tben2505

Cheers eean - we'll possibly look at it again. We've carried out a lot of work on deciding on our new MIS and having been a SIMS manager in the past too, I am more than confident it will be a good fit for this school given the alternatives we looked at. Cheers T

Hi guys - I posted this earlier but I think it went in the wrong forum - wondering if anyone could help... We are currently looking to switch our MIS to SIMS but one module which SIMS doesn't have, or the other MIS systems we looked at, is a decent activities provision. We run hundreds of activities every term and getting the kids to sign up is a rather laborious process currently (we collect info on the activities from staff, timetable it, send it to the pupils home, they then discuss with parents and in form time the tutor enters their chosen activities onto a google doc from which registers are created) Obviously we would like to integrate this process to the MIS so that the pupils/parents can access the activities electronically, sign up, get allocated (this isn't easy when clubs are oversubscribed so it would need to manage that properly) and then the activities appear on both the teachers and pupils timetables. We looked at CHQ but it was pricey and did an awful lot more than we needed - anyone got any ideas!? Cheers Tom

Dear all, We are currently looking to switch our MIS to SIMS but one module which SIMS doesn't have, or the other MIS systems we looked at, is a decent activities provision. We run hundreds of activities every term and getting the kids to sign up is a rather laborious process currently (we collect info on the activities from staff, timetable it, send it to the pupils home, they then discuss with parents and in form time the tutor enters their chosen activities onto a google doc from which registers are created) Obviously we would like to integrate this process to the MIS so that the pupils/parents can access the activities electronically, sign up, get allocated (this isn't easy when clubs are oversubscribed so it would need to manage that properly) and then the activities appear on both the teachers and pupils timetables. We looked at CHQ but it was pricy and did an awful lot more than we needed - anyone got any ideas!? Cheers Tom

Thanks for the info - very helpful.

It's called PIPS and yeah it's run by CEM... I'd like to get proper KS1/KS2 projected/predicted levels rather than just chances graphs - and also sublevels/decimals.

Dear all, We are looking into alternatives to PIPS - does anyone know of any? Cheers T

Oooh I like the sound of that - will give it a go and report back! Cheers CAM! T

I think this is the problem I'm having I can't seem to find a way to filter by the result sets I want, or ideally the level (A2/AS) with just results, and no entries/forecast etc etc...that's why EVERYTHING is coming out! T

Hi guys, For August, I am trying to get onto a spreadsheet the all current upper 6th pupils' KS5 module results (from AS and A2), with the following columns; Name of student Reg Module name Subject Level Board Result set Result Grade equiv Obviously there'll be about a dozen or so rows per pupil. Seems straightforward - and I can run a report which returns this - however it also returns everything else the pupil has in Assessment manager, so as you can expect it returns an awful lot of data! Does anyone have any ideas on how best to do this - or better still has a report I can import directly?! On EO we can get a candidate results sheet but it only shows the modules from EITHER AS or A2 - and not both which is what we want - and we also want it on a nice editable excel sheet, rather than the very poorly presented version which is exported from the candidate result sheer on EO! Cheers guys any help greatly appreciated, We are in the process of getting a new MIS so are currently running (for a number of reasons): SIMS Build 31 Version 7.176 Database 3.62.147

You need to sign up for google apps for education first, to get the basic free package (email/drive/apps/calendar) in order to order the extra vault (vault is obviously only linked to gmail) I'm assuming then, when you sign up for the google apps for education, you will have a google rep to help you. Have you signed up yet? Cheers T

https://support.google.com/vault/answer/2557687?hl=en ?

Nice - have you been on a data legislation course or something!?

Indeed; I can't recall any legislation to this end in the education sector...

Indeed; I can't recall any legislation to this end in the education sector...

So basically £660 per year. Not too bad.

