Summer Census

Before running the Summer Census you must have upgraded to the SIMS Spring Release 7.204.

Once upgraded, apply the SIMS Spring 2022 – Consolidated Workstation Patch 2 – Deploy Fileset and Manifest Fileset Import Fix (v.1.20.109.1) which has now been released to all schools via Solus along with Fileset 2101. You must import Fileset 2101 AFTER applying Consolidated Workstation patch 2.  Fileset are also available on our customer portal via my.www.schoolicts.co.uk with instructions on how to download and apply. Please check that you have applied the latest version of the Fileset before submitting your school census.

Once you have applied the Spring Release upgrade, Consolidated Workstation Patch 2 and Fileset 2101 you should then apply Consolidated Database Patch 1 (27118) which has been released to all schools via SOLUS. Please contact us if you need any assistance.

Consolidated Database Patch 1 for SIMS Spring Release 2022 (Patch 27118) resolves the following issues: –

• Issue i: Where a pupil with Alternative Provision data to be included in the census has left and then returned to the school, that pupil is being added to the census return twice; once as a leaver and once as an on roll pupil.  (England)
• Solution: This patch will ensure that the pupil will be added to the census as an on roll pupil.
• Issue ii: Where a pupil with Funding and Monitoring data to be included in the census has left and then readmitted to the school, Tools | Statutory Returns Tools | Update Funding and Monitoring is treating the pupil as a leaver and is not allowing 16-19 Tuition Fund to be ticked.  (England)
• Solution: This patch will ensure that the Tools | Statutory Returns Tools | Update Funding and Monitoring will treat a pupil who left and was then readmitted as on roll and allow 16-19 Tuition Fund to be ticked.
• Issue iii: Where a pupil left in the relevant period and then came back to the schools as a guest, the census application is correct in that it includes them in the leavers section of the census file, but is incorrect in not including the pupil’s leaving data.  This issue will trigger validation error 1920 (Pupils leaving date is either missing, before entry date or equal to or after census date).  (England)
• Solution: This patch will ensure that a leaving date is included for leavers who came back to the school as guests and will mean that validation error 1920 is no longer triggered by the issue.
• Issue iv: Where a school has School Type and School Governance set to ‘Academies’, any Alternative Provision data for a dual registered pupil will not be included in the census return file.  (England)
• Solution: This patch will ensure that any Alternative Provision data for a dual registered pupil will be included in the return file where a school has School Type and School Governance set to ‘Academies’.  (England)
• Issue v: Where a Funding and Monitoring record exists for a leaver, that Funding and Monitoring record is being used as a reason for including the leaver in the census return file, regardless of the leavers DOL meaning that the Funding and Monitoring data will not be reported in the census return file.  The inclusion of a leaver that has no data to justify their inclusion will trigger validation query 1925Q.  (England)
• Solution: This patch will ensure that Funding and Monitoring data for a pupil who left before 01/08/2021 is ignored when the software decides which leavers to include in the census return file
• Issue vi: The WG (Welsh Government) has cancelled the Attendance Collection 2022, so a message is needed to warn schools that they should not provide the return to the WG.  (Wales)
• Solution: This patch will ensure that a suitable warning message is written to the new Communications box in the browser pain of the Attendance Collection 2022 application

Routines | Statutory Returns | Attendance Collection

• Issue vii: Where a school hasn’t entered a link to their support unit’s website in the Website field of the Support Unit Details panel of Focus | School | School Details, the Communications box in statutory returns is not including the Support Unit link. It would be better for the Communication box to be included in these circumstances and when clicked for a message to appear to indicate how the link can be pointed at the school’s SIMS support unit.
• Solution: The patch will ensure that where the Website field has been left empty the following default link is added.  Clicking on the Support Unit link in the statutory return application will open a newsfeed which will include a description of how the Support Unit link can be ‘pointed’ at the school’s SIMS Support Unit website.

We will send out a further campaign if there any additional updates available. However, all latest information can also be found on the School ICT website: https://www.schoolicts.co.uk/latest-news/

Kind regards,
School ICT Services.