AlistairB1983

With respect, your wife's wrong. The Ikea one is that one that's used in the overwhelming majority of restaurants/play cafes/etc. so it'll mean that little one is used to it wherever you go. We started off with a different one, but soon swapped to the Ikea one for numerous reasons. Familiarity being one, but ease of storage/transport being another, as well as cost. Baby won't care whether the chair cost £300 or £30. But they will care if they're out and about and not in the one they use at home.

Had the same thing in a rented Ford Puma back in June whilst my car was in the shop. Utterly terrifying the fist time you move out slightly to go around a car who has 'stuck their nose out' from a turning, only to have the car try and steer you directly back into them because you crossed the white line. Seemingly no way to turn it off permanently either - had to get used to remembering to turn it off as soon as I got in and started it up every time.

Maybe the DfE are suggesting staff meet students outside of work hours to go through this? Exactly as every safeguarding presentation has always told us to do ... 🤣

A centralised repository of results would not be a bad thing going forwards. However, as far as our school is concerned, it will be literally useless for results day itself. We open our doors at 8:30. Internal candidates have already been allocated to 'straight into 6th Form' or 'conversations needed' categories the day before so that the latter can have those conversations and be enrolled (if applicable). Meaning we let our external applicants in by around 10:30 ish and are generally full in Year 12 before the 11am time this app would release the results. So we're probably going to end up emailing our external applicants a reminder prior to results day to ignore the app and turn up with paper results as normal, or risk finding there's no space left.

Similar to Chris, we also moved at Easter but kept some SIMS modules running (i.e. Exams) in the background. We'd already moved to using Timetabler for the timetable that year as we knew in advance we'd be moving then (and the SLT member in charge of the move was also responsible for overseeing the Timetable, so he knew from early on!). I'd also agree that the hardest part is going to be staff buy in - getting them to understand that processes will work differently. And some things will simply not be possible to recreate, so people need to evaluate why they needed what they used previously and whether there are any alternatives that still give them that. We moved in Easter 2024, and I would say that within 12 months the overwhelming majority of staff were happy we did. Sure, there's still the occasional grumble that X or Y doesn't work the same way that it did on SIMS, but there's more than enough other stuff that works way, way, WAY better that it's always a fairly easy sell to remind those complaining about missing features of all the new features they have in exchange. One of the other schools in the area did move in September - they moved this September. I had a number of conversations with my equivalent (Data Manger, amongst other titles) over there and helped them get prepped before the summer and helped them navigate their first census (which, by all accounts, took them less than half the time it used to!) and they've managed it okay. That's not so say there weren't bumps in the road, but you'll get that with any MIS. Personally, I would suggest over Easter rather than the half-term. It just gives you an extra week to be able to check that everything has imported correctly and looks good to go when everyone comes back. Over half term might only give you a couple of days to do this, as it'll take Arbor about 2/3 days to move everything over. But their transition team was superb. From being given an entire workbook to work through in terms of what bits of data to 'tidy up' prior to migration, to being given a test site to check our data imports correctly, it really was straight forward. So straight forward in fact, that the school managed to navigate the roll out of Arbor in my absence as I had conveniently timed my paternity leave to coincide with the switch. And when I came back the school wasn't on fire, registers had been taken, and everyone was learning the new system just fine.

I stopped paying for mine about 20 or so months ago, coincidentally about the same age as my son. Were I actually to have time to game anymore, I probably would still be subscribed as there's several titles on it currently that I'd dearly love to play. Maybe in a few years once he actually starts sleeping properly I might be able to dust off the Xbox again.

Our current Timetabler is similarly on SLT and, whilst not using it in our school, has used it previously and was similarly impressed by it. All told, of the 4 timetablers I've known and worked with, not one of them still uses NOVA. Some of which is undoubtedly financial, but all have been more than happy using alternatives - either Edval or, for the majority, TimeTabler.

Before the Government stepped in, the EU. Without wandering into dangerous territory, there's a line about Turkey's voting for Christmas that seems somewhat apt.

We had a couple of days last week (Thursday and Friday I believe) where we had sporadic incidents of Arbor not loading a page correctly/having an error occur. But it usually resolved itself with a refresh or, at worst, a 30 second or so wait and then a refresh.

Agreed, although sadly somewhat disappointed at them not being actual halflings, given their size - they're essentially just Empire with hairy feet! Now someone like TTCombat, those are PROPER halflings! (I love my miniature vampires!). And, much as I'd love to have an actual halfling Empire army, I couldn't justify re-buying it all over again as compared to buying a couple of extra models. Sadly.

Lovely work! If I wasn't so poor thanks to the little man's arrival last year, I definitely would have splurged on Cathay. Although, quite glad in secret, given the size of the Sky Lantern - that would have been a massive pain in the **** to try and transport 3 of them! As it is, I've bought a couple of extra bits from Mantic's Kings of War Halfling range, who were previously my Empire army, but can now happily pose as both - which helps given the new Army of Infamy!

Should have expected it to be a Senior Leadership 'initiative'! As mentioned above, the best you can suggest is to limit what parents are able to see (and therefore, presumably, what they're able to request amendments for?) to slowly 'reveal' the data in stages. Other than that, perhaps some communication home advising parents what to do (/not do) and how things will be processed in school might be worthwhile? For what it's worth, when we moved over to Arbor about 18 months ago, we weren't inundated with change requests - nor are we every September when the new Year 7s and 12s join. Sure, there are some, but most are really quick and easy to approve (change mum's phone number, add child's religion, add in dietary requirements etc.).

