Your Scomis News Update

We are making improvements to our systems to further enhance your support experience and we are delighted to let you know that MyScomis, our new world leading, cloud-based Service Management tool, went live on 18th November. Click here to find out more about what this means for you.

If you use our hosted application service to access SIMS, you will on occasion see a prompt at log-on to validate your email address. We would be grateful if you could take this opportunity to update your contact information and indicate your marketing preferences.

Supporting Disadvantaged Pupils

The Coronavirus epidemic and subsequent closure of schools to most pupils has been challenging in so many ways.

Current thinking is that disadvantaged pupils are likely to be disproportionately impacted by school closures and that the attainment gap may widen in the short and medium term. It will be important for schools to be able to monitor and track their disadvantaged pupils effectively over the coming months.

If you'd like help from one of our School Improvement Partners in this area, please contact us on 01392 385300 or email scomis@devon.gov.uk.

Useful Information

Research Schools Network
https://researchschool.org.uk/news/sustaining-the-learning-of-disadvantaged-pupils-during-school-lockdown/

Sutton Trust
https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/covid-19-and-social-mobility-impact-brief/

Pupil Premium in SIMS

Pupil Premium Overview

OFSTED Education Inspection Framework – Behaviour and Attitudes

One of the four main areas on which OFSTED has been passing judgement since September 2019 is 'Behaviour and Attitudes.' Moving away from academic judgements, this section focuses on students' approach to life at school and their learning, and the importance of this to their wellbeing. Previously OFSTED had judged schools under a combined personal development, behaviour and welfare judgement.

In this article we explore this issue and suggest where schools might use SIMS to record evidence.

You can also view a recording of our Virtual Session "Behaviour and Attitudes - Fulfilling OFSTED Requirements" here.

If you'd like help from one of our School Improvement Partners in this area, please contact us on 01392 385300 or email scomis@devon.gov.uk.

Education Sector News

Delivering Blended Learning / DfE funding extension

Delivering Blended Learning / DfE funding extension
From 22 October, schools must provide immediate access to remote learning to any pupils who can't attend school due to COVID-19, including:

Individual pupils, whole classes, groups, and small numbers of pupils self-isolating
Pupils staying at home due to local or national restrictions (like whole-school closure)

A Digital Education Platform can help schools meet the DfE's expectations (like setting work each day and gauging pupil progress).
The date for applying for government-funded support for a Microsoft or Google Digital Education Platform has recently been extended. Schools and responsible bodies currently have until the end of March 2021 to register with this programme and claim their grant.
More information about the benefits, implementation and use of secure cloud-based
Digital Education Platforms (and ways in which Scomis can help) can be found in last term's Special Edition Newsletter.

Click here to watch our Virtual Event "Delivering Blended Teaching & Learning" for more information.

Updated guidance on what schools and colleges must publish online

On the 12^th November DfE updated the guidance on what schools need to publish online.

There are two new sections:

Schools that do not have a website and
Coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium.

And a number of sections have been updated

Admission arrangements
Exams and assessment results
Curriculum
Pupil premium
Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium
PE and sport premium for primary schools
Equality objectives
Special educational needs and disability (SEND) information
Governors information and duties.

Read more here.

Scomis Events

Scomis Autumn Term Virtual Events

This term we have taken a very different approach to our User Groups. Instead of the normal half day events in venues around the country, we have been holding a series of free of charge, virtual events starting in early November and running until mid-December. There is still time to book onto our limited number of upcoming events, or you can see the recordings of previously held sessions. Click here for more information.

Scomis Examination Officers Network Conference October 2020

Delivered virtually to a screen near you!

Although the current Covid-19 situation meant we were unable to deliver our Exams Officer Conference face-to-face as in previous years, we wanted to ensure we provided examination officers with important key updates in the ever-changing environment of examinations in these uncertain times.

Once again, the conference this year attracted many delegates. Scomis is pleased to advise that the virtual conference enabled us to support delivery of our conference to a much larger audience - 147 examination officers signed up to the conference and we had on average 100 attending each session! It allowed us and our key speakers to communicate with a large, dispersed group delivering a range of content relevant to the role of examination officers and hopefully delivering added value for schools!

Our virtual conference allowed us to schedule sessions throughout the morning. The agenda was distributed prior to the event, providing delegates with the flexibility to plan attendance around the relevant sessions. Recording the sessions has enabled us to notify those unable to attend of the important key updates delivered on the day! If you were unable to attend but would like access to the recordings just get in touch with us on 01392 385300 or email scomis@devon.gov.uk.

We also did our bit to Save the Planet! We eliminated the use of any supplementary materials that cause paper waste, and instead made information available in the form of online resources. In addition, other aspects such as the removal of travel resulted in saving time and mileage costs further reducing the carbon footprint associated with a 'live' conference.

Looking forward, we are investigating how to deliver future events, if face-to-face is not possible, to enable delegate interaction to improve their experience and participation.

We really missed seeing you in person but we look forward to seeing you at next year's conference – virtual or live!

