SIMs data import advice needed

[databird]

Calling all SIMs Data Managers and the like,

 

Any help or advice needed, all donations gratefully accepted.

 

Let's imagine for one horrific moment that SIMs got wiped completely and there are no backups. *quiet sobs*

 

How would you go about trying to repopulate your student details with the minimum of manual labour?

 

Hypothetically, I had an idea that you could get hold of the most recent census file, reverse engineer it and turn it into CTF file(s), letting SIMs do most of the legwork. It would require some XML jiggery pokery, but on paper, seems reasonable? Alternatively, collating all available data from various different other sources into a spreadsheet/csv file, and turn that into a CTF file. Then churning out data collection sheets for parents to fill in any gaps.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on this approach, pitfalls, other ideas, another way of doing it? There may be more back door options I don't know about or bright ideas from your collective experience.

 

All entirely hypothetical of course.

 

Many Thanks

 

Databird

[PhilNeal]

Exam results, if you have exams, can be imported from the exam board files. The Parent App Lite is free and allows parents to complete their info on line with little effort from school staff.

[PD1279]

As it's hypothetical, I would quickly run out and buy a external USB drive and do a backup to save this problem or at least use SQL Management Studio and do a Database Backup.

Get original CTF Files that you imported (if available) and re import those and then use your data collection sheets and prepare for a long weekend.

Work from registers, Tucasi (if used) etc and work backwards.

Find out how much SIMS Hosted is as quickest way to get system back up (at cost unfortunately), but then you don't have to worry about backups then going forwards.

[matt40k]

Get your MIS hosted or at the very least make sure you now have a working backup, then hire temps to re-key information.

 

The Parent App Lite is free and allows parents to complete their info on line with little effort from school staff.

 

...but how would you set the parents up. You've got none of their contact details.

[pubgrub277]

contacting the LEA, they may have B2B taking SIMS data to Capiita's ONE System, you could get Attendance, SEN, FSM data as well as school history etc.

 

They may also have contact info, however due to the recent CTF import issue they may have turned this off.

[BrownShoes]

In our LA SIMS & ONE are kept apart and the respective teams barely speak - whereas in a previous role in a different authority, the 2 databases were on adjoining screens on our PCs - the 2 were compared for consistency.

Interesting to speculate how an authority might view a request to export data back to any school with this hypothetical issue - we'd probably want some sort of a fee....

[pubgrub277]

In the interest of pupils and their education I'd hope a supportive la in this hypothetical would provide the data (much of which has originated in the school) without hesitation.

Interesting to speculate how an authority might view a request to export data back to any school with this hypothetical issue - we'd probably want some sort of a fee....

 

Queue an instruction to pupils to log an SAR for the data with the LA and populate your MIS from that.

[PhilNeal]

Get your MIS hosted or at the very least make sure you now have a working backup, then hire temps to re-key information.

 

 

 

...but how would you set the parents up. You've got none of their contact details.

 

You make a valid point but I was thinking that if CTFs have been used to get a lot of the data. Getting an update of email addresses would be less trouble than keying in tonnes of individual data including sensitive medical info.

[matt40k]

Actually if you did use the Parent App, SSM would be sync'ing the data up to Capita, so couldn't Capita just dump it back? Ooo be worth someone asking for a data dump to see what's actually sync'd.

[CAM]

I take it the ICO would be informed due to the failure to keep personal information safe! I'd hate to be doing the census at that school though, course memberships would need to be restored for both this year and previous.

[Banjo]

This has happened to schools in our LA. It is possible to produce a file from ONE to populate SIMS with pupils. However, we don't collect contact details so these would need to be added manually along with attendance\exclusion data. This could be supplied, but not in a format that could be imported.

[matt40k]

Was that a primary school @Banjo?

[Banjo]

Yes. Their ICT provider wasn't backing their SIMS data up - opps. This didnt worry the low-lifes that broke in and stole the server over the weekend. Luckily the school had print offs of their attendance which had to be manually entered into the system.

[matt40k]

Hope the ICT provider had indemnity insurance.

[Banjo]

They put one of their techie's in the school for a week to type it all back in. DP alarm bells go off, but the school were in a fix.