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.

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.

I am in the process of contacting secondary schools to discuss the latest SIMS .net upgrade. While many colleagues who attended the Cover 7 training courses last week will be keen to get their hands the new module, there are a few things to consider before upgrading to 7.106.

.net Framework 2

Microsoft .net Framework 2 must be installed on SIMS clients prior to upgrading to the SIMS June 2008 Update Release. If .net Framework 2 is not installed, it will not be possible to log into SIMS .net.

Personnel 7

Personnel 7 is activated as part of this release as it is required for Cover 7 to operate normally. Please note that the additional functionality provided by Personnel 7 is not currently supported by Bolton Council.

Nova-T6

A link for Nova-T6 has been added to the shortcut panel in SIMS .net.

The problem is that anyone with access to Nova-T4 gets FULL access to Nova-T6 via the new link. Access to Nova-T6 via Nova-T4 is unaffected.

This isn’t expected to be resolved until the August 2008 Main Release (7.108).

Full details of this update and the previous release (which wasn’t installed by most schools due to stability issues) can be found in the Release Notes, available at the following internet links:

• SIMS .net 7.106 (June 2008) Release Notes
• SIMS .net 7.104 (May 2008) Release Notes

If you have any suggestions on how your school might get around the Nova-T6 access issue, please leave a comment below.

As always, please don”t hesitate to get in touch if you wish to discuss this further.

On May 20th 2008, Steve Buckthorpe (Turton High School and Media Arts College), Jan Buffey and Dave Lever (Canon Slade CE Secondary School) kindly introduced the new SIMS cover management software to Bolton schools.

Both schools have participated in the Cover 7 field trial as well as our own Neil Gregory.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those mentioned above. I”m absolutely positive that their contribution to the development of the module will benefit all schools come September.

All secondary schools are encouraged to use Cover 7 from September 2008 as Capita are withdrawing support for cover management in Nova T4 by the end of the year. As a consequence, the Schools ICT Unit will only formally offer support for Cover 7 from the start of the new academic year, although we understand some schools will want to run the two systems side-by-side for a short period of time.

There are a limited number of spaces remaining on the instructor led courses in June/July, so please click here to reserve a place for your school.

If you would like to express a view on the seminars or your first impressions of the Cover 7 software, please feel free to leave a comment below.