So that's a crude workaround to Vault which is the only financial expense in the apps for education package, right? Other than that, it's all free? And what about bandwidth, is there any noticeable and significant impact in your experience? Cheers Tom

Hi guys; I was under the impression that Google Apps was completely free for education, with every user getting a free 30gb allowance? But I saw a thread where people are talking about thousands of £s to "back up emails" ? Not sure why backing anything up is necessary though since it's all on google's servers and they would take care of all of that? And the blurb doesn't mention costs for this, though it does suggest Google Vault is an extra add-on (Products ? Google Apps for Education) Another question I had was regarding bandwidth - if School A (1000 kids, 200 staff) used google apps for all of their email (students included), utilised drive for sharing files and collaborating, and calendar and talk, anyone hazard a guess for an average, ball-park bandwidth usage? Obviously this is a bit of a difficult question without more details, but perhaps any info on bandwidth and issues anyone has had regarding that for schools utilising google apps would be really useful! Thanks guys, Tom

Cheers! Yep I've seen those - a few useful ones.

Are you an independant school?

Dear all, I'm looking for a video demonstrating SIMS Profiles - since we're looking at options of a new MIS and I'd like to see how it works - I used SIMS in my last school but not profiles... But then it occurred to me - if anyone's like me - they may make tutorial-type videos for their MIS and indeed other software that their school uses. I can't help thinking if we all joined forces, we could make an amazing resource, a huge database of video tutorials - categorised into necessary sections, SIMS > Profiles > for example, but the opportunities are quite big if the videos are out there already. I understand obviously we'd need to front end it - but if the videos are all on YouTube - it might not be as tricky as it may otherwise be. Anyway, if nothing else, if someone has a video or a guide on Profiles I'd be quite appreciative! Cheers guys, Tom

Ha cheers guys. I think it's most interesting to discern just how different our roles can be in different schools. I for one am responsible for lots of things but often feel like I am a consultant, coming into schools and fixing their data systems, procedures and practises, and everything that comes with it. Once it's all set up - it's as if I can sit back and watch it all work - and it's at times like that - when there appears to be no challenges left, that I think about how better I may be deployed. I do like working in schools and the relaxed nature compared to the private sector, so would love to progress. Will keep you posted! Cheers

Could you see yourself on the SLT, Gaz? Where in the UK is the Data Manager on the SLT??

I think that's becoming less of an issue. In a wider perspective, non-teachers are appointed as heads in some academies etc, and the secretary of state for education has never taught a child in his life! I think the landscape of leadership is definitely shifting and I know if I ran a school I'd want the greatest variety of skills and backgrounds on my team. But then I am biased of course!

Hi guys, I'm curious to know about the progression through the job as Data Manager. I have been doing the job a long time - I think the role was just developed in schools when I took my first job out of university - I've been a data manager in schools since November 2003 - so exactly 10 years. I'm wondering if anyone has got further up the ladder via this job though - whilst still in a school. Has anyone got onto the leadership team? Or managed to get further up somehow? I'm thinking about the future - and I think data managers learn so much about the way a school runs, and have a lot of influence, that being on the senior team is not out of the question. Cheers guys, Tom

Hi Gaz This is what I use: Level Point score Decimal Level 1c 7 0.66 1c 1b 9 1.00 1b 1a 11 1.33 1a 2c 13 1.67 2c 2b 15 2.00 2b 2a 17 2.33 2a 3c 19 2.67 3c 3b 21 3.00 3b 3a 23 3.33 3a 4c 25 3.67 4c 4b 27 4.00 4b 4a 29 4.33 4a 5c 31 4.67 5c 5b 33 5.00 5b 5a 35 5.33 5a 6c 37 5.67 6c 6b 39 6.00 6b 6a 41 6.33 6a 7c 43 6.67 7c 7b 45 7.00 7b 7a 47 7.33 7a 8c 49 7.67 8c 8b 51 8.00 8b 8a 53 8.33 8a Though I have come across a few people using different conversions! This is pretty standard, though; a third of a level above or below the "b" - which is the centre of the level. Cheers Tom