It is now a statutory requirement to record a reason for each exceptional circumstance (commonly known as an enforced closure). Therefore, to enable a reason to be recorded, the codes for these days must be entered via Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Exceptional Circumstances and not via the Edit Marks routine.

When pupil/students are unable to attend school due to the school being closed, schools in England can use the attendance code Y (unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances) or code # (planned whole or partial school closure) to record their attendance.

NOTE: For schools in Wales, only the Y code is used to record exceptional circumstances.

The following are examples of situations where the Y code should be used.

Unplanned closures where:

• all or some pupil/students are not required to attend school because the school site, or part of the school site, is closed due to unavoidable circumstances, e.g. the heating breaking down or flooding in certain classrooms.
• individuals or several pupil/students are unable to attend school due to one-off situations, e.g. failure of transport provided by the school or the local authority.

The following are examples of situations where the # code should be used (applicable to schools in England only).

Planned closures where:

• all or part of the school is being used as a polling station.
• there are occasional days when the pupil/students and staff are on holiday.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is advisable to ensure that there is an up-to-date backup of your SIMS database before proceeding.

1. Select Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Exceptional Circumstances to display the Find an Exceptional Circumstance browser.
2. Click the New button to display the Create an Exceptional Circumstance page.
3. Enter the date range for the exceptional circumstance.
4. Select the Group Type to which the exceptional circumstance applies then click the Search button to refresh the display.
5. To Include accepted applicants in the list of pupil/students available for selection, select the associated check box then click the Search button to refresh the display.
6. Select the required attendance Code from the drop-down list, i.e. Y or # (applicable to schools in England only).
7. Enter the reason for the exceptional circumstance in the Description field, e.g. school bus broke down, block B classrooms flooded, etc.
8. Highlight the pupil/students who are not attending school due to the exceptional circumstance.
9. Click the Apply button.

The applicable code is recorded against each of the selected pupil/students for the specified date range.

Editing Exceptional Circumstance Details:

1. Select Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Exceptional Circumstances to display the Find an Exceptional Circumstance browser.
2. Enter the required date range then click the Search button to display a list of exceptional circumstances that occur between the specified dates.
3. Double-click the required exceptional circumstance to display the View/Edit Exceptional Circumstances page. Alternatively, highlight the required exceptional circumstance then click the Delete button to delete the record permanently.
4. Edit the exceptional circumstance details, as required, and then click the Apply button. Care should be taken to ensure that the dates are correct. If incorrect dates are entered, lesson marks are lost and the only solution is to recover from backup.

For more information, please refer to the Managing Pupil/Student Attendance handbook or the Monitoring Session and Lesson Attendance handbook.

Applicable to schools in England and Wales

The following codes are overwritten by the exceptional circumstances Y code:

/, \, L, N, O and U codes.

Applicable to schools in England only

The following codes are overwritten by the exceptional circumstances # code:

/, \, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y and Z codes, i.e. all codes except D; this is to prevent double counting where a code is sent from the home school and another school.

Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Take Register

Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Edit Marks

As of the SIMS 2013 Autumn Release, the F code is no longer available for use in English Maintained schools. This is a requirement of the DfE.

If you are an Independent school and find that you are unable to enter the F code, a re-activation code patch is available (Patch ID 18934).

Marks cannot be edited during a period when a pupil/student is still on-roll. To resolve this issue, the pupil/student’s admission/leaving date should be changed to the date of the incorrect mark, so that it can be removed. The correct date(s) can then be re-instated and saved, at which point the Z codes are displayed, as expected.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Ensure that a backup of the SIMS database is taken before changing any admission or leaving dates.

Correcting the Before Date of Admission Codes

1. Select Focus | Pupil (or Student) | Pupil (or Student) Details, search for then select the required pupil/student.
2. In the Registration panel, make a note of the pupil/student’s Admission Date.
3. Change the pupil/student’s Admission Date to the date of the incorrect marks and then click the Save button.
4. Select Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Edit Marks then change the incorrect marks to missing marks (code –).
5. Return to the pupil/student’s record (Focus | Pupil (or Student) | Pupil (or Student) Details) then re-enter the correct Admission Date (i.e. the date you made a note of previously).
6. Click the Save button.

The missing marks before the date of admission are replaced by Z codes, as expected.

Correcting the After Date of Leaving Codes

1. Select Focus | Pupil (or Student) | Pupil (or Student) Details, search for then select the required pupil/student.
2. In the School History panel, make a note of the pupil/student’s Date of Leaving and Reason For Leaving.
3. Remove the pupil/student’s Date of Leaving and Reason For Leaving and then click the Save button.
4. Select Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Edit Marks then change the incorrect marks to missing marks (code –).
5. Return to the pupil/student’s record (Focus | Pupil (or Student) | Pupil (or Student) Details) then re-enter the correct Date of Leaving (i.e. the date you made a note of previously) and Reason For Leaving.
6. Click the Save button.

The missing marks after the date of leaving are replaced by Z codes, as expected.

