School Workforce Census

This course provides delegates with an understanding of the data collected by the School Workforce Census and explores how SIMS can be configured to provide the data and how to produce the return itself and resolve data issues

At the end of this course delegates will be able to: understand the background information to the School Workforce Census; prepare SIMS to produce enable the production of School Workforce Census; review and editing the full range of staff data to support School Workforce Census produce the School Workforce Census; consider the meaning of validation errors

Duration

One Day

Attendance Reporting

Course overview

This half day course takes delegates through the reporting capabilities of SIMS Attendance to ensure the software is being used as efficiently and effectively as possible.

By the end of the course you will be understand the SIMS approach to the reporting, evaluation and use of attendance data including: reporting attendance data to help monitor attendance; functionality provided by the pre-defined SIMS Attendance reports; functionality provided by the SIMS Attendance letters; how to analyse attendance and real-time data on the SIMS Homepage

Benefits of attending

Learn how to make the best use of the reporting capabilities in SIMS Attendance. 

What you will learn

• how to produce the predefined SIMS Attendance reports
• how to produce personalised attendance letters directly from SIMS
• summarising attendance data on the SIMS Home Page
• analysing attendance data using SIMS Discover.

Who is it for?

Staff involved in the monitoring of statutory attendance. You need to have some experience of SIMS and SIMS Attendance.

Also consider: SIMS Discover Day 1: Standard Analysis

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

SIMS Personnel

The Personnel module is one of the key core modules within SIMS. It provides basic personnel data to support external returns but also provides the
basis for issuing contracts for staff and maintaining staff development records. Maintaining accurate data is essential for accurate budget planning and monitoring. This course is designed for staff with little or no knowledge of Personnel procedures.

CONTENT

• Issuing contracts and the financial implications of contracts
• Adding basic personnel data for new members of staff
• Recording teacher details of subjects and qualifications
• Recording Staff development
• Recording Staff absence
• Effectively using the listings within the module

ATTENDANCE

Full day

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

SIMS Technical Essentials

Covers the basic essentials of managing SIMS and FMS in the school, where the school hosts their own data. At the end of the day users will know the most common technical tasks and processes involved in managing SIMS, Discover and FMS.

Content

Identify and locate the SIMS and FMS components

Installing SIMS, Discover and FMS on a workstation

Managing users in System Manager

How to manage deployments using SOLUS 3

How to use DBupgrade to apply database upgrades and patches

How to use DBattach to attach and backup databases

Recognise the possibilities available through an integrated approach to the use of management information across the school the range of roles and responsibilities within the school; the management of access to data; the use of SIMS System Manager to manage users of the system

ATTENDANCE
Full day

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

SIMS with Excel

SIMS is capable of extracting a wide range of data using its reporting functionality, including student details, attendance, assessment and behaviour data. The export of data into Excel is the default option for many of the pre-defined reports in SIMS.

Excel is a powerful programme capable of assisting in analysis and display of data. Formulas process data in an accurate and repeatable way and pivot tables provide an interactive method of interrogating data.

Incorporating the Excel analysis directly within the SIMS report means that both the extraction of the data from SIMS and the analysis of the data in Excel can be achieved, automatically, in one step.

Content

• Automating data analysis in SIMS reports using Excel
• Excel formulas
• Analysing data using Excel
• Designing more complex SIMS reports
• Excel pivot tables

Attendance

Full day

Behaviour & Achievement

Improving behaviour in schools is one of the government’s key aims as behaviour has a direct impact on a pupil’s attainment. Schools put enormous effort and resources themselves into promoting positive behaviour and recognising achievement.

SIMS has functionality that enables a school to record behaviour and achievement events of individuals or groups of pupils in order to manage detentions, record exclusions and report on all of these aspects.  Information can be viewed instantly and easily by members of staff using SIMS.

Content

• Setting up and configuration
• Using routines for individual or groups of pupils
• Adding behaviour incidents and achievements
• from class attendance register
• Setting up and administering
• detentions including letters to parents
• Creation of report cards
• Adding behaviour review meetings
• and follow up to behaviour incidents
• Adding further interventions if required
• Reporting

Attendance

Full day

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

Dinner Money

Course overview

A thorough introduction to recording dinner information within SIMS.