Scomis Service and Product Updates

One App to Drive Parental Engagement- Up to 30% Off

Whatever the current level of parental engagement in your school, Scomis provides solutions and products that can help you work with parents to improve pupil progress.
Don't miss out on our offer- Buy SIMS Parent, SIMS Pay and InTouch and get 30% off. *

SIMS Parental Engagement solution, powered by SIMS InTouch, SIMS Pay and SIMS Parent App provides a joined-up approach to enable schools to better engage with parents by giving them a clear view of their children's school life.

Features at a glance

Manage Payments- make items such as equipment, school uniform or school dinners for sale and collect e-payments.
Two-way communication- schools can communicate with parents and students through the app via text and email.
Encourage student learning- share achievements, behaviour reports, attendance and test results easily.
Keep on top of homework- teachers can set homework, attach supporting documents and collect submissions from students
School diary- make sure students are on time to lessons and extra curricular activities with their school diary available at their fingertips.
Manage extra-curricular activities- schedule activities that can be booked, and promote their adoption to parents and students.
Accurate data collection- comply with GDPR requirements and encourage parents to keep the information about their children up to date.

Find out how St Marys Primary School is improving efficiency and parental engagement through SIMS Parental Engagement Solution here.

To find out more or to see a demo, give your Account Manager a call on 01392 385300 or email at scomis@devon.gov.uk

*Must be a 3 year deal, orders must be placed before 31^st December 2020.

New Scomis Technical Support Services

"Do the IT systems you currently have allow you to achieve your vision for education and learning?"

Does your current support provider understand your needs?

Schools face unique challenges when it comes to the effective use of ICT, and it's important to use an IT Support provider who fully understands education.

Scomis is launching a new range of individual Technical Support services to remotely support schools with their IT systems - allowing school staff to focus on teaching and learning.

Our new range of technical support services can be used to support you with your cloud learning platforms as well as any traditional on-premise Windows networks.

Ideal for schools that have recently had learning platforms commissioned under the DfE funded scheme, and do not wish to have external support providers working onsite.

You can choose the technical support services you buy into on a "pick and mix" basis; only paying for support of the IT systems you specifically have.

Find out more about how we can help with our Technical Services here.

Data management and reporting challenges for Multi Academy Trusts

Data management is key to the smooth-running of schools and Multi-Academy Trusts.

You need to be able to make informed decisions quickly to manage a trust cohesively, and these insights are found in the data reports that come from your individual academies.

However, this process can be slowed down by inefficient reporting, or even just the complexity of gathering data from several individual schools.

The solution is here and available now!

Scomis Managed Reporting Service (MRS) is an automated, web-based data management add-on to your schools' existing SIMS software.

Combining key performance indicators with staff and student reports, MRS creates an accessible overview of core data affecting your schools.

The system gathers the required data overnight and collates it into a smart, simple dashboard ready to be accessed by your academy group the next day.

Our existing customers agree that the Managed Reporting Service has improved their efficiency and helped them to better manage the needs of their staff and students.

Find out more by watching a recording of our Virtual Event "Bringing Data Together to Improve Outcomes across a Multi Academy Trust" here.

Partner Updates

Cyber security tips and free resources for your setting

Review the 6 Cyber Aware steps from the National Cyber Security Centre and learn:

Why you should create a separate password for your email
Why you should create a strong password using three random words
How to save password in your browser
Why you should use two-factor authentication
Why you should update your devices
Why you should turn on 'backup'.

Read the guide here

Free resources from ThinkUKnow
Access resources that you can use which provide learning opportunities around:

The importance of protecting data
Keeping data private
Dealing with suspicious emails, phone calls and texts
Using smart devices safely

And much more in the ThinkUKnow Cyber Security Guide

Free webinar on 15^th December at 10.00am - Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020

Register for a free webinar from MyConcern and have the opportunity to:

Discuss the key changes made to Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020
Review the KCSiE guidance in detail
Find out what implementation is needed in your setting
Find out how to effectively manage these changes

Register here

Training Courses

School Census

STOP PRESS!
School CENSUS reminder – Thursday 21^st January 2021

Need some training?

Join our School Census webinar, where we will cover any changes to the data that is collected, any new requirements made by the DfE and any known issues. We will also show you how to run a dummy census to check that your data is correct in advance of the census collection.

7^th January 2021 - Webinar 10.30 to 11.30 Cost £51 (SLA Rate) per person

Book your place https://www.scomis.org/training/book-now/

Remember to make sure you are kept up to date, sign up to receive the Scomis CENSUS Bulletins wherever you see the below image.

Dear Grace

Which attendance codes should I be using in relation to Covid related absences?
Should I be using Codes 7, 8 & 9 in this academic year?

You should NOT be using codes 7, 8 & 9 for absences in attendance for this academic year.

The DfE guidance for which codes to use is found here :
Recording-attendance-in-relation-to-coronavirus-covid-19-during-the-2020-to-2021-academic-year