specs

I totally agree with Sivadam. Most of my experience is on CMIS where the same problems exist. Following retiring as a teacher I was asked to do that role at a nearby school as no-one there had had the experience. When that ended I had a phone call from an ex colleague who had a similar problem on SIMS.net. Schools often don't realise the need for someone trained in the whole setup, or don't do it because of the cost. Although these forums are great, and often the phone hotline support is good, there is no substitute for someone who knows their way around the whole setup. What price data?

Hi, as we have always had the data from the LA I have never had the problem of trying to get the data from FFT Live so I am not sure how it comes down. If you could let me know what the export from FFT live is like (Format, data headings etc. which is anonymised) then I might have something that could help.

Hi, Your local authority should provide you with the FFT access database populated with data for your school. If you run the database then there is a menu which allows you to export your data into the appropriate files in a directory structure on a drive of your choice. The CMIS administration programme has a built in import,Assessments/Advanced/Read Fischer Datawhich allows you to specify which files you wish to import (making sure unlike me the first time I did this that you have noted carefully what you named the directory - never again). The process is then automated but a bit like watching paint dry. Be warned however, the latest version of FFT does not provide KS4 subject grades based on the probability, just the probabilities of 5A* to C etc. KS3 predictions for Maths, English and Science are given. I have attached (I think) a PDF file called FFT Export.pdf which I prepared for one of the other admin people at the school I am at which explains the process of exporting from the FFT access database which might help FFT Export.pdf

In Facility I know that you can make ePortal, the web based interface of Facility, available to parents so that they can see all the information available on their child. I haven't actually implemented it myself, so cannot advise you on how easy it is. What I can say is that we have had no problems with staff access to ePortal from home and that it is relatively easy to set up that side of it. I believe it is secure and that it is relatively straightforward, but would recommend that you see if there is anyone out there who has implemented it for further information.

I am not sure what the majority of schools are using in your area, I know that I like working with Facility and prefer it, but in many respects that is not important. It is much more useful if schools in an area use the same system as it allows a great deal more flexibility. It provides a local pool of expertise and ease of information exchange which I believe will outweigh most other considerations.

I quite agree. By the way, which way do you tie the toast to the cat?

I forgot to mention one particular thing that could be quite useful. There is a lot of expertise out there where users have developed reports etc for Facility, it is a good idea to tap into that either through forums like this or on the Facility Support Site discussion forum. The thing I like about Facility is that it is relatively easy to 'reverse engineer' reports, import assessment templates, criteria and reports into the system, but make sure that you have a coherent naming system and folder system. This is particularly the case when it comes to using Facility to record what are called Student Events or produce Interim or Summative Student Reports to Parents. Facility does provide basic assessment models which tie in to ePortal, which is the teacher UI, and show progress tracking, which is free although you have to request a separate 'key' to activate it. Using these as a basis and then modifying them slightly allow you to tailor the system to suit your school. Having retired after 30 years teaching I am now working at a nearby school and am developing this for them. Again, I must emphasise the need for attending the training courses and using the discussion forums as it helps, through swapping templates, reports etc., to prevent the need to re-invent the wheel . It also makes it easier for teachers to enter the data and see what information you have - which makes them happier - although this could probably be said of all MIS systems.

Hi, I have been using Serco Facility CMIS since 2001, and have found it to be very flexible. I have also found a lot of its features are under utilised by schools. It does take a lot of setting up, but once done it is worth it. The timetabling module is the core of the entire system, and is quite powerful. If you are using it for the first time I would recommend the courses that Serco run, particularly the reporting and timetabling ones. I would also recommend that you run SQL for the main database, but keep an MSAccess copy on a machine which can be run as a stand-alone if there is a network failure. It is easy to run and maintain backups for this.