The course is an introduction for new users to use SIMS to record Dinner Money information. It will address the activation and setting up, populating Dinner Money with appropriate data, creating Opening Balances, registers, payments and banking, maintaining Dinner Money, reports, Letters and Statements.

The course is designed for finance and office staff who are responsible for administering school dinner money and who have an understanding of how SIMS is used to maintain and update pupil information.

Benefits of attending

To learn how to record dinners in SIMS including Universal Infant Free School Meals. Record payments against a pupil and reconcile these against meals taken. 

What you will learn

• installation and set up of SIMS Dinner Money
• populating SIMS Dinner Money with appropriate data
• creating opening balances registers
• payments and banking
• maintaining dinner money
• reports, letters and statements.

Who is it for?

Finance and office staff who are responsible for administering school dinners and dinner money and who have an understanding of how SIMS is used to maintain and update pupil information.

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

SIMS End of Year (Primary)

Learn how to configure SIMS for the new school year, including setting up the new pastoral structure and dealing with admissions. Before the new school year commences, the pastoral process must be completed in SIMS.

Dealing with the new school year can be a complex process. Gain an overview of the requirements of the new school year, including dealing with admissions and leavers.

Content

• Creating a new academic year and setting up the school diary
• Managing pre-admission groups and processing new intake pupil applicants
• How to use CTF to import new pupil data
• Preparing the pastoral structure for the academic year including year and registration group memberships
• Processing leavers
• Producing class lists

Attendance

Half day Followed by coffee, informal chat / questions with the trainer and networking with colleagues

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

Extended Reporting

Course overview

This one day course provides a follow up to the Standard Reporting course. It is designed for users of SIMS responsible for responding to requests for detailed information. You should have either attended the Standard Reporting course or be familiar with the techniques covered on that course.

Benefits of attending

To further develop reporting techniques covered in the Standard Reporting course. 

What you will learn

• the production of more complicated lists and mail merged documents
• modifying templates to adjust the appearance of reports including incorporating headed paper
• developing the use of RTF output exploring cross-modular links in the data
• using different focuses as the starting point for reports
• extending the use of the Analysis tool.

Who is it for?

Users of SIMS responsible for responding to requests for information. You should have either attended the Standard Reporting course or be familiar with the techniques covered on the course.

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

SIMS Top Tips & Techniques

Discover useful ways of managing school data, best practice housekeeping and understand core functionality in SIMS.

The course is aimed at admin staff in schools who are already working in SIMS.net. It is not suitable for new users – a separate course is offered entitled SIMS Office User.

Content

• Contact management
• Customising correspondence
• User-defined groups
• User-defined fields
• Alerts, notifications and communication
• Merging agents and agencies
• Quick reports
• Changes to data – bulk update
• managing the school diary; adding a bulletin to the homepage; managing extended pupil data; managing agents and agencies; managing exclusions; managing user defined groups; managing user defined fields; managing lookups; making use of bulk routines and housekeeping routines; extended use of CTF’s

Attendance

Full day

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

SIMS Office User (Primary)

The purpose of this course is to familiarise delegates with what pupil information is contained in SIMS.net and how to find it. In addition delegates will practice common pupil data editing routines encountered on a day to day basis in schools. It is aimed at delegates who are new to SIMS.net and possibly new to working in school software and who will need to find, add and edit pupil data.

Content

• Viewing pupil information
• Editing pupil data
• Adding new pupils
• Managing leavers and re-admitting pupils
• Additional maintenance tasks
• Using standard reports and lists

Attendance

Full day

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

SIMS SEN User

The Special Educational Needs facility in SIMS.net is used to support schools in following the SEN Code of Practice. This course provides a detailed overview of the SIMS software for managing the SEN process in school and is designed for SENCOs, senior staff with responsibility for overseeing special needs provision and administrative staff who may be involved in maintaining SEN information.

An understanding of the SEN Code of Practice and how it is managed in school would be useful.

Content

• Navigate through SIMS
• Manage and record details of reviews, events and provisions
• Manage students transition from statemented to EHCP
• Produce the SEN reports provided in SIMS
• Edit look up tables
• Add linked Adults, Agents and Agencies
• Send, receive and view messages relating to SEN students
• Configure their SIMS home page to help monitor SEN processes

Attendance

Half day

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

Standard Reporting

An introduction to the report designing process:

Schools need to be able to respond to requests for information efficiently, including reports, making your school processes more streamlined. This course is intended for SIMS users responsible for responding to requests for information. You should have attended a SIMS Office User course or have a good understanding of SIMS.

