Bryan Slater

Director of Education

Distribution

To All Schools

This document needs your action as detailed below:

ACTION

Title

Electronic transfer of data between schools and the LEA & PLASC 2002 (see bottom of page)

Summary of contents
  • Where we are on the electronic storage and transfer of pupil level data between schools and the LEA.
  • Support and preparation for PLASC 2002 (the former DfES Form 7 return).

Associated documents

DfES Circular 0031/Feb 2001 PLASC

DfES Circular due for publication September 2001

Web Site Support: http://www.esinet.norfolk.gov.uk (Click on September 2001 return)

Date

September 2001

Summary of action required

  • Ensure all relevant staff are aware of change over from Form 7 to PLASC and the new requirements.
  • Ensure your electronic pupil level data is up to date and has been tested.

To be completed by

Testing to be completed by 19th October 2001.

PLASC return 17th January 2002

LEA Contact

Electronic data transfer: Paul Venn

PLASC 2002:

Jane Greenwood

(

01603 222420

01603 222352

E-mail address

paul.venn.edu@norfolk.gov.uk

jane.greenwood.edu@norfolk.gov.uk

Norfolk Self Review reference

1. How high are standards?

5. How well does the school care for its pupils?

7. How well is the school led and managed?

8. How well does the school use its resources?

Document reference

MI 155/01

 

 

This Management Information sheet may be found on the INTRANET at the following address: http://www.esinet.norfolk.gov.uk/cadmin/misheet/default.asp

Electronic transfer of data between schools and the LEA & PLASC 2002

The project to use Phoenix Gold for school based management information software and the development of a data warehouse within the LEA are key parts of the larger picture to reduce bureaucracy in schools. The final piece of the jigsaw, secure data transfer (SDT) - a product called Anycomms supplied by AVCO Systems Ltd, has been successfully trialled recently. I am grateful to colleagues in schools in the Thetford area who have worked over the summer break to support the development. This final step means that data held by schools and the LEA can be shared electronically, easily, securely and with the minimum of fuss. We are now in a position to roll SDT out to all schools and really start to make inroads on bureaucracy. More detail to follow but the diagram below summarises the approach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this new approach to work requires Phoenix to be up to date and accurate. It is essential that Phoenix is at the heart of managing pupil and other data, in all schools. Ensuring your data is accurate and up to date will therefore be of mutual benefit. We know from our experiences of managing the January, May and September returns that a number of schools may need support with this. If you feel support would be of benefit to you please contact my colleagues in ICT Solutions on (0845 3033003. It is important that your data is accurate, up to date and is kept up to date if we are all to make the most of this resource. For example, the allocation of pupil email addresses is 100% dependent on accurate and complete pupil data.

 

The Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) January 2002

You will be aware from previous correspondence that we are anxious you are able to successfully submit your PLASC data electronically in January 2002. The DfES has already issued some guidance (Feb 2001) about PLASC 2002 and more is due this month. The guidance spells out the data you will need to return electronically as part of the PLASC exercise. Please be assured that we have worked with Phoenix to ensure the software will do all of this for you.

PLASC replaces Form 7 from January 2002. It will be a statutory requirement that the data is prepared and submitted electronically. We hope to be able to do this computer to computer as in the diagram on the previous page i.e. not using floppy discs. Your PLASC data will be used instead of Form 7 for a number of purposes including the calculation of the Age Weighted Pupil element of your LMS Budget.

To trial the PLASC process we have asked you to submit PLASC ‘dry run’ returns in January and May 2001. There is a further opportunity to do this, this month. The trial so far has shown up a number of problems some at the school end, some with the software and some at the LEA end. We have worked on two of these areas to iron out the bugs, namely the software and LEA ends. However we are aware that to date 59 schools have still not tried to produce a PLASC return. This month provides the final realistic opportunity for you to try out the process. So, if you have not already tried submitting a PLASC return please do so in September, it is your last chance.

On checking the PLASC returns that have been received to date, we note that very few are totally accurate. In some cases this is for known reasons that have now been resolved and should therefore not cause further problem. This month’s release of updated Phoenix Gold software should deal with these issues. Nevertheless we appreciate you may want reassurance that although you have successfully produced a PLASC return, you would like to produce one that is totally accurate. This now has a new importance as, with effect from January 2002, the DfES has changed its accuracy tolerance from up to 10 errors to 0 errors! Please use the opportunity to submit a PLASC return in September as a final check of your systems. Further information on the September return and PLASC dry run is to follow.

Where we have found significant school based problems with the data submitted via the PLASC dry runs we have, or will be, contacting the individual schools concerned. We will use the returns received in September to focus any further support that may be needed. We are committing significant resources to this new process so that we can all do a good job in January. I hope that you will make the most of this opportunity to try out and check your own processes and in particular, the quality of your data. Additional information and support is available from our website at http://www.esinet.norfolk.gov.uk (Click on September 2001 return).

The timetable of events leading up to PLASC 2002

Thank you in anticipation of your work in this area. I know from experience that time invested now will repay itself time and time again in the long term. This is the start of a new way of working and sharing data. We will, no doubt, have some teething problems but years of planning, training and investment have led to this point. We owe it to ourselves to make the most of it.