Elective sessions

2

• This presentation offers attendees information on the recent release of Cover 7, which supports schools in managing staff cover in accordance with the requirements of the Workforce Reform legislation.
• Attendees will get the opportunity to see how the software is being used in a live environment by one of the field trial schools.
• This session would be of benefit to all LA personnel that support and train on Cover

Mike Davis, Handsworthgrange School

2
Making 14-19 partnerships successful – SIMS Partnership Xchange

• The introduction of Diplomas, and the new Key Stage 3 and 4 curriculum, presents local authorities and schools with some serious challenges over the next few years.
• This elective looks at the real life operational issues facing 14-19 partnerships, and how SIMS Partnership Xchange can free managers, teachers and administrators from the burdens of monitoring and supporting students across multiple establishments. The focus will be on issues that long established post-16 partnerships have experienced and how SIMS Partnership Xchange has been designed to address the most significant of these.
• Also covered will be the management issues arising from implementing a partnership including a non-technical overview of how SIMS Partnership Xchange works.

Phil Cummins, 14-19 Co-ordinator, Staffordshire LA

Wendy Flower, MIS Services Manager, Staffordshire LA

• January 2008 saw the introduction of the School Workforce Census (SWC) in 34 pilot local authorities. This elective will draw upon the experience of Steve Baxter, Head of Information Management, South Gloucestershire who supported schools during the Spring 2008 SWC where data was drawn from Personnel 7.
• Directed at those who will be supporting schools in completing their SWC during 2009, the elective will focus upon:
  • Preparation undertaken by the support unit / schools
  • Engagement / communication with officers
  • Engagement / communication with schools
  • The training / overviews provided
  • Data items collected
  • COLLECT
  • Feedback from schools after the Spring SWC
  • Lessons learnt

Steve Baxter, South Gloucestershire LA

• Aimed at technical staff involved in the implementation and support of SIMS, this session will provide a demonstration of the latest technical developments, including SIMS Deployment Updates.
• Following the demonstration, attendees will get the opportunity to raise any technical issues they might have on SIMS.

Jonathan Wood – SIMS Product Manager, Capita

James Randall - SIMS Solutions Architect, Capita

Nigel Brown - Development Manager, Capita

• Schools that engage and work closely with parents gain many benefits to teaching and learning. Jim Knight, School’s Minister, has called for schools to ensure parents are provided with real-time access to their child’s learning data no later than 2010 for secondary schools and 2012 for primary.
• In this session, Tim Spiers from BECTA will be outlining this government initiative and commenting on BECTA programs currently underway to support it.  Details will be given on how SIMS Learning Gateway can help schools improve the parent-school relationship to raise pupil attainment.
• Mark Leighton, ICT Director at Blatchington Mill School and Sixth Form College will also be sharing his considerable experience to help local authorities consider their approach to this important initiative.

Mark Leighton – ICT Director, Blatchington Mill School and Sixth Form College, Hove.

Tim Spiers, Senior Consultant, BECTA

• There are gifted and talented learners in every year in every school. According to DCSF guidelines, schools should keep a register of gifted and talented learners to help ensure they are provided with teaching and learning that meets their needs.
• This session will examine ways in which SIMS can help schools maintain a Gifted and Talented Register which can be used to track and analyse pupil performance and allocate resources appropriately.
• Since September 2007, training has been provided locally for leading teachers in gifted and talented education. Cornwall’s IMS team has been working with their local advisory service to support this training. Uta Wagemakers, IMS Adviser to schools, will share some of Cornwall’s achievements in this area.
• The session will also present new ways in which SIMS can support school improvement and facilitate links to school advisory teams. It will benefit those who are looking to encourage effective use of SIMS.

