Latest schools update from Shropshire Council ICT services

Welcome to the latest edition of our ICT update for schools. In this issue:


EdTech Conference 2020

Our annual EdTech event will be held this year on Tuesday 3 March 2020 at Theatre Seven. The event is free and is dedicated to helping schools develop their skills, resources and curriculum in line with the national curriculum and Ofsted guidelines. This year we have endeavoured to pull in a range of companies to meet your educational requirements and have some fantastic names on board with Microsoft, Apple, Lego, Barclays and the NSPCC.

This year, we will also be running a competition for schools to enter, the prize for the winning entry is the opportunity to borrow our VR headsets for two weeks for free.

To enter, your school simply needs to submit an entry that answers this question: How can technology make learning fun? You can present this however you choose, further details will be available once you have registered to attend the event via Eventbrite.

Follow the link to register https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edtech-2020-tickets-85759491949.

Education and Technology

SIMS InTouch- manage all your contacts from within SIMS

apple and smart phone on a desk with a finger tapping phone

As you may be aware, there are a plethora of third party applications that enable schools to contact parents via email, text and phone!

Did you know that Capita has its own application that enables you to text and email parents from SIMS called SIMS InTouch? Enabling you to keep a record of all contacts from within the familiar SIMS environment and saving on the hassle and unreliability of maintaining a separate application that pulls contact data out of SIMS. To find out more about this application please visit https://www.capita-sims.co.uk/products-and-services/sims-intouch .

Please get "in touch" with the SIMS Team if you would like to know more about InTouch, arrange a demo or get a quotation. InTouch is part of Capita SIMS Suite of parental engagement apps consisting of SIMS Pay, SIMS Parent App and Intouch. For an overview of these apps please visit https://www.capita-sims.co.uk/pe-solution.


Logging ICT Issues

laptop computer on fire

Recently, we have been made aware that a number of schools are waiting for an onsite visit before letting us know about an issue. Within the Shropshire ICT team we have the ability to remote on and solve certain issues within a shorter timescale, so you do not need to wait for your next visit. By either logging a call or sending an email to ict.support@shropshire.gov.uk we can look at this for you, and hopefully resolve it for you without the wait.

 

Additionally, over the coming weeks schools which subscribe to us for technical support will all begin to notice a new desktop icon that links to a spreadsheet. If you record non-urgent items on here, then the school technicians will look at this prior to your visit and ensure they are fully aware of the jobs that need to be actioned prior to the visit and bring all the appropriate equipment along with them. However, we strongly recommend any issues are emailed to us as we may be able to resolve them remotely.


Protecting Yourself Online

Chalkboard with Internet Safety written on it

We have had an increase in the number of security issues in schools over recent months. Please make your staff aware of the following

  1. Check who sent the email. Do you know the sender? If you don’t, delete it. If you do, check it is genuine. Simply, hover over the sender and it will tell you the senders email address – is it genuine?
  2.  If you click on a link and it asks you to re-enter your password – don’t! If it was sent to you to view, it would not ask you to open it with your password as you have already logged in once.
  3. Do not click on any link or attachment even if in an email from someone you know if you are not expecting it. Telephone them (using a number you know, not one in the email in case it has been tampered with) and confirm they have sent it before clicking/opening.

Finally, if you think you may have fallen to a phishing email, change your passphrase/password immediately and ensure you tell your ICT provider asap.


SIMS Update Spring Term 2020

 

School Spring 2020 Census    

The School Spring Census in on Thursday 16 January 2020. Detailed guidance notes are available (for subscribing schools) : https://www.shropshirelg.net/services/shropshire-ict/sims/school-census-primary/.

All schools subscribing to SIMS Support from Shropshire ICT have been upgraded to version 7.190 in preparation for the census.

Please note the following changes to the Spring Census from the DfE (see the notes on the SLG for more detailed information):

Exclusions - the collection of exclusion data will only be collected over the previous two terms for which the dates are 29/04/2019 to 31/12/2019. We are awaiting a patch from Capita which will change the dates on the census return for the exclusion period data is collected for. As soon as this patch is available, it will be deployed to schools with SIMS Support from Shropshire ICT. 

