SIMS May Release and the May Census

[moggy]

Did I read the Capita notices correctly, i.e. on 29th April they said that the May release wouldn't be available until Monday 12th, and yesterday they said the the May release is required for Secondarys for the census on the 15th - just 3 working days to do the upgrade and test/check the data generated.

Tell me I'm wrong!!!!

[pete]

I very much hope you're wrong, we completed the Census successfully on the March* release and have no intentions of testing/upgrading/rerunning and unfscking in time for May 15th.

*I think it was supposed to run fine on February as well.

edit: Blurb from Capita.

Do I need the May Release for the Summer Census? (with additional explanation)

We have looked into the improvements we have made in the May Release and our conclusion is that from a School Census Summer (England) and Post 16 Summer Return (Wales) point of view the May Release is particularly relevant for Secondary Schools with Sixth Forms in England. We recommend that Secondary School with Sixth Forms in England should upgrade to the May Release. The March Release should be fine for Censuses for other types of school. The February Release should also be fine as long as the two issues fixed in the March Release are not relevant to the school.

* Data Type Conversion error when validating the Return
* Census Validation Error 2470 occurring when it should not for pupils/students who are taught out of year.

And woohoo we have a 6th form. *grabs large stick and looks around for Phil Neal*

Just wondering if this is a "sixth form schools are likely to run into a lot of faffing that the May release will fix, so it's a good idea" advice or a "you _need_ May" advice. We're (AFAIK) faff free atm.

edit: OK - advice is "if it works for you (as a Sixth form school) on the March release, you don't need to do anything".

[moggy]

I've had confirmation from Capita that if you're a secondary school with a 6th form you need to apply the May upgrade.

Although they say they are looking at a patch to 'fix' the faults without having to do the full upgrade. Unfortuntaely that still leaves next to no time before Thursday and it won't get over the old problem of scheduling a session, getting everybody off, etc.!!!

[zag]

SIMS patch to run census without upgrade to May Main Release