Reports | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Individual Pupil (or Student) Reports | Registration Certificate Report

SIMS is designed to display the Priority 1 contact address (recorded via Focus | Pupil (or Student) | Pupil (or Student) | Details – Family/Home panel) on the Registration Certificate. The Priority 1 contact may be another family member, e.g. the pupil/student’s grandmother who does not live at the same address as the parents. In cases like this, the address you expect to see on the Registration Certificate (i.e. address of parent(s)) will be different.

NOTE: If more than one person has been assigned as the Priority 1 contact, e.g. mother and father, the person who was first recorded as being the Priority 1 contact is displayed.

Tools | Setups | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) Setup | Letter Definition

Reports | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Letters | Print Letters

The period of absence is a merge field (<<period_of_absence>>), which is populated if the pupil/student has a period of absence where the reason for absence is not known (code N).

The merge field does not pull through codes with a statistical meaning of Authorised Absence or Unauthorised Absence, only N codes.

Attendance/Lesson Monitor reports (Reports | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor)) display old registration groups if they still have pupil/student memberships.

To resolve this issue:

1. Select Focus | Pupil (or Student) | Pupil (or Student) Details then search for and select the required pupil/student.
2. In the Registration panel, click the History button to display the History Details dialog.
3. In the Scheme Name column, highlight the old registration group.
4. Click the Action button then select Remove from <reg group name> from the drop-down list.
5. Click the OK button to return to the Pupil (or Student) Details page.
6. Click the Save button.

When all memberships have been removed, the registration groups are no longer displayed on Attendance/Lesson Monitor reports.

1. Select Reports | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) and then the required report to display the selected report browser.
2. Specify the required date range, ensuring that the dates fall within the attendance year for which you want to run the report, e.g. if you are running a report for attendance year 2015/2016, the dates should be between September 2015 and August 2016.
3. Specify additional report criteria, if applicable, and then click the Print button.

Reports | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Selected Pupil (or Student) Reports | First Day of Absence Report

The First Day of Absence report includes pupil/students who were in school yesterday but who are marked N (no reason yet provided for absence) today.

However, the report also includes pupil/students who were absent yesterday but the reason for absence was known, e.g. holiday, illness, etc. and who are marked N today.

1. Select Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Take Register then select the required register.
2. Highlight the Name of the applicable pupil/student then select Behaviour Management from the Links panel (right-hand side of page) to display the Behaviour Management page for the selected pupil/student.
3. NOTE: Selecting Report Card from the Links panel displays an existing report card for that date, if applicable.
4. Navigate to the Report Card panel then click the New button.
5. Complete the report card details then click the Save button.

The selected pupil/student’s name is displayed in red and appended by a ® symbol on all saved session (and lesson) registers that fall within the report card date range.

A report card can also be recorded by selecting Focus | Behaviour Management | Report Card then clicking the New button. For more information, please refer to the Managing Pupil/Students handbook.

If an Exceptional Circumstance (code Y or #) has been created for the wrong date, it must be deleted and then recreated.

1. Select Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Exceptional Circumstances to display the Find an Exceptional Circumstance browser.
2. Ensure that the date range includes the date of the exceptional circumstance you wish to delete.
3. Click the Search button to display a list of all exceptional circumstances within the specified date range.
4. Highlight the required exceptional circumstance then click the Delete button. The deletion process may take a while, depending on the size of the database.
5. Add a new exceptional circumstance for the correct date by clicking the New button.
6. Complete the details and then click the Apply button.

The Next and Previous buttons in the Edit Marks browser are active only if more than one item is selected. For example:

1. Select Focus | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) | Edit Marks to display the Edit Marks browser.
2. Select Reg Group from the Group Type drop-down list and then click the Search button.
3. Highlight two or more of the registration groups listed. The Next button is now active.
4. Click the Next button or the Open button to display the Edit Marks page.
5. The Previous Week and Next Week buttons are active.

Applicable to Windows® Internet Explorer users only

NOTE: If you use an alternative Internet browser, please consult its related online help.

1. Select Reports | Attendance (or Lesson Monitor) and then select the required report.
2. Specify the required report criteria.
3. Click the Print button to display the Run a Screen Based Report dialog.
4. Ensure that the Output to a web browser radio button is selected then click the OK button to display the report in Internet Explorer.
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10. Select File | Print to print the report.
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To ensure that the report header and footer is blank:

1. Select File | Page setup to display the Page Setup dialog.
2. In the Header and Footers panel, ensure that Empty is selected from each drop-down list (three options in the Header section and three options in the Footer section).
3. Click the OK button.

The updated handbooks dealing with attendance and lesson registration are published at the time of the SIMS Release, if applicable. They are available via the SIMS Documentation Centre, which is accessed by clicking the Documentation button on the SIMS Home Page (top right-hand side of the page) and via the My Account website (https://myaccount.capita-cs.co.uk).

Search tips:

• Select the product you need help with to filter search results (My Account only)
• Surround a phrase with "double quotes" to find that exact phrase
• Prefix words with + to make them essential, e.g. +behaviour +management.
• Prefix words with - to exclude them from results.

