Why Validate Addresses and what do I have to DO?
SIMS makes use of home address information to create and to maintain links between students and adults. In order for these links to be reliable it is essential that each address is entered only once and that all people are correctly linked to the same address record.
In order to improve data quality, we recommend that schools make use of the Capita Web Address Validation service whenever entering a person's address to SIMS.
Using the Service
When entering an address in SIMS, the system begins by searching your database for any addresses currently held in the database that have a matching post code, so as to reduce the risk of duplicate addresses which are more of an issue that incorrectly typed ones.
If no matches are found in your system, SIMS accesses the Web Address Validation Service and returns a list of matching addresses from there.
Activating Web Address Validation
The SIMS Web Address Validation Service functionality is available to schools that wish to validate addresses in SIMS. A licence activation key is required to activate the Web Address Validation Service which then accesses a Capita maintained database that contains the details of UK post codes, UPRNs and addresses.
To get WAV to work you need to apply a patch to your SIMS database (WAV_7186) and to then configure the service in SIMS Services in accordance with the instructions here.
Bulk Address Validation
In addition to validating individual addresses within SIMS, it also possible to select batches of addresses stored in SIMS to be automatically sent to the Address Validation Service for validation. For example, a School Administrator can elect to validate addresses for a specific year group, or after importing groups of pupil/students via CTF or ATF. This is achieved by setting up a Bulk Address Validation scheduled task which is then sent to the Address Validation Service at the time specified in the task.
The validated batches are then returned, enabling you to choose which existing addresses should be replaced with the validated address. Please refer to page 199 of the schools.pdf document for more information.
To get BAV to work you will need to apply the Bulk Address Validation Patch 11328. We recommend that schools concentrate on the completion of census returns and will be in touch with further guidance shortly.