Welcome back! We hope that you had a lovely summer and that September hasn't been too manic for you so far.

We are delighted to announce that the following schools have joined Scomis this term. We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all staff:

Clevedon School - North Somerset
Yeo Moor Primary - North Somerset
Tickenham Primary - North Somerset
Northgate Primary - Somerset
Farmborough Primary - Somerset
Falmouth - Cornwall
Trenance - Cornwall

Successful Capita SIMS Accreditation

It is with great pleasure that we confirm that we have yet again secured accreditation from Capita to continue supporting and developing SIMS and FMS products throughout all our schools for the next 2 years.
 
As you know, we require at least 40% of our schools to return the survey, which is quite an undertaking over 700 plus schools.  We achieved 43% survey returns across our 22 Local Authorities with a week to spare so we wish to express our gratitude to all the schools who took the time to complete the survey and leave us such amazing comments.  We also fed back the many comments received regarding the marketing elements of the survey questions to Capita as this was raised at every User Group and via the Helpdesk during the process.
 
The assessor from Capita said the following:
 
"Congratulations to both you and the team; please pass on my thanks to everyone who participated in the accreditation process. I appreciate that significant effort is required and hope that as a team you feel you have benefited from the exercise.  Certainly your schools appreciate the quality of service that you provide."
 
He went on to add:
 
"Your overall scores of 4.75 for Value for Money and 5.18 for Overall Quality indicate you offer Good Value for Money and a Very Good Level of Service. The majority of all scores across both phases are in the Very Good range for which your team should be extremely proud. Please accept Capita's thanks for the quality of service you are offering to schools & we look forward to celebrating the success with you."

The winner of the tablet prize draw for completing the survey was Helen Dinham from Mount Wise Primary School and we will be inviting her and her school to attend the official Presentation Day which will be held in the Winter Term.    

EXAMINATION OFFICERS CONFERENCE 2017
By popular demand we are pleased to announce we will be running the Examination Officers Conference again for 2017.

Capita, OCR, WJEC and Pearson will be attending and delivering 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 16th November 2017 at Buckfast Abbey, Devon, TQ11 0EG.

The cost of the conference will be:
SLA Schools: £40
Non SLA Schools: £50

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 2017 as the subject title.

Are you thinking of becoming an Academy? Are you unsure of how this will affect your school's systems and processes? Perhaps you'd like advice and guidance on how to make the most of this opportunity to have economic, efficient and effective ICT systems in place? What ever your challenge, Scomis can help.

To find out more visit our website

3 Steps to using SIMS for School Improvement
(it won't cost you a penny more and in fact you could even save money!*)

In the present financial climate, there needs to be a focus on value for money when looking at software purchases or subscriptions to services.
 
At Scomis our experience of working in partnership with schools for over thirty years, has taught us that the majority of schools do not make full use of their SIMS software, but often purchase additional third-party products to replicate functionality that is already in SIMS.
 
Click here and we will briefly take you through some key areas in SIMS where our experience demonstrates that many schools could be achieving better value for money.

Instagram accounts hacked!
 
On the 30th August 2017 Instagram announced that a flaw in its systems had revealed telephone numbers and email addresses of a number of 'celebrities'. Instagram warned its verified users to 'be extra vigilant' about unexpected phone calls, texts and emails.
 
Childnet's blog of the 4th September reveals that the number of hacks could be much higher than initially thought, with an estimated 6 million account details being leaked.
What should you do if you think your account has been hacked?

Instagram advice is as follows:

• Report any unusual activity through the reporting tools
• Access the tools by selecting the "…" menu from your profile
• Select 'Report a Problem'
• Select 'Spam or Abuse'

 
How can you make sure that your Instagram is as secure as it can be?

• Keep your password strong and unique
• Make your password memorable
• Never share your password
• Use a secure email address
• Think about what you allow apps to access on your device.

Read Childnet's recommendations in full at:
http://www.childnet.com/blog/keeping-your-account-secure-on-instagram
 
New Online Safety Guides for key professionals working with children now available
 
Find out more and review the guides at:
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre
 
Have you heard of the free social media app - Sarahah?
(Recommended Age 17+)

Free social media app which will link to Snapchat account or post a link on other social media sites.
Read Commonsensemedia's review and watch the video
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/sarahah
 
 
This article is an example of the type of advice and guidance Scomis provides to schools that subscribe to Scomis Online Safety Essentials Service. To find out more please contact us on 01392 385300 or email scomis@devon.gov.uk
 
 
 

Remember GDPR is coming!
 
Do you know that when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25th May 2018 it will entirely replace the current Data Protection legislation?
 
Do you know that all staff who have access to personal data should receive compulsory data protection training?
 
Do you have procedures in place to deal with and respond to Data Breaches within 72 hours?
 
Do you know that you will have to update and review your Data Security policies?
 
Do you know that you should be preparing for GDPR NOW?
 
You can 'Self-Assess' to check your compliance now!
The ICO has produced a Data Protection self assessment toolkit. The 7 checklists in the toolkit will help you to assess your compliance with the current Data Protection Act and find out what you need to do.

• Data protection assurance
• Getting ready for GDPR
• Information security
• Direct marketing
• Records management
• Data sharing and subject access
• CCTV

 
To access the 7 checklists visit:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/improve-your-practices/data-protection-self-assessment-toolkit/
 
Scomis is working in partnership with Groupcall who have designed a training course specifically to help schools come to terms with, and prepare for, the compliance challenges of GDPR.
 
These instructor-led, one-day sessions will help you understand GDPR, its impact and requirements, steps you need to take to ensure you are compliant, workshop sessions to help you apply the theory to your own organisation.
To find out more please visit: https://www.groupcall.com/gdpr-training

Groupcall have also put together a very useful document specifically for schools that can be accessed here.

Does your school have a School Records Management Policy?
 
Records Management Toolkit for Schools
The Information Management Toolkit for Schools has been created to assist schools to manage their information in line with the current legislative frameworks. Designed as guidance the toolkit is available to schools free of charge in pdf format.
Find out more here.

Scomis provides a variety of training and consultancy services to the professionals in supported schools. Our training services can be delivered in a number of ways:

• Formally delivered courses
• Face to face on-site in your school
• Remote one to one sessions
• Webinars
• Termly User Group Meetings

Visit our website for the current timetable of scheduled courses.
 
If you would like to book a place on any course not listed on the timetable, please contact Scomis@devon.gov.uk and we will schedule to meet demand.
 

The dates for our Autumn term User Groups are as follows so make sure you save the date.

28th November 2017 - North Somerset
29th November 2017 - Portsmouth
30th November 2017 - Oxfordshire
6th December 2017 - Devon Combined
7th December 2017 - Cornwall
12th December 2017 - Virtual User Group

To find out more about our Virtual User Group click here

Invitations will be sent out soon however if you want to book on now please contact Scomis on 01392 385300 or scomis@devon.gov.uk

 
Dear Fleur,
 
A list of all Census errors and queries can be found on our bulletin at https://www.scomis.org/autumn-2017-school-census/
This also includes all of the latest guidance and known errors.
 
From Grace