sims ch discover user guide - phase 1 · ch sims and sims discover can be opened at the same time....

© 2019 Hampshire IT, Hampshire County Council. All rights reserved of 16

SIMS CH Discover User Guide

Document version: Issue 4

Issue date: November 2019

Document valid until:

Document owner: SIMS Team

Unique Reference Number

Amendments to issued document

DATE AUTHOR ISSUE AMENDMENT DETAILS

All enquiries or queries relating to this document should be directed either to the SIMS

team by completing the web for using the link:

https://www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/itschools/contact

or via the self-service link:

https://itservicedesk.hants.gov.uk

Schools without HPSN2 should call the IT Service Desk on

01962 847007

This document is for Centrally Hosted SIMS (CH SIMS) schools only.

Summary

This document provides an overview of the core elements of CH Discover and should

provide sufficient information to allow schools to access and use the basic functionality.

CH Discover enables schools to analyse the data recorded in SIMS, and to display the

results in a variety of graphical formats, e.g. bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts and Venn

diagrams. Consequently, the data displayed when using CH Discover can only be as

accurate as the data recorded in SIMS.

CH Discover draws the data from a data warehouse which is an extract of the SIMS SQL

database. The CH Discover data warehouse is designed to manage a high level of data

traffic so that several graphs can be created and viewed at the same time for the purposes of data comparison. It is possible to drag and drop various data items from one graph on

to another to create a compilation graph.

https://www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/itschools/contact

https://itservicedesk.hants.gov.uk/


© 2019 Hampshire IT, Hampshire County Council. All rights reserved. of 16

Table of contents

1. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................ 3

2. Logging in to CH Discover ....................................................................................................... 3

3. Opening a Graph and changing the display ........................................................................... 5

Positioning and Sizing the graph .................................................................................................. 6

Changing the display ....................................................................................................................... 7

Additional Functionality ................................................................................................................. 7

Exporting a graph ............................................................................................................................ 7

To exit CH Discover ..................................................................................................................... 8

4. Extracting more detailed information from a graph ........................................................... 8

5. Graph to graph filtering............................................................................................................. 9

6. Saving graphs you have created yourself ............................................................................ 10

7. Deleting graphs you have created yourself........................................................................ 11

8. Identifying vulnerable groups in CH Discover .................................................................. 12

Group Notification ...................................................................................................................... 15

Within SIMS .................................................................................................................................. 15



1. Prerequisites

1.1. You must be logged on as a user with full administrative access rights to complete

Section 2. To log into and use Discover (after the trusted site has been added)

does not require full administrative rights.

1.2. It is only possible to see data items in CH Discover for which you have been

granted permissions in SIMS. Users will need to be a member of at least one of

the following System Manager permission groups to use CH Discover:

• Assessment Operator

• Assessment Coordinator

• Class Teacher

• Curricular Manager

• Exams Operator

• Exams Officer

• Pastoral Manager

• Registrations Tutor

• Senior Management Team

2. Logging in to CH Discover

2.1. Access the CH SIMS landing page and click Sign in. Enter your normal CH SIMS

login credentials.

2.2. Select the Content tab.

2.3. Click the SIMS Discover icon.



2.4. A message will appear Trust Not Granted.

Please note: This error message may differ slightly from computer to computer

2.5. Click Tools | Internet Options. If Tools is unavailable, click the cog icon, at the

top left of the page, and select Internet Options.

2.6. Select the Security tab and highlight Trusted sites.

2.7. Click Sites.

2.8. Click in the box below, Add this website to the zone.

2.9. Add the address https://discoversims.hants.gov.uk (if this is not already displayed).

2.10. Click Add.

2.11. Click Close.

2.12. Click OK.

2.13. If necessary, repeat steps 2.1to 2.3.

2.14. At the message Do you want to run this application, click Run. This may take

time to download. Please do not cancel or interrupt.

2.15. The following page will display.

https://discoversims.hants.gov.uk/



Important note: Your SIMS Discover login and password is identical to your CH SIMS

login credentials, but it is essential that you prefix your username with edu\

2.16. CH SIMS and SIMS Discover can be opened at the same time. To toggle between

them, click on the two icons in your task bar.

SIMS Discover CH SIMS

3. Opening a Graph and changing the display

A selection of predefined graphs is accessed using the icons on the CH Discover

Application Bar:



3.1. Click the appropriate icon to display a menu of the graphs available within the

selected category:

Please note: Although graphs are available under all of the areas of SIMS listed below,

they will only be populated if your school use the module, e.g. if you do not use SIMS to

record behaviour, there will be no data to populate the behaviour graphs.

• Pupil

• PreAdmission

• Staff

• Pastoral

• Attendance

• Special Educational Needs (SEN)

• Behaviour

• Achievement

• Exclusions – only available if you have recorded an exclusion

• Assessment

3.2. From the menu, click and drag your chosen graph onto a blank space on the

canvas, as in the following example:

3.3. The graph can be removed from the canvas at any time by clicking the cross in the

top right corner.

