Huxy

What is £1100 based on? is it pupil numbers?

Been reading a lot of different ways on how to send school report as a pdf via email to parents and/or pupils. Does anyone know of an easy / cheap / free way of doing this? We currently use SchoolComms just for this in order to send school reports to an email address from the SIMS document server. We are trying to find an alternative way of doing this as the cost of using SchoolComms is becoming very expensive. It is a shame that SchoolComms's licensing doesn't allow for this functionality only as I am sure that other schools would want this. We have looked at several alternative systems such as Edulink and Insight by TASC software. Is anyone aware of an alternative system / method that would achieve this? We have thought about using some sort of third-party emailing client but this would reply on a certain naming convention of each report against an email address and we would have to compile the reports twice. Once as an individual PDF to email out and then again in order to send them to the document server so that they can be viewed by teachers. Any ideas or support would be appreciated.

We are currently with Cevica (was NRS) for our Cashless Catering linked to ParentPay. We have been informed that our cashless catering system comes to end of life in September. So I have 3 options: Option 1 – Update to the latest version (version 9) of the software. This will bring us up-to-date with a system that can be covered by a service contract. Basically the backend of the system will be operated through a web browser. We have asked for a quote on this one. Extra if we wanted it all to go cloud based. However, we would be using our existing ageing hardware – 7+ year old now! Option 2 – Purchase a complete new system through Civica and replace our existing hardware / software – full refresh. Awaiting quote. Option 3 – Look for an alternative system. We have been looking at alternative systems CRB Cunninghams or Cypad (BlueRunner). Any advice? Are any schools using BlueRunner? What are your thoughts on CRB Cunninghams? We are currently having issued with Cevica's support (up to an hour waiting time on the phone / 3 moths to reolve support tickets). Any advice would be appreciated.

Can anyone recommend a good Parents’ Evening App in order to run parents’ evenings. For the last 2 years we have been using MS Bookings which works ok but a bit clunky. Anyone using anything like SchoolCloud or Parents Bookings? Cheers

Hi. Yes please if you could. I would really appreciate it. Regards.

Hi all, I am having big issues with administering two centre numbers from one SIMS database. None of the links above work. The only way we have managed to do this is by doing the following: 1. Enter pupils in the first site 2. Generate an entry file 3. Submit via A2C (have a multi centre licence) 4. Enter pupils for the second site 5. Change the centre number under EO to the second site 6. Generate an amendments file. Don't think you can generate another entries file for the second site. Use a small set of pupils just to get entries in to generate for the second site. 7. Amend the amendments file so it now becomes an entry file for the second site 8. Send the entry file for the second site via A2C Both sites now have an entry file sent for each centre number. 9. After that we have to do all amendments file for the first centre first and then generate the file and send that off via A2C and then do all the amendments for the second site and send that off separately. Otherwise the file will contain a mixture of the both sites! Does anybody else have a better workaround? Any help would be appreciated.

Hi all. Has anyone got anywhere with this issue. Nightmare administering two centre numbers from one SIMS database. The only way we have managed to do this is by doing the following: 1. Enter pupils in the first site 2. Generate an entry file 3. Submit via A2C (have a multi centre licence) 4. Enter pupils for the second site 5. Change the centre number under EO to the second site 6. Generate an amendments file. Don't think you can generate another entries file for the second site. Use a small set of pupils just to get entries in to generate for the second site. 7. Amend the amendments file so it now becomes an entry file for the second site 8. Send the entry file for the second site via A2C Both sites now have an entry file sent for each centre number. 9. After that we have to do all amendments file for the first centre first and then generate the file and send that off via A2C and then do all the amendments for the second site and send that off separately. Otherwise the file will contain a mixture of the both sites! Does anybody else have a better workaround? Any help would be appreciated.

Started using Options Online last year without any issue. This year when creating a new model I am receiving an error (Error: Not Found!) when clicking on the ‘Pathways and Students’ tab at the top of the screen. I have included a screenshot of the error. Any ideas? Getting rather desperate now for a solution. Thanks

Hi, Has anyone got a workaround regarding the FSM transitional protection for FSM pupils. We currently use SIMS, NRS for cashless catering and ParentPay. From April 2019 in Wales, when a pupil is no longer eligible for FSM (end date entered onto SIMS) they are still entitled to FSM (FSM Transitional protection - tick box in SIMS in FSM area) until they finish school. However when SIMS, NRS and ParentPay sync the FSM protection is not honoured in FSM. We have tried to add an FSM eligibility manually in NRS and ParentPay but these are ignored by the NRS cashless catering. Anyone got idea or suggestions?

Hi, I have sorted this now but we want to start each pupil off with 20 points. Anyone know if it possible to flood fill a points adjustment? Thanks.

Hi, Does anyone now a way of adding staff duty (break, lunch etc.) so that it displays on their timeline in SIMS .net?

Hi, just wondering if anyone can help / offer advice on how we could setup a system in SIMS to administer end of year Prom. I have heard a few school doing something similar. The idea would be to award point to pupil for doing something good and removing points when they do something wrong. I think that is fairly straightforward in SIMS but I am struggling with a way of working out how we cancel the points they have lost if they have redeemed themselves by doing detention. Has anyone setup a similar system like this before? Thanks in adnvace Regards

Hi, thanks for you post. How do we setup multiple centre A2C. Who do we need to contact? Thanks

Can anyone offer advice on the best way to manage exams administration across two separate schools using one SIMS Database? We currently have one centre number. But from this September our sister school that opened last you will also be offering qualifications. We have the same SIMS database across both sites. Can anyone recommend the best way forward with this? Do we try and administer exams using one centre number across both sites and deal with logistical problems like exam papers turning up at the main registered site and physically splitting / moving these paper packs on the day of the exam (AM/PM) or do you think we should have a separate exam number for the other school and somehow get Exams in SIMS to work with two separate centre numbers. Does anyone have experience with two centre numbers and one SIMS Database. What about sending amendment files / A2C connection? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

When importing students from SIMS into Options it will not work. It looks like that when importing students if the year group they are associated with is greater than 3 characters. i.e. 12B for the short name in SIMS then the import will not work. Any ideas on how to work around this problem? Does anyone now how to manually import the student names using import from XML?