Uta Wagemakers, IMS Adviser to Schools, Cornwall LA

• In this session, Assistant Headteacher, Sue Ferris, will explain how the effective use of relevant data along with excellent teaching and learning support are raising the aspirations of students at Falmouth School.
• Teachers have classroom access to the full SIMS suite to track and support pupil progress. The school’s policy of providing encouragement means teachers are only able to enter positive incidences into SIMS Behaviour Management. Hear how teachers use the information within SIMS to engage in informed discussions with parents and students based on their true potential and how their behaviour can affect it.
• Sue will explain how SIMS is used to monitor attendance and attainment in the classroom. She will also reveal how SIMS supports school leaders in identifying the all important A*-C English and maths students and ensure the school’s SEF is completed efficiently.

Sue Ferris, Assistant Headteacher, Falmouth School

• This session will highlight how primary school headteachers are becoming increasingly aware that SIMS is more than just the source of Statutory Returns data.  SIMS Advisers attending this talk will gain insight into how SIMS is being used successfully beyond the school office to benefit the whole school.
• Learn how SIMS enables schools to have complete and central access to their data and to make key links between core details, assessment, attendance and behaviour so that this information can be put to best use.
• Headteachers will see how they can use SIMS to improve pupil attainment and behaviour, impact positively on inspection results and support ongoing school improvement.
• Local schools can be excellent ambassadors for SIMS. Their input supports Capita in growing and improving the product, to make it even more relevant to primary school needs. Durham Headteacher, Harry Weightman, will provide evidence of how SIMS has supported his school and given him the evidence he needs to make improvements.

Harry Weightman – Headteacher, Easington Colliery Primary School

• In designing and delivering the curriculum, it is essential that the resources and detailed planning used in the classroom reflect subject and whole school development plans.
• SIMS Curriculum Planner enables classroom teachers to plan, identify and store resources that will enhance teaching and learning. The software can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of lessons to ensure they are meeting the needs of pupils.
• Hear how SIMS Curriculum Planner is not just a lesson planning tool. It can help teachers fit each lesson into the curriculum plan to ensure they have a clear picture of their medium and long term teaching aims.

Ruth Watt, C2K

• Duncan Baldwin, the co-founder of IMPROVE will be joined by colleagues from authorities who have started to develop a joined-up approach between the SIMS Support and School Improvement teams.  They will offer practical guidance on how to help forge more effective working relations and an overview of the support that Capita can provide to ensure both teams realise the benefits that joint working can bring.
• This elective reveals how IMPROVE, Capita’s self-review tool for school improvement, has helped encourage a closer working partnership between local authority SIMS Support Teams and their colleagues in the School Improvement/Advisory service.

Seymour Leeds, East Sussex LA

Rosemarie Constantine, Cheshire LA

Anita Backhouse, East Riding of Yorkshire LA

• This session is designed to demonstrate how SIMS Assessment Manager offers so much more than a place to record pupils’ end of key stage results. It can help schools ensure students reach their potential.
• Hear how SIMS Assessment Manager provides schools with the means to track and monitor progression at school group and individual level, giving an immediate picture of achievement which can be analysed against local or national data.
• You will also learn about the new features being introduced to Assessment Manager 7 to support pupil tracking.
• Cheshire Headteacher, Linda Davis, will demonstrate how she has been using her own SIMS tracking marksheets and how these have contributed positively to her school’s development. She will discuss how she is expanding the use of SIMS Assessment Manager in her new school and beyond to other local Headteachers. Linda will also share how she envisages the new product features will support her plans.

Linda Davis, Headteacher, Wistaston Green Primary School

• Whether the focus in your school is on introducing a new curriculum, driving school improvement or enhancing the quality of teaching staff, SIMS Curriculum Planner can help.
• Find out how to free school managers from the administrative burdens of designing and delivering the curriculum so that they can concentrate on raising standards in teaching and learning.
• This elective will show how one school is using SIMS Curriculum Planner as a tool to raise standards whilst addressing a wide range of real life school management issues.

Pauline Hopkins & Steve Davison, Monkwearmouth School

• Hear this multi-agency team explain how they have been using a full range of SIMS features to map provision for pupils successfully in Northumberland.
• Initially managed through an Excel spreadsheet, colleagues soon realised that this did not meet their needs and they turned to the MIS team to see if SIMS could help. SIMS Assessment Manager was developed to meet the individual needs of the authority in relation to pupils with special educational needs. The project now encompasses other elements of the system including Profiles, Reporting and Behaviour Management.