Please note: If the data displayed is incorrect, and subsequently corrected in SIMS,

you will need to wait until the overnight transfer completes before seeing the

updated information in CH Discover.

Positioning and Sizing the graph

3.4. Click and drag the Title Bar of the graph to reposition it anywhere on the canvas.



3.5. If the Title Bar is hidden beneath the Application Bar, click onto a blank space

on the canvas. You can now click and drag the whole canvas until the graph is

repositioned.

3.6. You may need to resize the graph to display the complete range of results. To do

this, hover your mouse over one of the borders or a corner until a double headed

arrow is displayed. Click and drag until the graph reaches the required size.

3.7. Alternatively, if the x axis cannot display the complete range of results and you

prefer not to resize the graph, click and drag the scroll bar beneath the graph.

3.8. Multiple graphs can be displayed on the same canvas if required. Repeat steps 3.1

to 3.2, for all additional graphs, and reposition them on the canvas as appropriate.

Changing the display

3.9. To change the default display from a Bar Chart to a Line Graph or Pie Chart,

click the appropriate icon at the foot of the graph:

3.10. The graph can be rotated through 180o to display the underlying data. Click the

Information icon to display this list and use the scroll bars to view further

details.

3.11. Click any of the headings on the list to change the sort order of the pupils.

3.12. This list can be resized or moved around the canvas as described in step 3.6.

3.13. Click the Information icon again to return to the graphic display.

Additional Functionality

3.14. Some graphs have drill through functionality. These graphs will have a symbol in

their header row. Please see the graphic below:

To access specific pupil information, double-click on each bar individually.

3.15. Some graphs have the ability to include guest and leavers and will have the

following options that can be selected as required:

Exporting a graph

3.16. The graph can be exported as an image if required, to enable it to be used in

correspondence, reports etc.



Please note: The image that is exported will be exactly as displayed on the canvas,

so if, for example, a bar chart is used, the graph may need to be resized to display all

of the information before exporting.

3.17. With the graph displayed on the canvas, click Export.

3.18. Click the drop-down arrow alongside the Save in field and navigate to a location

of your choice.

3.19. Enter an appropriate name in the File name: field.

3.20. Click the drop-down arrow alongside the Save as type: field and make the

required selection from the menu.

3.21. Click Save.

3.22. The underlying data explained at step 3.10 can also be exported as a .csv file if

required:

Please note: The data in the .csv file could include sensitive information which should

only be accessible by authorised personnel. This should be taken into account when

choosing a location for the saved file. It is the responsibility of the school to consider the

security and confidentiality of all data stored electronically.

3.23. With the graph displayed, click the Information icon to show the underlying data.

3.24. Click Export.

3.25. Click the drop-down arrow alongside the Save in field and navigate to a location

of your choice.

3.26. Enter an appropriate name in the File name field.

3.27. Click Save.

3.28. The .csv file will be saved in your chosen location and will automatically open.

Close Microsoft Excel if you do not wish to view the file at this stage.

To exit CH Discover

3.29. To Exit the application, click on the X in the top corner.

4. Extracting more detailed information from a graph

All graphs display a count of pupils in each category. This can be expanded to display the

details of each pupil.

4.1. With the graph displayed on the canvas, click:

• the relevant individual bar in the case of a Bar Chart

• the relevant dot in the case of a Line Graph, or

• the relevant segment in the case of a Pie Chart.

4.2. A new chart will open on the canvas. This chart can be resized or moved as

explained in steps 3.4 to 3.6.

4.3. Use the scroll bar on the right of the chart to view further pupils. The count is

displayed directly beneath the title.



4.4. Click the cross in the top right-hand corner when you no longer need to view the

chart.

5. Graph to graph filtering

Multiple graphs can be displayed on the canvas as described at step 3.8. To refine the

results displayed in a graph, data can be dragged and dropped from a second (and

subsequent) graph.

This method can be used to investigate the correlation between various aspects of a pupil

records e.g. unauthorised absence can be compared with behaviour incidents in a

particular year group.

5.1. Repeat steps 3.1 to 3.8 to open more than one graph on the canvas, and position

them so that they can be viewed together. The following graphic shows an example

using Student Totals by Key Pastoral Factors and Student Totals by Year

Group.

5.2. A data item from one graph can now be dragged into the other graph e.g. click and

drag the blue bar from FSM (Free School Meals) onto an area within the x and y

axis on the graph on the right. The graph to which you have dragged the data will

display Adding Series, the results will recalculate, and the graph will be populated

with an additional data item for each category.

5.3. It may now be necessary to resize and reposition your graphs to enable you to

view the full range of data as shown in the following graphic:



5.4. In this example, the blue bars show the number of pupils in each year, and the pink

bars show the number of pupils who are eligible for FSM in each year, as shown in

the key on the right.