For example, if you are searching for the Managing Pupil/Student Attendance handbook version 7.164, search for “attendance” +handbook +7.164.

Applicable to schools that have previously used Lesson Monitor but have since de-activated the Lesson Monitor licence.

The following error message is displayed when you attempt to re-apply the Lesson Monitor licence:

Patch has already been applied

To resolve this issue, a site-specific patch needs to be created. Please contact your Local Support Team for assistance.

The following steps must be completed before the Save button is active when using the Session and Lessons option (via Focus | Lesson Monitor | Edit Marks).

If the school timetable cycle has not changed in the new academic year

NOTE: If the school timetable has already been applied, skip to step 3.

1. Select Tools | Academic Management | Set Academic Year then ensure that the new academic year is set to Current.
2. Select Tools | Academic Management | Apply Timetable then confirm that you wish to continue by clicking the Yes button to display the Map calendar date to timetable days dialog.
3. IMPORTANT NOTE: It is advisable to take a backup of your data before using the Apply Timetable routine because attendance marks and/or cover information can be lost if the timetable is applied for a date range that already has marks/cover information.
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12. NOTE: Occasionally, the Apply Timetable routine needs to be refreshed. To do this, map a different day to the start of the academic year, click the Apply button then click the Save button. Select Tools | Academic Management | Apply Timetable again then assign the correct day. Click the Save button to refresh the timetable.
13. Select Tools | Setups | Lesson Monitor Options | Lesson Monitor Setup to display the Lesson Monitor Setup page.
14. In the Registration and Periods Pattern panel, ensure that the applicable timetable model has been selected and that the registration and period pattern has been set up correctly.
15. NOTE: Steps 3 and 4 can now be carried out prior to the start of the new academic year. If doing so, ensure that the current academic year setting (via Tools | Academic Management | Set Academic Year) is changed back to the default once the steps have been completed.

If the school timetable cycle has changed in the new academic year

The ability to select the required timetable model (via Tools | Setups | Lesson Monitor Options | Lesson Monitor Setup) means that Lesson Monitor can be fully set up in preparation for the new academic year.

Ensure that the correct timetable model effective date (as defined in Nova) is selected from the Timetable Models drop-down list.

Carry out steps 1 to 4 to ensure that Lesson Monitor is fully set up for the new timetable cycle. For more information, please refer to the Monitoring Session and Lesson Attendance handbook.

1. Locate the first day of the new academic year on which the students are expected to attend (or the first day that you know is affected by the greyed out Save button).
2. Ensure that Full is displayed in the Status column and that the Timetable day column displays the required day. To edit the display, click in the column of the applicable row and then select as required from the drop-down list.
3. If long term mapping needs to be performed, select from the 03/09/20XX maps to Timetable day drop-down list then click the Apply button.
4. Click the Save button.
5. Select Focus | Lesson Monitor | Edit Marks. The lessons and sessions should now be displayed correctly.

All registration periods must be defined as non-teaching periods in Nova.

For example:

If AM Registration period is created as a teaching period in Nova, it is considered as period 1.

Therefore, all the classes will move one period forward. For example:

• Registration is then Period 1
• Period 1 is then Period 2
• Period 2 is then Period 3
• Period 3 is then Period 4.

By creating a registration period as a type of teaching class, SIMS counts it as a teaching period. Therefore, when searching for period 3, SIMS displays all period 4 classes, due to the classes being moved forward.

To resolve this issue, the Registration period must be defined as a Non-Teaching period in Nova and the data re imported into SIMS.

For more information, please refer to the Getting Started with Nova handbook.

Routines | Lesson Monitor | Resolve Conflicting Lesson Marks

When a student has code N (no reason yet provided for absence) and code O (unauthorised absence) entered in the same cell, SIMS does not consider it a genuine conflict because both codes mean that the student is absent.

Therefore, the conflict is not displayed in the Resolve Conflicting Lesson Marks routine.

Where a conflict between a present code and a reason for absence code exists, e.g. if a class is occupying two classrooms and is being taken by two teachers, one teacher might record a mark as / and the other teacher might record a mark as N, it is not classed as a genuine conflict because both marks are true. This type of conflict should be resolved via the Edit Marks routine and therefore it is not displayed in Routines | Lesson Monitor | Resolve Conflicting Lesson Marks.

1. Select Focus | Lesson Monitor | Edit Marks then search for and select the required register. Any conflicting marks are highlighted in yellow.
2. Hover the mouse over the highlighted cell to view the details of the conflicting marks. Alternatively, right-click the highlighted cell then select Display Conflicting Marks from the drop-down list to display the Conflicting Marks dialog, where the associated Room is also shown.
3. To edit a conflicting mark, highlighting it then enter the required mark using the keyboard.

Where more serious conflict exists, e.g. an absent from school due to a medical appointment (code M) and a present mark (either \ or /), the conflict is displayed in Routines | Lesson Monitor | Resolve Conflicting Lesson Marks.