Ann Jolley, SEN Monitoring Officer, Northumberland LA

John Kirton, Senior Educational Phychologist, Children’s Services, Northumberland LA

Giselle Dudley, Training and Support Officer Computer Services, Northumberland LA

Andy Hudson, Deputy Headteacher and SENCO Ovingham First School

Anne Puddephatt, Deputy Headteacher and SENCO, The Dukes Middle School

• Schools are working hard to meet their objectives laid down in the Children’s Plan and the 2020 Vision report. They will need to ensure learning is more personalised for their pupils. Parents will need 24/7 access to their child’s school information. And school leaders will want to collaborate with other schools on 14-19 learning and on Building Schools for the Future projects.
• This session will look at how SIMS software is already meeting the challenges faced by the 21st Century school.
• If you are a SIMS Co-ordinator or you are working with schools to get the very best from their system, come and find out how SIMS can help you achieve your vision for schools in the 21st Century.

Simon Smith – Head of SIMS Product Management, Capita

Chris Sherwood - SIMS Principal Product Manager, Capita

• DCSF has developed an e-procurement solution called OPEN for all English Maintained schools to use. OPEN will enable schools to trade electronically with suppliers and allow the resultant Content Orders, Invoices and Credit Notes to be imported into FMS. During 2008, all local authorities will be contacted by DCSF concerning these developments.
• This elective will be jointly lead by Claire Dicks, Head of EPC Operations, DCSF and Ian Romeo-Smith focusing upon:-
• The aims / benefits of OPEN
• DCSF / OPEN contact with Local Authorities
• Pathfinders Local Authorities
• FMS functionality to support OPEN
• SIMS Support colleagues who support FMS together with technical colleagues to help provide guidance on enabling schools to receive electronic transactions.

Claire Dicks, Head of EPC Operations, DCSF Educational Procurement Centre (EPC)

• An opportunity to ask questions relating to SIMS that you have not had the opportunity to raise at the conference or that you would like discussed with a wider group of local authority colleagues.  Capita’s SIMS Directors, the Head of Customer Services and Development and the Head of SIMS Product Management will be available to respond to your queries.

Phil Neal - Director of SIMS, Capita

Tracey O’Brien – Head of Customer Services, Capita

Ian Churchill – Commercial Director, Capita

• This session is aimed primarily at SIMS staff within local authorities who want to find out about the latest thinking on ContactPoint and its integration with Capita’s One solution.
• Following the allocation of funding by the DCSF for the ContactPoint enablement of One in South Gloucestershire, Simon will provide an update on Capita’s approach to One’s integration with ContactPoint from both a Data Feed and a Query perspective.  The session will examine how the integration will work, what the timescales are and how this will impact upon school and local authority staff.

Simon Pike – ONE Product Manager, Capita

• The session is targeted at local authority support staff delivering training to schools and will include:
  • An overview of the training data update process
  • A look at what data is entered and when
  • A focus on what supporting documentation is available

A review of basic student data will be provided based around the developing Ben Abbot story. 

Delegates will hear about:

• Questions we can ask of our school data
• Questions we can ask about how we deal with issues in school
• How we can ensure school data is used effectively
• There will be an opportunity to provide feedback and suggestions on data content

Keith Bostrom – Product Manager, Training Materials

• All English Maintained schools are required to submit at least one School Workforce Census (SWC) during 2009 leading towards the planned introduction of this new Statutory Return in Spring 2010. This elective will be lead by Gill Tuner and Paul Stoker from DCSF and will focus on the following questions:
  • Does your LA have an officer and Project Board who is responsible for SWC?
  • Does your LA have a plan to introduce SWC?
  • To what degree are your schools aware of SWC?
  • In which database(s) is the prime SWC data currently held and how will it be submitted to COLLECT?
  • What actions do you need to make to introduce SWC in 2009?