Content

• Running pre-defined reports
• Modifying and creating reports to produce lists
• Creating reports to produce mailmerge documents and labels
• The use of different output formats of Word and Excel
• Using analysis output
• Exporting, importing and using the My Favourite Reports panel on the Homepage
• Attendance

Full day

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

Programmes of Study for the New Key Stage Curriculum

This course will help delegates to understand and use the resources that are available in relation to the new Curriculum.

Benefits of attending

To gain a practical insight into the functionality of the new SIMS Assessment software and to understand the available resources relating to the curriculum.

Content

• How to use the latest assessment functionality to record data against the new National Curriculum Programmes of Study
• Use of the resources available to monitor and evaluate progress and analyse data effectively from one screen
• Evaluating progress based on expectations
• Generating reports for parents/carers based on pupil attainment and progress, linked to the Programmes of Study

Attendance
Full day

SIMS Profiles For New Users

Learn how to produce high quality, fully customisable reports for parents based on the Profiles software, using editable pre-defined comments, free text or a mixture of both.

Benefits of attending

Parents want to be kept in the loop – learn how to produce high quality customisable reports with SIMS Profiles. SIMS Profiles reports can be generated using information in SIMS assessment and can be mailed to parents using the Parent App.

Content

• How to create and import comment banks and link comments to grades in assessment
• How to set up a profiling session and design a school report template
• How to select and amend comments, enter free text, check and preview Profiles
• How to review and approve pupils’ Profile reports Generation and printing of the final profile report
• Linking Profiles to the individual pupil record in linked documents

Duration

Full day or site visit

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here

SIMS Discover Assessment User (Primary)

Learn how to adapt the SIMS Discover user definable components to analyse assessment data effectively.

• Use bar charts, line graphs and Venn diagrams to analyse the data in your SMS database

• Cross-match attendance, behaviour or achievement data against gender, ethnicity or special needs

• Analyse population by Year group and Pupil Premium, House and EAL, Registration group and gender

• Check attendance by gender, monitor attendance throughout the school year.

• Create dynamic groups where the population changes according to the data – eg low attendees

• All facilitated in a drag and drop analysis, making the production of clear charts as easy as 1,2,3.

CONTENT

The relationship between SIMS Discover and SIMS Assessment

The SIMS Discover interface
The SIMS Discover configuration utility

Defining, calculating and using SIMS Discover aspects

How to customise the pre-defined SIMS Discover assessment graphs

How to create new SIMS Discover assessment graphs

ATTENDANCE
Full day

Course Booking enquiries
01618831290 or email support@osmis.co.uk

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here;

Attendance

Course Overview

Learn how to use SIMS Attendance to fulfil day-to-day statutory attendance monitoring requirements. Strong attendance has a direct impact on achievement. Learn how to make the best use of SIMS attendance for effective attendance monitoring.

This one day course is designed for staff with responsibility for attendance who have an understanding of attendance procedures and who are familiar with SIMS.

What You Will Learn

• Planning a strategy for managing the statutory attendance process
• Customising sims attendance to meet the particular needs of your school
• Understanding the potential links to other functionality in sims
• Identifying the most efficient way of collecting attendance data
• Understanding how to maintain attendance data effectively
• Reporting attendance data to help monitor attendance

Who is it for?

Staff with responsibility for maintaining Pupil/Student attendance records. An understanding of attendance procedures and familiarity with SIMS would be beneficial. 

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here;

Top Ten Reasons for Giving your Teachers Access to SIMS in the Classroom (Primary)

For SIMS to make a real difference to your school or academy, you need all the staff to understand everything it can do for them and ensure that they are using the wealth of information stored in the system. OSMIS can provide a half day consultancy session to look at how you could make better use of SIMS in the classroom to improve the schools business processes and provide better value for money from you Management Information System.

Content

• SIMS home page
• Registration
• Recording achievement and behaviour
• Assessment tracking
• Pupil information at your finger tips
• Special education needs (SEN) details
• Analysing and reporting data
• Writing reports for parents
• Parental engagement
• School diary
• Attendance

Half day consultancy onsite

Course Booking enquiries
01618831290 or email support@osmis.co.uk

Course dates to be allocated according to demand. If you are interested in this course, please complete the form here;