Scomis provides ICT Support and Hosting Services to your school. |
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Scomis May 2018 Newsletter
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Issue 89
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Welcome
We are delighted to announce that the following school has joined Scomis since the last issue. We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all staff:
St Patrick's Primary School - Bristol
Lanner School - Bristol
Castle Batch Primary - North Somerset
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May 25th is nearly upon us ,and we've all been bombarded with emails about our personal data ! – however as the ICO makes clear it's not a big bang but the start of a new focus on data security for everyone .Compliance Scomis has confirmed our compliance with GDPR, as a data processor, and there is a link on our website to a clear data security statement and updated terms and conditions to enable schools to populate their data map.
There is also a set of frequently asked questions. We aim to cover the many and various queries we have had from schools about our compliance .DfE ToolkitAt the end of April the DFE issued a 68 page GDPR Toolkit for schools. Click here to view it.
SIMS Parent Lite - helps parents to make sure you have their up-to-date family data
The Parent Lite app is a free feature for existing SIMS subscribers which enables parents to update their family's data easily, which assists schools in a key GDPR requirement of maintaining data accuracy .The Scomis Desktop – helps teachers keep on top of data too
Our new Scomis desktop product allows safe secure access for teachers to student's personal information. Access to SIMS is available anywhere, anytime and on any device so that teachers can stay on top of their administrative tasks and assist in maintaining data accuracy.
Access to pupil data out and about on school trips minimises the hassle of paper lists - and the risk of a data breach on the beach! |
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SIMS Update Spring 2018
The Spring Upgrade was applied during the Easter Holidays and introduced many small improvements and fulfilled over 20 change requests. Click here to find out more.
SIMS and GDPR
Find out more here about SIMS and GDPR
SIMS Parent LiteFor more information on SIMS Parent Lite click hereSIMS PrimaryFor a pilot status update and to find out more about the current status of SIMS Primary click here |
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Examination Officers Conference 2018
By popular demand we are pleased to announce we will be running the Examination Officers Conference again for 2018. Feedback from last year was once again excellent.
Capita, OCR, WJEC, Pearson and JCQ have all been invited to deliver topical sessions as well as a session available for examination officers to ask questions and share best practice.
If you have any topics or specific areas you would like covered, then please let me know.
The conference will take place on Thursday 15th November 2018 at Buckfast Abbey, Devon, TQ11 0EG.
The cost of the conference will be:
SLA Schools: £47
Non SLA Schools: £57
This will include a two course lunch plus refreshments.
To book onto the conference please contact the Scomis Service Desk on 01392 385300 or email scomis@devon.gov.uk using Examination Officers Conference 2018 as the subject title.
You will receive confirmation of your booking initially and nearer to the conference we will send you joining instructions to include an agenda and directions.
Examination Results Analysis Workshops
Details of what will be covered on the workshops can be found by clicking on the Examination Officers Newsletter
12 July 2018 Oxford Witney Hotel, Olney House, Ducklington Lane, Witney OX28 4EX
17 July 2018 Bridge Multi-Academy Trust, Higher Trebyan, Lanhydrock, Bodmin PL30 5DQ
18 July 2018 The Watermark, Erme Court, Leonards Road, Ivybridge, PL21 0SZ
19 July 2018 Scomis, Great Moor House, Bittern Road, EX2 7NG
Full day: 9.30 am – 15.30 pm
Cost: £170 per person
EXAMINATION RESULTS DAYS – SERVICE DESK OPENING TIMES
A-level's:
Wednesday 15th August 2018
Thursday 16th August 2018
GCSE's:
Wednesday 22nd August 2018
Thursday 23rd August 2018
The Scomis Service Desk will be open from 7.00 am to 5.00 pm on the above days. |
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Hardware Procurement
Scomis now offers a free Hardware Procurement Service - helping schools obtain best value for money. Scomis helps you work out the products you need; providing technical advice to ensure hardware specifications are fit for purpose and meet your requirements. This is a value added service for SLA customers.
Scomis obtains quotes from suppliers through our DfE compliant procurement framework – reducing time spent by our customers searching the marketplace and obtaining multiple quotes from suppliers. Prices obtained through Scomis are nationally competitive and can be up to 30% cheaper than buying direct.
Scomis hardware installation services are also available to customers as a chargeable option.
For more information please click here
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The Scomis DesktopUnleash the power of SIMS in the classroom!
Latest enhancements to The Scomis Desktop can be found here. |
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SIMS Audit ServiceOur SIMS Audit Service is offered to all schools to give schools a review of the data currently held in the SIMS Database in order to identify where a school or Trust might make better use of SIMS.
Click here to find out more |
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Online Safety UpdatePositive Online Safety News from Scomis!
Scomis has reviewed the Online Safety Essentials Service launched in September 2016.
We are pleased to announce that from 1st September 2018, all Scomis customers with a Scomis SLA will receive the half-termly Online Safety Newsletters as a part of their service entitlement for a trial period of one year.
Why?The service has been reviewed, feedback from existing customers of the service indicates the newsletters help schools to inform parents and staff of Online Safety issues and to communicate with the wider community.
What will you get?Each half-term Scomis SLA customers will receive an Online-Safety NewsletterSave the Date! - for the next Online Safety Webinar on 18th June |
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The Scomis Remote Backup service is continuing to develop. We are pleased to announce additional features available to our Remote Backup customers in the coming months: - Instant Data – allowing customers to instantly recover data from their backups onto another device in the event of a disaster.
- GDPR search tools – assisting with GDPR compliance and allowing customers to easily search all their device backups for documents.