No, as far as I'm aware it's not possible to turn this feature off. And, to be honest, not sure why you would want to either, as it is far quicker and easier to do it this way than have parents emailing in all the time!

I mean, that was obviously going to be the next step wasn't it? Not content with trying to strong-arm clients into a laughably poor 3-year deal, nor with then trying to trick them into renewing every year - thereby locking them into a fresh set of 3 years - nor with then trying to stop people from changing MIS suppliers by handing out non-specific legal threats, they've now moved onto reducing support to such an extent clients are virtually forced into paying SIMS to help/host for them. Honestly, the end of this company and their appalling business practices and inferior product cannot come soon enough for the education sector.

I guess it depends how one defines 'banned'. In every school I've worked out (at the time), phones haven't been permitted to be out/visible during the school day, but the phones remained in the possession of the student. However this seems to be much more of a move to prevent them even coming into the building, rather than just a 'not out/visible' rule.

They are, as per the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006.

That, or put a second phone in it and then ring it constantly.

I think so too. Because it's not that they watch every child put their phone in a pouch, they watch every child put a phone in the pouch. My wife's school tried to do something similar and it quickly became apparent that a large number of students, primarily those who you'd want this rule to apply to, weren't handing over their 'main' phone, but rather than bought cheaper/knock off second phones to hand over instead - thus allowing them the freedom to keep using their main ones around the school (with varying levels of stealth/'botheredness', depending on the student concerned).

There isn't the ability to make a new customised role, however there are numerous roles that will, most likely, be superfluous for most schools which can easily be re-named and re-worked. For example, we have a 'Teacher #2' business role which includes a number of permissions we wanted to grant to all teaching staff, so we simply re-purposed the existing Business Role of "Traveller Support" to achieve it. We currently have 28 business roles that aren't in use, so plenty of scope to amend as necessary.

I can't comment on moving from Bromcom to Arbor, but from moving from SIMS to Arbor most, if not all, of the above weren't an issue. Specifically with relation to #2, there is an Arbor role called "School Administrator" which does essentially what you're asking for. And regarding #3, yes it's mildly frustrating you can't add your own business roles, but there are - certainly in our case - numerous superfluous roles that can be re-purposed fairly easily. Probably easier than setting up a new one from scratch.

Sounds like most other 'geeky' adaptations - Star Wars, Warhammer, LoTR etc. Sadly the internet has provided a platform for a very small, but very vocal, number of fans to vent their displeasure at TV adaptations that don't faithfully re-tell the books down to the last word. (And to be honest, even if it did I reckon you'd still find some who would complain). Haven't gotten round to watching WoT S3 yet (was going to be half-term's viewing, but got distracted ...), but the fact that it's being discontinued leaves a rather bad (and Netflix'y) taste. I thought Amazon was meant to be better than that (at least in terms of programmes not being randomly cancelled whilst being successful), but apparently no longer. Wonder how long Rings of Power has left then ... 🤣

Yes, and the rules are written by former GW'ers - Alessio Cavatore & Rick Priestly. For 40K I don't mind the actual rules themselves, in fact I quite like the way 10th plays. My issue is with them issuing constant errata's/points changes, dropping a new 'mission' deck etc. Given I only get to play 40K about twice a year, my desire to stay 'up to date' on something I play so infrequently is waning rapidly.

Not so much 40k related, sadly have become somewhat disinterested in that recently as I can't keep up with GW's constant revisions/new 'seasons', so instead have chosen to spend what little free time/money I have after accounting for my little one on a new Bolt Action army instead. So have spent most of half-term (when he was thankfully at Nursery!) on building a desert South African force.

Depends whether you're viewing there being an 'intermediate' stage between grammar and industrial/technical schools. As someone who has worked and lived (and moved away prior to having children) in an area that had a compulsory grammar system, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that without the missing 'middle' stage between the two this system would absolutely not work (as it doesn't currently). A system whereby students are either 'grammar or not' only applies even more pressure to an already pressurised system, encourages (whether it's designed to or not) parents to spend exorbitant amounts of money on tutors just to try and get little Timmy to pass his 11+, as failing it means he'll end up at one of 'those' schools and essentially be written off. (Wife worked in a non-selective school opposite one of the grammars - that first assembly for the new Year 7s she said was just heart-breaking as they all felt like failures before they'd even started!). Having a 'one grammar school per town' that can pull off the very top students, fine. Forcing 11 year olds to be split between the 'can's and 'cannot's is just horrendous and a massive step backwards towards the 1950s two tier education system. Would bringing back technical/industrial based schools potentially be an answer? Absolutely. But until/unless the government (and arguably society as a whole) view technical/vocational qualifications as an equal to academic ones, this isn't likely to happen.

JCQ guidance doesn't specify anything in terms of which software etc, merely that it's the use of "a word processor with the spelling and grammar check facility/predictive text switched off". So I guess it would depend what said tweaks were. If it was something 'permanent' and/or behind an admin password, then no reason why it wouldn't meet the requirements. If it's just a menu setting that can easily be changed back without authorisation, then as a former EO and current manager of an EO, I'd feel somewhat uncomfortable with that, given the student could re-enable the settings, do their exam with everything enabled, and then disable them again. Which for most of our students is unlikely, but I have had some previously who I know would definitely try it!