Gill Turner, DCSF
Paul Stoker, DCSF

Wayne Stant – ONE Product Manager, Capita

• CentraStage, a SIMS partner and North Lincolnshire local authority will present on how web-based technology can be used to enhance IT service delivery to primary schools.
• Focussing on device management, proactive monitoring and flexible remote support, this elective will also cover the automation of the SIMS/SOLUS upgrade process through a single web-based interface.

North Lincolnshire LA

Christian Nagele,  CentraStage

• Aimed at SIMS Co-ordinators and technical teams, this session will look at how one local authority is providing a hosted SIMS service for its schools and the benefits it brings to those schools.
• The session will also examine Capita’s viewpoint on the hosting of SIMS and the services and support we are able to provide local authorities and schools taking up this option.

Matthew Nall, Cambridgeshire LA
Jeremy Simmonds - Witchford Village College

Jonathan Wood – SIMS Product Manager, Capita

• Improving efficiency and ensuring value for money are becoming increasingly important for schools.  The outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 means a tighter funding settlement for schools and they will be required to make genuine efficiency savings.
• When planning strategically, a school must consider its decisions in the short term but must also recognise the impact those decisions can have in the medium and longer term planning of the school.  This enables schools to focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning by having a clear framework, informed by the objectives within the school development plan.

The session will highlight how SIMS in partnership with HCSS can help schools ensure that:

• the multi-year budget is seen as a financial expression of the school development plan.
• the educational priorities of the school determine its financial strategy.
• it is possible to manage the school effectively within the limited resources available and achieve best value.
• the process of managing strategic planning in a school can be simplified.

Des Stubbs – Headteacher, Kew Woods Primary School

Nick Ratcliffe – HCSS Education Ltd

David Grashoff – Partner Manager, Capita

• Hear about how the SIMS UniServity Learning Platform is transforming teaching and learning for over 2 million learners of all ages across the globe.
• Drawing on current experience, this session shares real examples of how the SIMS UniServity Learning Platform is extending learning opportunities beyond the traditional boundaries of the classroom;  is producing many deep and powerful learning outcomes for learners of all ages and abilities, and is changing the very way schools and local authorities operate and interact.

Dave Wright, Head of ICT, Bradon Forest School

Fiona Aubrey-Smith – BECTA ICT Excellence  Award Winner 2007 – Extending Learning Opportunities

Simon Drury-Jenner, UniServity

• This session will showcase how Young Learners are successfully using the SIMS UniServity Learning Platform to create, construct and collaborate with their peers and learners across the world.
•  One primary school will demonstrate how their young learners actively engage in the ’It’s a Small World’ UniServity Collaborative Project. The six week project provides learners and their teachers with a fun and easy introduction to exploiting Learning Platform technologies.
• Hear how learners create their own online homespace, e-portfolios and forums based on a number of curriculum-driven activities. Learners work both independently and collaboratively with their class peers and other learners overseas, at school, and at home with their parents. The session will also show how the activities can have a great impact on attainment levels because children have a real-life context, purpose and audience for their writing, and consequently engage with the activity to a deeper level.

Tracey Elliot, Year 2 Teacher, Willow Bank Infant School

Fiona Aubrey-Smith – BECTA ICT Excellence  Award Winner 2007 – Extending Learning Opportunities

Simon Drury-Jenner, UniServity

• Email is increasingly used as a business and communication tool in schools yet the architecture of MS Outlook prevents items being saved to student records within SIMS.
• This session will illustrate how schools can maximise their investment in SIMS and Microsoft Office products, save time on archiving and retrieval of files and build more complete student records by integration with RECORDLINKwriter.
• As Outlook, Word and Excel files are pushed from the MS Office environment into SIMS, schools can construct accurate student records and easily locate documentation relating to pupils from the SIMS Document Server. See examples of the systems’ integration which include saving Outlook items directly from an Outlook toolbar to single or multiple SIMS records whilst maintaining their audit trail and attachments.

Russell Healey - Loughborough Grammar school

Tim Hampton – Cohesion Software