- Free upgrade path from Desktop and Laptop Edition (DL) / Server Edition (SE) to the Enterprise Server Edition (ESE) of the Remote Backup software.
Enterprise Server Edition (ESE) is the most feature rich version in our Remote Backup software portfolio and is retrospectively compatible to run on most versions of the Microsoft Operating System from Windows 7 to Server 2016.
As Scomis base our remote backup charges on the amount of data protected (with no licencing costs) this means that we will be able to upgrade customers for free to this feature rich version.
Existing backups made via DL or SE can be converted into ESE format. This will allow customers to upgrade their remote backup software whilst retaining access to their historical backups. To find out more click here. | | |
Our Infrastructure Team maintain the complex Infrastructure which provides the platform for our Hosted Application service among other services. They monitor, maintain and upgrade the platform daily, and implement a program of continuing service improvement.
Below are the areas covered in the technical update:- Infrastructure Update
- 4Matrix Auto-Update
- Password Policy
- SIMS Upgrades and Patching
- Snow Contingency
Click here to read the full update |
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Service Desk UpdateOur Service Desk has recently undergone a restructure and here is a video explaining it all to you to give you a better idea of who you are talking to when you call in.Our latest annual service report can also be found here |
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Scomis Live' 19 - Save the Date!Coming to the Exeter Racecourse on Thursday 14th March 2019, our Showcase event promises to be a thought provoking, engaging and memorable day with content of relevance to everyone in school including the senior leadership team, teaching and administrative staff and governors.
There will be key note speakers of national notoriety, interactive, hands-on sessions, an exhibition of leading educational providers, prizes and awards. You'll hear from educational practitioners about how they've successfully addressed key challenges and all delegates will take away ideas to implement in school the very next day that could even save you time and money!
Look out for more information during the Summer and Autumn terms when we will start to publish more about the content of the day (which is free of charge to all of our customers), including how to register and the opportunity to join our pre-event competition.
In the meantime please do spread the word and save the date. |
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User GroupsWe have just completed a successful round of User Groups which we hope you found informative. The next ones have been scheduled and the dates are below. Further information and booking instructions will be available nearer the time so please just save the date for now. - 27th November 2018 - North Somerset User Group
- 28th November 2018 - Oxford User Group
- 29th November 2018 - Portsmouth User Group
- 5th December 2018 - Devon User Group
- 6th December 2018 - Cornwall User Group
- 12th December 2018 - Virtual User Group
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ISBLThe Voice is the Institute of School Business Leaders' national magazine which is published termly. As an ISBL Approved Partner, we are pleased to let you know that we have written another article for this term's magazine that went to print at the end of April.This follows our first article about effective use of SIMS written by Craig which we've been told was very well received.The article in this term's issue provides advice about how to choose and implement new technologies successfully and is written by another of our Education and Product Specialists.
We have also been asked to deliver workshops at regional events this summer including in Exeter and Worcestershire and we will this year be exhibiting at the National Conference in November.
Our latest article can be found here on pg 45 |
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Welcome to Michael Heard and Raksha GreenbankThe Customer Relations and Business Development team are delighted to Welcome Michael and Raksha into our team.
Michael joins us as Scomis Business Partner (Education) and brings with him a wealth of experience from his time at Capita SIMS. |
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Raksha Greenbank has joined the business as an Education and Product Specialist and will work initially with schools in the North Devon area. Raksha was previously a School Business Manager and again will add enormous value to us and our customers going forward | | | | | |
We are delighted to let you know, having set ourselves a very challenging target for customer satisfaction of 95%, that we have achieved or exceeded this target in every area, with improved results in many of the criteria versus those achieved last year. We would like to thank the 502 customers who took the time to respond to our survey which also included many positive comments. For a full copy of the report please click here. |
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As well as providing our customers with the high standards of service that you have come to expect, Scomis also make time to support organisations helping people less fortunate than ourselves
During 2017-18 we took part in a large number of charitable activities, from collecting food for the Exeter Food Bank, filling Christmas Shoeboxes for Oxfam, or baking cakes for Macmillan. Some Scomis staff picked up a Paddle to propel a Dragon Boat a Mile for Sport Relief on one of the coldest days of the year.
| March 2017 | Red Nose Day Bake and Raffle | £464.00 | | September 2017 | Macmillan Bake Sale | £422.00 | | November 2017 | Children in Need Mufti Day | £60.45 | | December 2017 | Save The Children Christmas Jumper Day | £75.00 | | April 2018 | Stand Up for Cancer | £262.01 |
Overall we raised a total of £1223.01, filled 15 Christmas Shoeboxes, and collected 106 kg of food for the Exeter Foodbank. |
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Dear Grace,
I am completing the End of Key Stage statutory reporting for the first time and I don't know what I need to be doing.
Do you have any guidance notes on what I need to complete and how to do it?
Kind regards,
Ron
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Dear Ron,
Thank you for your query.
All End of Key stage reporting guidance notes and updates can be found at https://faq.scomis.org/kb21046/If you have any questions that aren't answered after reading these notes please contact the Service Desk.
Thanks,
Grace |
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We wanted to take this opportunity to briefly mention the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into force on the 25th May with regards to the emails we send to you, our Customers.
To help comply with GDPR consent requirements, we want to remind you that, should you wish, at any time you can unsubscribe from our mailing list using the link at the bottom of all of our emails. | | |
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Scomis, Great Moor House,
Bittern Road, Sowton,
Exeter, EX2 7NL |
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This message was sent to julie.l.chance@devon.gov.uk by Scomis via NewZapp . Scomis is a not for profit organisation that provides ICT Support Services to over 720 schools plus other educational establishments in 19 Local Authorities. |
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