have been reported as non-existent. These should be inserted manually, where required. As the RDSK indicates, 1320 will be recognised as the counterpart of 1310, 0028 of 0008.

WJEC: Element 023001 is issued as 1300, with 023101 as 1320. 1300 does not appear on the DCSF’s QAN data. Users will find that the Element Properties form shows QCA codes for both as blank, because at point of import neither code was present. Assigning codes 1310 and 1320 respectively will allow the calculation to operate correctly.

Edexcel: Elements 2101 and 2103 are both assigned to QCA code 1310. The effect of this for students who have a result for each will be that the lower grade (or one or the other if the same) will be discounted. Users should correct element 2103 to QCA code 1320 and re-run the PI calculation.

OCR: In the original release of 6a08_01, J632 and J650 were both assigned to 1340, which is not in the QCA list. According to the QAN data, J632 should be 0008, J650 should be 1750. These values were corrected in the x05 revision, but Capita are still not convinced - J632 and discount code 0028 are both called ”Additional Applied Science”, which, according to Capita, sound like a good enough match. In any event, users should ensure that the ”core” elements with which they use these items produce valid combinations, as specified in the RDSK.

• Patch ID 12215 OCR National Exam results not included in PI calculations.

ONAT First Award and First Certificate at Level 2 have had the stopgap codes used in 2007/8 replaced by the August upgrade with the correct ones in readiness for 2008/9. The PI Equivalence table needs to be updated accordingly. This update will affect only centres delivering these qualifications.

Consolidated Exams Patch for June 2008 Update Release (SIMS .net 7.106) Users - ID: 12230

This patch combines five previously available patches for use on the June 2008 Update Release (version 6.64) of Examinations Organiser:

• Patch ID 12222 Certificate Broadsheet Converting Varchar to Float error

Microsoft ole db provider for sql server, error converting datatype varchar to float.

Error received in Certification Broadsheet

• Patch ID 12208 Timeout error when importing Exam results

Some users have reported loss of contact with the Server midway through the import of large results files.

This appears to be an issue more related to local network configuration than to the database itself. Capita have not been able to replicate the error message as reported, but have succeeded in provoking a timeout error, which may be associated. Accordingly this patch was prepared to addresses this problem by further optimisation.

• Patch ID 12200 Duplicate Student and Grade Counts

Group Performance Analysis frequently doubles and trebles its grade count. This problem has been traced to a change in behaviour between SQL Server 2000 and 2005, which has necessitated some recoding of the procedure. Most users will be affected. This patch resolves the problem.

• Patch ID 12221 Addition of Subject Codes 0028 and 1320

QCA code 0028 and 1320 not available prior to August 2008 Main Release (SIMS .net 7.108 - Examinations Organiser 6.66)

• Patch ID 12226 Certificate Broadsheet Divide by Zero error

Sims .net | Exams | Reports | Results | Certification Broadsheet

Select qualification as Key Skills

“Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server - Divide by zero error encountered.
 Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server - The statement has been terminated.”

As always, please don”t hesitate to contact us if you require further information or support.

Please feel free to leave a comment below, especially if you have something to share with your fellow Exam Officers.