suebedo

I have never used sub-bands previously although my new school does have one which I can sort of see how it works. My problem is as follows: Girls are in bands V & W Boys are in bands X & Y Most subjects are taught separately (it's actually two schools that share resources but that is a bit of a red herring) Some option blocks share some subjects so....... Option Block A has some subjects that both boys and girls can study, some that only boys can study and some that only girls can study. If I put the block over the 4 bands, all subjects are available for all students which is not strictly true. I would prefer a solution that allowed me to control which subjects are available. If I put one block over the 4 bands with just the shared subjects and then created two blocks one for V & W (girls) and one for X & Y (boys), timetabled at the same time again it would work but when students are added to classes in SIMS Curriculum Assignment by Scheme, some students need to be left with no ticks as their ticks are added in another scheme - I can see a mistake waiting to happen with this solution. Any ideas for the best solution to this issue please? Is it sub-bands? Thanks Sue

I've just thought this through - it will be fine. When new staff, rooms or subjects appear, you enter them in SIMS AND in T6 once you are up and running, you don't export from one to the other to create it. The key that links them is the visible one that you have created in both system - phew, I had a bit of a panic there

I know that you can create a TT in one T6 and then copy it into another T6 and export to that SIMS. That is how timetable consultants work as far as I am aware. I am hoping to get a local SIMS support to set up a test system to go through the whole process before doing it on a live DB

I haven't seen any literature. I'm assuming that you are using T6 for your timetable? SIMS for your MIS? If you are using T6 there is the functionality to create "sites" although I've never actually used it. I read the chapter in the handbook yesterday and I don't think it is particularly helpful although I will read again today. I was hoping that it would stop or highlight staff who were moving from one site to the other in consecutive periods as this would lead to late starts on the lesson every week - I was sad to read that it doesn't!!

I think I have most bases covered with keeping subject codes, staff codes and room codes in sync means that I can work with just the one Nova T6 file. The cover issue should be OK I think as the Cover manager looks after both schools so will enter the absence on the teacher's "home" school and arrange cover from there - the "away" school does not need the absence recorded in as far as I can see and therefore SIMS doesn't even know that the teacher is away. I have tried talking to SIMS (just to make life worse we get support direct from Capita, one schools is supported by Chelmsford and one by Bedford from what I can gather!!) and am still waiting 2 weeks later for a call back. I need to speak through the complete issue with someone higher than a call centre but that is proving impossible. I've worked in schools since 1995 but recently had a break and prior to that had little to do with SIMS for a few years. Coming back to find that you cannot talk to anyone is VERY frustrating (and I used to work in a local SIMS support team many moons ago so I know how valuable picking up the phone to work through a solution is). I think SIMS is working on a solution for MATs but it is SIMS that it is concentrating on and not T6. Thanks for your thoughts - I'll let you know if it works.

Hi That looks very similar to my issue that I posted earlier. If they have different DFE numbers, you will require separate SIMS licences as returns will have to be completed for each school. If they are one DFE number you can run one SIMS. What problems are you encountering?

Thanks - yes, workforce census does require tweaking already due to the teaching across schools so it just makes it a slightly larger job. i want to do a trial run of the census with empty years 12 & 13 in the boys school but haven't had an answer from our IT team yet. Otherwise it will mean buying in the time / equipment from a support team to do a test run. Thanks Sue

Hi I work in a MAT which comprises of two schools. One is a girls 7 - 11 with a mixed sixth form. One is a boys 7 - 11. As each of the two schools have their own DFE number we have two SIMS. Teachers are used across the site, as are rooms where necessary. Some KS4 classes are joint due to numbers and efficiency. We currently timetable in a spreadsheet for the whole school which is then manually entered into each T6. Keeping the three systems in sync is obviously difficult. Rotas, duties, meetings and everything else is done outside the spreadsheet as it can't cope with that and then input into each T6 and you end up with a bit of a jumble. When staff are teaching at the school they are not based in, NCC codes are used to show them as in use and therefore not available for cover. I am working through the process of creating one timetable in T6, using the sites functionality (never used it before so I need to do some reading) and splitting each year into multiple bands. The girls timetable has two bands for each year group W & X and the boys can go into Y & Z. This will allow all the functions of T6 to be used and everything entered once only. I would have to ensure that all subject codes, staff codes and room codes match and that all appear in both versions of SIMS. I want to create a "dummy" year 12 & 13 in the boys school that contains no students so that the timetable can go into the system correctly. I would then open both schools Nova T6 with the same file and export this into the respective SIMSs. I can't see any problems with this up to this point although I would love to speak with someone at SIMS to confirm my logic - I don't hold out much hope of that happening. Possible Issues: Lesson Monitor - I think as all students will be in correct classes, everything will be fine. The fact that there are bands W & X in the boys SIMS but there are no students in them should not cause issues. Cover - I think that this will prove easier, the cover manager will have complete timetables in both SIMS rather than lots of blanking codes Census - my only real worry. What issues would be raised by the dummy year 12 & 13 in the boys SIMS. No students would belong but would it generate warnings or errors that have to be fixed? Workforce census - Currently, staff are assigned to a school and entered into Personnel in that school, If they teach in the other school they are added via Manage Classroom staff. This is just an extension to this process so that everyone who appears on the timetable has to be in both SIMS either in via Personnel for their "home" school or Manage Classroom Staff in the "visiting" school with the workforce census tick removed. Does anyone think that I have missed anything vital that is going to bite me? I have to sell the idea to the Executive HT next week and want to make sure that I understand all the possible issues.