Classes- there are two new data items in the classes panel:

  • Number of teachers on planning and preparation time (PPA) or learning manager time (LMT).
  • Exception categories – Key Stage 1 class size only.

DfE Guidance documentation-  is now only available on-line only and not to download see htps://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census for more info.


What’s new in the Autumn 2019 Release of SIMS version 7.190?

Following on from customer feedback the Additional persons at this address table has been removed from the Addresses panel on the pupil/student record.

You may have noticed SIMS also has a new look with changes to the colour scheme and images used with in the application.


Admissions  

We have included the dates of when the ATFs will be available for primary and secondary schools to download and import into SIMS in the ‘Dates for Your Diary’ section of this update. The ATF file is only available for a short time on S2S, so be sure not to leave it too long before downloading.

There will be updated notes available on the SLG www.shropshirelg.net to help with this process nearer the time (for subscribing schools only).


SIMS Training Requests

Just a reminder that each school subscribing to SIMS Support with us has 3 hours on site time with a member of the SIMS team included in your SIMS Support Service Level Agreement to use each term. This can be used for training, help with carrying out certain routines in SIMS or housekeeping of your SIMS system. Please give us as much notice as possible when booking a visit to maximise the chance of us being able to meet your request.

 

Capita SIMS Logo

Email Encryption

blue email icon

Please be aware that as the GCSX (otherwise known as Government Secure Internet- the network used by local authorities to securely send information) email is no longer available, we recommend that you have encryption turned on for your emails. By doing this, you will be able to ensure the protection of information you send. Lots of you will already have this facility enabled but if you don’t or are unsure, then we recommend you speak to your technical support provider.

If you currently buy into our ServiceDesk support, then we are able to do this for you. Please email us on ict.support@shropshire.gov.uk if you have any questions or would like to request this feature.


VR Headsets Avalible for Schools to Loan

Shropshire Council offers a rental service for their VR (Virtual Reality) headsets. Below, are the outlined benefits of using this within the classroom or if you click on the image it will take you to an article with some more information on this service:

Benefits of using VR in Education

If you would like more information on the benefits of this or to enquire about booking and prices, please contact Shropshireict@shropshire.gov.uk


SIMS Hints and Tips….

SIMS Documentation Centre Image

SIMS has its own Documentation centre that contains a wealth of information on how to carry out various tasks and routines within SIMS. It provides tailored information for primary or secondary schools, and you can even filter the information you are presented with based on your job role within the school!

To access SIMS Documentation - on the SIMS homepage click on the Documentation button in the top right hand corner of the panels and it will then open up the document centre in a new web browser window. It tends to work best if you have Microsoft Edge (for Windows 10) set as your default web browser. If you have any issues using it please give the SIMS Team a call (subscribing schools only).


Key dates for your diary!

diary with pen

School Spring Census Thursday 16 January 2020

Secondary School ATF release date week commencing Monday 25 February 2020 (subject to change)

EdTech Conference Tuesday 3 March 2020

SIMS Summer Upgrade released Friday 13 March 2020 (TBC)

Primary School ATF release date week commencing Monday 30 March 2020 (subject to change)


Contacting our Service Desk

Customers are reminded that our support and service contact details are as follows -

ict.support@shropshire.gov.uk (for reporting issues and general contact IT service desk).

shropshireict@shropshire.gov.uk (general queries about SLA’s, Procurement, Service enquiries and technician appointments).

Phone number – (01743) 254230

Option 1 for SIMS support
Option 2 for technical support

General Support Hours

08:00 - 18:00 (Monday-Thursday) 08:00 - 16:00 (Friday)

SIMS Support Hours

Term time: 08:15 - 16:00 (Monday-Friday)
School holidays: 09:00 - 15:00 (Monday-Friday)