JPS

I'm after a 42 (poss 50) plasma screen, to be linked to blu-ray (via hdmi) and just bog standard freeview. Currently have a Samsung 32 LCD 720p and was hoping to fully utilise the blu-ray quality. Like the idea of Plasma for getting better 'blacks', so i understand? thanks guys

Hi guys Just a quick one, if I buy a new tv, how important is it that I buy either 1080i or 1080p? Sorry been a bit lazy and not googled this for long. Thanks

Will knock something out for you this evening neph

I'm due to leave my post as Data Manager. They want to replace me as soon as possible. Here is a link to the school website with the job ad. Any questions feel free to contact me. Jobs at Sir John Cass School

where does one find their plam so as to rest it?

You ought to use it/see it before you accept its crap. I have been operating the Cover system in Facility for years now and I am a firm believer that it is very good and works really well. As long as your timetable is correct then you should have no problems. I wouldn't use anything else to do the job.

I'm full of paper, obviously not literally, my office is. I print 1000 timetables in September that are A5 in size but printed on A4 paper. I then use the guilotine to trim to size. As a result I have 1000 sheets of blank A5 paper that I use throughout the year for random scribbling, I mean important notes pertaining to jobs that staff would like to be done! Happy weekend everyone.

Dare I admit to owning a number of these episodes on DVD? Oh carp, now I have!

For those of you who haven't seen this website, well worth a look, good for reminiscing when childrens tv was actually good! 80s Cartoons - from Bagpuss to Thundercats, Dogtanian to Trap Door... they're all here!!

love it. good to laugh at the end of a horrible week from hell!

We do 7 years which is what it used to be officially I believe.

I've always had paid leave for an interview wherever I've been working. Guess it depends on how kind your employer is?

I wouldnt recommend quitting before having something to go to unless you have plenty of money to keep you going for a while. I havent done that extreme - I did what you were doing but Essex to Derby (150miles) and did interviews by booking holiday (didnt work in a school at the time). The employer is obliged (fairly sure this is right) to give you a day off for interview but not 2 days so your travelling will need to be in the evening/early morning. If you are fortunate like me and got the first job i interviewed for then it wont be too bad for your employer but obviously you could end up having a number of interviews, that could lead to potentially a lot of sick days on your record - something you want kept clean as possible. Is there someone at work you can have a confidential chat with and just get a second opinion from someone who actually works with you and knows the ins and outs (politics) of how your place works?

Thanks Ethan, what will really steer the decision is the ability to dock the laptop on a proper docking station, not a plug in usb job.

Hi guys Need recommendations for a new personal purchase. I need a mid-range (dual core, 2Gb RAM kind of thing) laptop (£400-500) that isnt really heavy and I need a docking station that is compatible so I can just slot it into place on my desk and be all nicely linked to my peripherals. Last time I had one was about 5 years ago and it was HP kit. It worked really well but haven't seen what is available now. Preferred manufacturers would include HP, IBM/Lenovo and Samsung. Cheers

We will be under a managed service as from September. Capita deploy VLC to all machines as part of their standard image. Hope this helps.

I spend nearly an hour at the beginning and the end of the day travelling by train and foot. It is hard work and makes my day long. Once home in the evening just time to eat, watch a bit of telly and then bed. I personally wouldnt recommend that sort of length of journey, one reason for me looking for a new job, but if the job is really good and it will be difficult to find elsewhere then have a go!

This might be really obvious but its worth noting I think - if you get Capita (or any third party) to do data migration, get them to list in detail what data they will deal with. It is very easy for company 'X' to say for example, your assessment data will be dealt with, but then on inspection post-data merge/export/whatever job they do, it may only be SATs data and not include some internal assessments. It is very important to be clear of the expectation and the job that will be done. Be aware of what you're being charged for!

I know its probably been covered but I just want a simple answer on this one. Will be chucking away some old PCs, if the hard drives have only got a standard school image on them then do I need to make more of an effort to destroy them or permanently stop them from working? There shouldnt be a data security issue to worry about. Cheers

Not easy. The situation will depend on whether the schools do become one, ie a single DFE number. Just one example would be the Census issue, there would have to be just one submitted. As an ex implementation consultant for Serco I understand how data is taken from SIMs and imported into a new CMIS database, but an existing one I wouldnt like to say. For a real basic solution, you could create CTFs for all students at one school and then import these into the other school. It would of course only give you basic data - name, DOB, address, contacts, national assessment data etc. But you wouldnt have any 'school specific data' like internal assessments, timetables etc. IMHO you will not achieve the ideal solution. The structure of the two databases, ie tables names and designs etc will be very different. I can only suggest you speak to both Capita and Serco. I think you need to suggest to each one that to continue using their services they need to identify what it is they can do. It will cost you. Obviously if you say you are ditching their software they are unlikely to be really helpful (??). It may also be worth speaking to @michael2k6 another edugeeker, who works for Serco. Anything else I can help with just let me know.

Get a job with Serco, on their support team. They hire people who dont necessarily know the software to begin with but they soon learn. Thats how I picked up *most* my knowledge. Now I'm in my third Data Manager job. By the way when I interviewed for this job just over a year ago, 9 candidates were called for interview, only myself and one other were experienced CMIS users and there was only 3 of us I believe who had worked in a school before!

Thats alright, anything for an essex lass, plus Will is a good bloke.

Its not a job and if you havent already contact Will Townsend at ESP Recruit - Education Support Professionals he might be able to help.

My o2 is fine here in East London, but a friend of mine has been told that all of Kent and London are not operational and they are aimimg to resume normal service by midday.

Just seen the SMT member responsible for CPD and she seemed pretty positive for funding it and giving the time off needed. Just have to fill in the forms and get the Head to authorise. Hopefully get it sorted for later this year. Thanks for the advice guys.