Welcome to Scomis
 
We are delighted to announce that more schools have joined Scomis since our last newsletter and we would like to extend a very warm welcome to all staff in the following schools.  Many of the schools have taken out an SLA for our new Online Safety Essentials Service.  (click here for more information.)
 
Biscovey Infants School, Cornwall
Brunel Primary and Nursery Academy, Cornwall
Bugle Primary Academy, Cornwall
Burraton CP School, Cornwall
Delaware Primary School, Cornwall
Duloe Junior and Infant School, Cornwall
Newquay Junior Academy, Cornwall
Pelynt Primary School, Cornwall
Penair School, Cornwall
Pencalenick Special School, Cornwall
Probus CP School, Cornwall
Roskear School, Cornwall
St Buryan Academy, Cornwall
St German's Primary School, Cornwall
St Uny Primary School, Cornwall
Trevithick Learning Academy, Cornwall

Contents
Bett Award Finalists
PS Financials Hosting
PS Financials Training
Training Update
Online Safety Essentials Services
Special North Somerset Event
Hosted Applications Service - Connectivity Reminder
Personnel New User Courses - Portsmouth
Devon and Plymouth Maintained Schools Info
Dear Grace - UPRN

Vote for Scomis to win prestigious national award
 
Without Scomis ICT support and provision would you be able to do your job? Support your ICT colleagues by voting and commenting on their video to help them win a prestigious national award.
 
Scomis has been selected as a Bett (British Educational, Training and Technology) Award 2017 finalist for the fifth year running in the 'ICT Service and Support' category.
 
Vote for Scomis!
Please have a look at Scomis' video, click on like and add a comment, as that will help the judges decide who of the eight finalists should win the award.
 
Here's the link to the video to share or add to your own website or social media: 
This year's criteria was challenging as entrants were only allowed to submit a two minute video with 200 supporting words.  Judging will in early December taking into account the number of 'hits' on the videos and comments.
 
The Bett Awards are a celebration of the inspiring creativity and innovation that can be found throughout technology for education. The winners are seen to have excelled in ICT provision and support for nurseries, schools, colleges and special schools alike with a clear focus on what works in the classroom.
 
Debbie Foweraker, Scomis Service Management and Business Development Manager, and Nicky England – Scomis Operations Manager said: "We are absolutely delighted that Scomis has been selected yet again as finalists for this prestigious national award".
 
More information about the Bett Awards and the Bett Show.

We are pleased to announce that Scomis hosting now supports the latest version of PS Financials (Education Standard Version 6).
 
This service removes the burden and associated costs of managing PS Financials on school based servers.  You don't need to purchase the latest server hardware and you can access your data securely from anywhere with an Internet connection!
 
This means that if you host with us, you will enjoy all of the benefits you would expect; including ease of access, security, reduced technical overheads in school as well as business continuity. 
 
What's more, as we manage and maintain our own hosting environment, we aim to be at least half the price of our competitors in relation to PS Financials' hosting.
 
For more information click here or contact us on 01392 385300.

PS Financials Training Courses
 
Flexible and affordable training is now available from Scomis.  Course includes PS Financials' Accredited User Day 1 and User Day 2 for new users.  We can also provide refresher training and bespoke courses which can be delivered onsite in your school or MAT.
 
For the current classroom based course schedule please click here . If you require onsite training, please contact us on 01392 385300.

Training Courses Timetables for all Schools
 
Devon and Plymouth Courses

Cornwall and Plymouth Courses

2016-2017 Timetable

We can also provide refresher training and bespoke courses which can be delivered onsite in your school or MAT.
 
For the current classroom based course schedule please click here . If you require onsite training, please contact us on 01392 385300.

This new range of services from Scomis has been designed to help you in meeting your responsibilities for online safety identified in "Keeping Children Safe in Education 2016" and the associated changes to the Ofsted Inspection Framework.
 
There are two levels of service available:
 
Online Safety Essentials Service - provides you with advice, guidance, regular termly CPD opportunities and access to forums to network with other Safeguarding leads and practitioners.  
 
Online Safety Essentials with Monitoring Software and Support – includes all of the same features as the Essentials Service above but also includes an appropriate and effective monitoring and reporting system to ensure children are safeguarded whilst using ICT in school.
 
To find ou more about how these services could help your school, please click here.

In light of the recent increase of North Somerset schools that have sought advice and guidance on converting to an Academy, we are pleased to offer a free, special event on the 26^th January 2017.

There will be 2 morning sessions and you only need to book onto one of them.  If you answer 'yes' to any of the following questions, we recommend you attend the event:

• Is your school contemplating conversion to Academy status?
• Would you like useful advice, hints and tips?
• Would you like to learn more about the changes facing your school's ICT, Finance and Administration teams as part of the conversion process?
• Would you like to know how Scomis can help support you and your school?

For more information or to request a booking form, please contact your Account Manager – Andrea Huxley on 01392 385300 or email scomis@devon.gov.uk

Has your school updated its firewall, changed its Internet Service Provider (ISP) or changed the internet filtering products or processes?

If you have then please make sure your Scomis connector is up to date with version 5.35 or later.

If you have an older connector please follow the link to an FAQ that will tell you what you need to do or contact us on 01392 385300.

https://faq.scomis.org/kb18181/

Following the decision of Portsmouth City Council to stop offering the School Workforce Census service from November 2017, many schools will need to start populating their own Personnel details within their SIMS Personnel module.
 
We are offering a full day course at Best Western Royal Beach Hotel, St Helens Parade, Portsmouth, PO4 0RN on 18th January 2017 from 09.30 until 15.30 to take delegates through:

• Setting up pay scales and awards
• Adding and maintaining staff records
• Adding and amending contract details
• Recording absences
• Recording suspensions
• Adding Increment/Salary Increases by bulk
• Best practice guidelines

Those who have undertaken the SWC return on their own this year will know how much information was needed to be input, including a whole year's worth of absence data for all teaching staff.  Get a head start on SWC 2017 and start using Personnel now!
 
This will cost £170.00 and will run from 9.30am to 3.30pm with lunch provided.  Parking is available, although we would encourage you to car share where possible.  Your place can be booked by phone on 01392 385300 or by email on scomis@devon.gov.uk
 
All bookings must be received by 18th December 2016.

The SIMS and FMS upgrade will be applied to hosted schools on the weekend of the 2^nd/3^rd December.  Non hosted schools will have their upgrade arranged at another time.

If you use petty cash, claims and trial balance and are a Devon or Plymouth maintained central payments school these apps will not work after the upgrade until you create a Data Export user.  Click here to follow our faq for more information.

Dear Pat,

The Unique Property Reference Number is a field that appears in the address in SIMS when it is validated.  The DfE haven't confirmed if it will be mandatory but there is some suggestion it may be in Autumn 2019.  To find out more about address validation and how to use it click here to read our faq.

Grace