Sims office User Top Tips and Techniques – Primary

General Messages

Messages can be sent to one or more teachers. The type of message sent depends on the subject matter. For example, to send a message about a particular Pupil/Pupil, you can send a Pupil General Message from the Links panel in SIMS.

Another type of message that can be sent is a General message. This type of message is not subject-specific. For example, you might want to send a message informing all heads of year of a forthcoming visit from a school inspector.

Once sent, the recipient can view General messages in the My Messages panel of their Home Page, together with other types of message.

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  Select Focus | Alerts | General Messages to display the General Message page.
  
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  Click the New button to display the Send Message dialog.
  

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  Click the Add button in the Recipient panel to display the Select Recipients browser.
  

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  Search for, and then select the required recipient (multiple recipients can be selected by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the required names).
  
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  Click the Add button to add each person (or group of people).
  
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  When you have added the necessary members of staff, click the OK button. The selected members of staff are displayed in the Recipient panel.
  

NOTE: To remove a member of staff, highlight them in the Recipient panel and click the Remove button.

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  In the Message panel, select the Priority from the drop-down list.
  

High priority messages are displayed in a pop-up window on the bottom right hand corner of the recipient’s screen (if this setting has been activated).

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  In the Message field, enter the required message to be sent to the selected members of staff.
  
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  Click the Send button to send the message. The message is displayed on the selected staff members’ My Messages panel.
  

NOTES: All sent messages are stored in your General Message page until they are deleted.

My Favourites

The Favourites panel displays the most commonly accessed areas of SIMS and used to display in the bottom left hand corner of the SIMS shortcuts panel.

It is used as a quick method of launching the areas in SIMS you use most often. SIMS automatically monitors the most commonly used areas, and adds them as shortcuts.

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  To launch an area from the Favourites panel, click the required shortcut title.
  

Missing Register Notification Messages

The Missing Registers Notification panel automatically displays details of each member of staff that has not completed all marks on their register.

To prompt the required members of staff, the Attendance Manager can send a notification message from the Home Page by clicking the Send Message button at the top of the Missing Registers

SIMS Quick Search

The SIMS Home Page enables you to search for and select a person recorded in SIMS to display their full record. This could be a pupil, member of staff, contact, applicant or agent. The functionality available depends on the permissions assigned to you in System Manager.

NOTE: The Quick Search functionality can be accessed from anywhere in SIMS by pressing Ctrl + Q, which immediately accesses the Home Page, enabling a quick search to be carried out.

It is possible to search for a person by using any of the following critera:

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  person’s name
  
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  admission number
  
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  candidate number
  
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  telephone number
  
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  address
  
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  email address
  
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  UPN (Unique Pupil Number)
  
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  UCN ( Unique Candidate Number)
  
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  Vehicle registration number.
  

Step by Step – Quick Search by Name

1. 
   Type ackton in the Quick Search field at the top of the SIMS Home Page, and then press the Enter key or click the Quick Search icon.
   

Quick search icon

NOTE: Initially surnames, legal surnames, preferred forenames and legal forenames are interrogated. If no results are found, SIMS searches through middle names. If there are still no results, SIMS attempts to match on words that sound like the search criteria entered.