IMPORTANT: Update from Department of Education for Attendance Recording For Schools Reopening

The Department of Education has provided an update on recording attendance for the wider reopening of schools during the COVID-19 outbreak. The following below is a summary of the codes to use based on the guidance provided:

Pupils who are not eligible to attend a session

Code X - for any pupil who is not in an eligible year group or priority group (children of critical workers and vulnerable children). This may also include children who are in an eligible year group but are not required in school for a specific session, e.g. Year 10 and Year 12 pupils who are not among the quarter of pupils expected in school at a given time. (Temporarily, Code X can be used for compulsory school age children – usually it is only used where non-compulsory school age children are not expected to attend.)

Pupils who are eligible to attend a session but do not (This includes children in eligible year groups, children of critical workers and vulnerable children)

Code Y - where a pupil is shielding, self-isolating, or the pupil has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and their risk assessment says that their needs cannot be safely met in school. (Temporarily, code Y can be used where a pupil is prevented from attending school due to following government guidance on coronavirus). To help you to complete the educational setting status form, you should note whether the absence is due to shielding or isolation.*

Code I   - where a pupil cannot attend school due to illness, as would normally be the case, the pupil should be recorded as (illness). To help you to complete the educational setting status form, you should note whether the illness involves coronavirus symptoms.

Code C - where a pupil does not attend school - despite being eligible and is not shielding, self-isolating, unable to attend due to illness, nor has an EHCP risk assessment saying their needs cannot be safely met at school where no other authorised absence code is appropriate.

At this time, all absence should be classed as authorised.

Pupils who are attending other schools

Code D - where a pupil is attending another school at which they are registered (for example, a pupil referral unit (PRU)) and is not expected to attend the session in question.

Code B  - where a pupil is attending a host school on a temporary basis because their home school cannot accommodate them. The pupil will and should not be registered at the host school. The host school does not need to add this child to their attendance register but should keep a record of their attendance for safeguarding purposes and include the child in their daily totals for the educational setting status form. Arrangements should be in place whereby the host school notifies the home school of any absences.

Where other specific authorised absence and attendance codes are more appropriate schools may want to use these as usual.

The Department of Education guidance for attendance recording is available here . Schools are still required to submit a daily attendance using the Educational Setting Status form.

* The SIMS 7 Summer Release 2020 will make it possible for schools to enter the Y code on an individual pupil session basis i.e. Focus | Attendance/Lesson Monitor | Take Register/Edit Marks as well as via Focus | Attendance/Lesson Monitor | Exceptional Circumstances. However Capita SIMS has provided a patch, Patch 25829, to add this new feature in the current version of SIMS 7. We have released this patch to all our supported schools, but if you are unable to add Y codes via Take Register or Edit Marks please inform us and we can investigate further.

SECONDARY SCHOOLS - On Sunday 24^th May the Prime Minister announced, subject to the government’s 5 tests being met, that secondary schools should plan on the basis that from the week commencing Monday 15^th June, to invite Year 10 and 12 pupils (Years 10 and 11 for alternative provision schools) back into school for some face-to-face support with their teachers. The attendance codes mentioned above will apply from Monday 15^th June onwards. Further guidance for secondary schools can found here.  

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate in contacting our helpdesk.

GOV.UK Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak including attendance - Updated 18/05/2020

Please click on the link below to access DfE guidance regarding attendance for schools during the coronavirus outbreak:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures/guidance-for-schools-about-temporarily-closing#attendance

GOV.UK Actions for education and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020

Please click on the link below to access DfE guidance regarding the planned phased re-opening of educational settings from 01 June 2020.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020/actions-for-education-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020

Hexham FMS Training

Click here to download your FMS Training Booklet for Day 1.  Please note the document is password protected and has been sent to you via email.

Primary End of Year Procedures - 2020

Please login and go to the End of Year Procedures category to download the Primary guidelines for transitioning from the 2019/20 to the 2020/21 academic year.

Secondary End of Year Procedures - 2020

Please login and go to the Secondary Schools category to download the Secondary guidelines for transitioning from the 2019/20 to the 2020/21 academic year.

IMPORTANT: School Census Summer 2020 Cancelled

The Department for Education have confirmed that the School Census Summer 2020 return has been cancelled. 

The full list of data collections and services cancelled, paused, deferred, and those that will continue for this academic year are available here: Reducing Burdens On Educational & Care Settings

The following additional information is provided by Capita SIMS via the Department of Education:

At this point the Department for Education’s reduction of burdens is for the period until the end of June 2020.  The Department for Education has stated that a decision on its data collections which are not due to go live until later in the year, such as School Census Autumn 2020, will be made in due course.

If you have any further queries please contact our helpdesk on the contact details below.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): DFE free school meals guidance for schools

Please click on the following link to access DfE guidance for schools regarding free school meals during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools

Attendance Code Entry & Reports for use during Schools Closure - IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

You may find the following reports useful for entering/producing attendance data during the schools closure:

Bulk Entry of # Code for Specific Pupils/Students

Please click here for step by step instructions for bulk entry of the # code in registers for specific pupils/students.

User Defined Group for Key Worker Pupils/Students

Please click here to access step by step instructions for producing a user defined group to be used for entering attendance marks specifically for key worker pupils/students via the Edit Marks routine.

Chosen Code Report

Please click here for step by step instructions to produce a report to show all pupils/students in school on a specific date or date range.

SimsforSchools Arrangements during Schools Closure

In light of the decision to close schools in England from Monday 23rd March 2020 for the foreseeable future, we wanted to update our customers on our plans to ensure we continue to provide as normal a service as possible:

Operating Hours

The SimsforSchools helpdesk will be available as usual between the hours of 8am - 5pm during term time and from 9am - 4pm during school holidays.  Our contact details remain unchanged as below.

SIMS Courses/User Group Meetings

All courses and User Group meetings have been suspended with immediate effect.  We will provide an update regarding the availability of notes for the Summer School Census and End of Year Procedures in line with any directives issued by the DfE.

In the meantime, we hope that you all stay safe during these uncertain times.