SIMS Newsletter - December 2019 - Issue 12

Please click here to access the December 2019 issue of the SIMS Newsletter.

School Census Spring 2020 Return - Known Issue: Query 1849

Please see below, advice emailed to schools in relation to Validation Query 1849 which is a known issue on the School Census Spring 2020 return:

Dear Colleague

This is to advise that the incorrect generation of Validation Query 1849 – Please check: Pupil aged 3 or 4 eligible for early years pupil premium and recorded as post looked after arrangements would be expected to have reason ‘EO’ or ‘EB’ is a known issue with the school census spring 2020 return. 

Fileset 1404 is due to be released imminently to resolve the incorrect generation of this query, however, Capita have provided the following explanation/advice:

“Unfortunately, the DFE did not fully correct validation query 1849 in version 1.2 of its validation file, which we made available via Fileset 1403.  However, the DFE has provided version 1.3 of its validation to complete the correction of query 1849.  This gives two ways forward for schools who are receiving the query after applying fileset 1403.

1. They can ignore the query on the grounds that it will not occur when their return is uploaded to COLLECT.
2. They can wait for Fileset 1404, which includes version 1.3 of the DfE validation, to be made available.”

At this late stage schools can choose either option but will still need to create a new census return on Thursday 16^th January.

In the meantime, we plan to deploy this new fileset to all our schools as soon as it is available.

Best regards

SimsforSchools Support Team

Spring 2020 School Census - 16th January 2020

Please login and select the School Census Category to download the relevant preparation/production notes for your school.

Spring 2020 School Census - Selected Time for Class Information

Selected Time for Class Information

If different parts of the school use different timetable structures, then systems should allow the school to return class information for the timetable structure that applies to Key Stage 1. For example, if lunch is at 12:00 hours for pupils following a primary timetable but at 13:00 hours for pupils following a secondary timetable, then the end of morning school should be taken to be 12:00 hours and not 13:00 hours.

If the selected time is not appropriate to the school timetable, (for example, if the selected time is when the whole school or a large proportion of the school is in an assembly with the head teacher) schools should choose an hour / period that reflects a ‘normal’ class situation that applies at the selected time each Thursday of the term.

SIMS User Group Meeting Presentation – December 2019

Please click here to view the presentation slides from the SIMS User Group meeting held on 5th December 2019.

Pupil Premium Audit for Local Authority

Please click here to access step by step instructions for producing a report with the required information for the local authority Pupil Premium Audit.

Admin Officers Network Meeting - SIMS Presentation - 17th October 2019

Please click here to view the SIMS presentation slides from the Admin Officers Network Meeting held on 17th October 2019.

Local Authority Monthly Return

Please see below the routine for producing the required information for the whole school session attendance section of the monthly return spreadsheet:

Attendance whole school: from start of academic year to current month

This can be obtained via route: Reports | Attendance | Group Reports | Group Analysis by Attendance Category Report then:

1. Enter the required date range
2. Select Group Type of Whole School
3. Click Search
4. Click Print and OK

School Census Collection Dates - Academic Year 2019/2020

School Census collection dates for academic year 2019/2020 are:

Autumn Term:   Thursday 3^rd October 2019

Spring Term:     Thursday 16^th January 2020

Summer Term:  Thursday 21^st May 2020

Patches to delete data no longer collected by DfE Census

As the DfE census will no longer collect Proficiency in English, Pupil Country of Birth or Pupil Nationality data, Capita SIMS have released three patches to delete data that is no longer collected from school databases:

• Proficiency in English Patch - Deletes all records for Proficiency in English information for all past, present and future students. Where a student has multiple proficiency entries, the patch will remove all instances of this.
• National Identity Patch - Deletes the National Identity for all past, present and future students.
• Country of Birth/Nationality Patch - Deletes the Country of Birth and where present the Nationality (actually called Nation inside the expanded Nationality and Passport Details record, only where passport details are blank) for all past, present and future students.

  If you would like any or all of these patches to be applied to your school Sims database, please contact the SimsforSchools team via email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.