School Workforce Census Pilot

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School Workforce Census Pilot

• Max Winters LA Census Co-ordinator

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Why I am Here

• Max,
• Helen Marshall from DfES rang. She would like you
  to do a short input on 7th November about the way
  we are approaching the School Workforce Census.
  Can you ring her by lunchtime on Tuesday to talk
  it through with her? I said I was sure you
  wouldn't mind!
• 01325 392240 helen.marshall_at_dfes.gsi.gov.uk
• Warren Powell
• Research and Statistics Manager
• Children and Young People Services
• Bromley Local Authority
• 0208 313 4043
• warren.powell_at_bromley.gov.uk

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School Workforce Census

• Situation with schools in Bromley
• 100 Schools including 20 Foundation
• All schools briefed over the last year
• Only the usual groans about workload
• But
• Success of Plasc and hatred of 618g are the key
  factors in getting schools on board

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What has made this more complex

• Legislation
• Market testing
• Outsourcing
• Bought services
• Service level agreements
• Devolved budgets

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Current situation in schools

• Schools use four different software houses.
• Software support is through seven different
  providers.
• Schools purchase HR consultancy from a variety of
  sources.
• Schools can purchase a different level of support
  across these.

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Current situation centrally

• HR use Northgate
• Payroll is through Liberata
• CYP use EMS but not Personnel

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The Plan for 2006/07

• Consultancy visits to a range of schools
• Select pilot schools
• 2 Secondary
• 2 Primary
• 1 Special
• Training in P7 for these schools
• Devolve remainder of funding to schools for
  updating MIS and training

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Moving into 2007/08

• Fund reports out of Northgate and Payroll for
  centrally employed staff
• Consultancy support to the five schools for
  initial trial exports
• Guidance notes prepared for other schools
• Subsidise training

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Issues to overcome

• HR
• Identify a dedicated resource to carry out 618g
  for 2007, 2008 and 2009
• Identify a resource for ongoing HR advice
  throughout implementation
• Identify a resource within HR to carry out LA
  return of centrally employed staff
• Inclusion of consultancy on SWF as part of HRs
  SLA with schools

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Other issues

• Roll out a programme of training for schools in
  Sims Personnel 7
• How will we manage the SWF Census alongside the
  School Census

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What would help

• DfES dealing with software suppliers to create
  central reports
• Knowing when these will be ready for testing
• Communications to Chief Officer to reinforce
  importance
• A table showing LAs and their different providers

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The way forward

• We know where we need to be in 2009
• We have a plan now but we need to be flexible
• We learnt a lot from implementing Plasc
• Schools understand data completeness

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School Workforce Census

• For further information, please contact
• max.winters_at_bromley.gov.uk

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Southamptons Story

• Jeanette Miller
• Project co-ordinator SWF Census

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The Story so far

• Filling in the gaps
• What we are doing
• Next step
• Overall aim

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Filling in the gaps

• Assessment at the last pilot identified gaps
• Formalising processes
• Appointing Project Sponsor / Project
  co-ordinator
• Hijacking
• Consultative group with stakeholders
• Schools Headteacher and support staff, Human
  Resources, Payroll, ISU Project coordinator,
  Audit, Schools support IMS, Schools support
  finance
• Terms of reference

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What are we doing?

• Options for spending the standards fund
• Costings for training our schools on P7
• Schools IMS team costing the training
• Trialling it with our pilot schools and measure
  the impact on the schools ability to make a
  school workforce census return from this training
  Did it help?
• Temps for retrieving data from the schools staff
  HR files
• IT costs

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What are we doing?

• HR Information Officer liaising with their
  software supplier
• Project already going on with another Authority
  looking at interface between SIMS and HR software
  
• Could AVCO assist in any way?
• Director of Childrens services would like to
  hold the same information on all directorate
  staff
• Finance 3 yr budget software how does this fit
  into the picture
• Ensuring that any changes in business processes
  fit into the Financial Management Standard In
  Schools (FMSiS)

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What are we doing?

• Communication
• Every opportunity mentioning school workforce
  census
• Admin Officers Conference
• SIMS seminars
• Newsletter going out to schools
• ISU Portal
• Clear in terms of reference that those groups
  represented will feed back to their peers
• Feedback to Children's Services Learning
  Management Team

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What are we doing?

• Waiting for the DfES
• Data collection template!
• Will assist in compliance with a Data Protection
  principle of Am I sure the personal information
  is accurate and up to date?
• Waiting for software suppliers
• P7 Rollout to schools

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Next Step

• Listen today and pick up any tips!!
• Meeting of consultative group set up to make some
  decisions
• Funding
• Training

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Overall aim

• Schools want rid of 618g!!!!!
• If schools are putting data into their IMS we
  have to use it to inform Payroll and HR.
• This is our selling point to schools, and is
  keeping them on board

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