Please note: If the key is not visible, select the arrow mid way along the right-hand

edge of the graph.

5.5. If appropriate, click either cross alongside the items in the key to remove the filter.

Collective Filtering

It is possible to add more data items from different graphs to further refine the filtering,

including items from graphs which have already been filtered.

This can be achieved by repeating steps 5.1 to 5.3 as many time as required. Each time an

additional data item is dropped onto the graph, the results are recalculated, and the key

panel displays the filters in the order they were added.

6. Saving graphs you have created yourself

When you have created a purpose made graph for your own use, you may wish to save it

for future reference.

6.1. With the graph of your choice on the canvas, click Save.



6.2. The Save as: field is prepopulated with the name of the original graph (the orange

letters in the example). Highlight this and overtype it with a unique name of your

choice. When you start to type, the red and white exclamation mark will no longer

be displayed.

6.3. Click the drop-down arrow alongside the Save in: field and make an appropriate

selection from the menu. This will place the saved graph in the chosen category in

the Application Bar. The selection will usually be Custom Graphs but it may be

more logical to use an alternative category.

6.4. Click Save.

6.5. Your graph will be accessible from the relevant category in the Application Bar and

will be the last in the list. However, it will not be accessible to other CH Discover

users as it is unique to your user account.

7. Deleting graphs you have created yourself

The predefined graphs supplied with the software cannot be deleted, but any user defined

graphs may be deleted by the originator if they are no longer required.

7.1. Click the relevant icon on the Application Bar to display the drop-down list of

available graphs in that category.

7.2. Drag and drop the graph you want to delete onto the canvas.

7.3. Click Delete.

7.4. The following graphic will be displayed:



7.5. If you are sure you want to permanently delete the graph, click Confirm Delete.

7.6. The graph will be removed from the canvas and will no longer be available from

the menu in the Application Bar icon.

8. Identifying vulnerable groups in CH Discover

This section provides information on how to create a dynamic group of pupils who meet

three criteria selected. This example will identify pupils who are free school meals (FSM),

95% attendance and 1% late. However, schools can select any factors that meet their own

requirements.

8.1. Click on the Attendance icon and drag Percentage Session Attendance

Year to Date on to the canvas.

8.2. From the graph displayed, drag the required percentage bar on to an empty area

on the canvas depending on what you wish to analyse, e.g. < 95%.



8.3. Close any window on the canvas other than the Venn Diagram displayed.

8.4. From the menu, drag Percentage Lates (Academic YTD) on to an empty area

on the canvas.

8.5. From the graph displayed, drag the required percentage of lates on to the Venn

Diagram depending on what you wish to analyse, e.g. 1%.


8.7. Click on the Pastoral icon and drag Student Totals by Key Pastoral Factors

on to the canvas.

8.8. From the graph displayed, drag the required criteria on to the Venn Diagram

depending on what you wish to analyse, e.g. FSM.




8.10. In this example 29 pupils within the school have been identified as meeting all three

factors selected, i.e. 95% Attendance with 1% late and FSM.

These 29 pupils can now be used to create a Dynamic Group. Once setup, an alert will

be sent to the creator each time a pupil joins or leaves the group, or if the group goes

above or below a certain amount of pupils.

Please note: Individual staff members will only be able to see any groups they have setup in CH Discover and not those set up by other members of staff within the

school. However, all staff with the correct permissions will be able to see the group

within SIMS.

8.11. With the Venn diagram still on the canvas, click on the Groups icon as indicated

in the graphic below:

8.12. From the menu, drag Create new Discover Group on to an empty area on the

canvas.

8.13. Drag the figure at the centre of the Venn Diagram, e.g. 29, on to the Discover

Group Drop Data Point here graphic on the canvas.



8.14. Click Save.

8.15. At the Save as: box, type a relevant name for the group i.e. FSM Persistent

Absence.

8.16. Click Dynamic.

8.17. Click on the Alerts flag icon and click in the required check boxes to indicate if

you wish to be notified:

• When someone has joined the group

• When someone has left the group

• Has more than ** members (** represents a user defined figure)

• Has fewer than ** members (** represents a user defined figure)

8.18. Click Set.

8.19. Click Save.

8.20. Close any open windows on the canvas.

8.21. Close CH Discover.

Group Notification

Once a dynamic group has been setup, the supervisor of the group, i.e. the member of

staff who set up the dynamic group will receive a message in the My Messages panel on

the SIMS Home Page when any of the criteria set at step 8.17 has been met.

Within SIMS

Once the Dynamic Group has been created, it is available for selection in the following

areas of SIMS.

Performance Analysis

• Group Analysis

• Aspect Analysis



• Result Set Analysis

• Chance Analysis

Attendance

• Edit Marks

• All attendance reporting e.g. Registration Certificate Report, Percentage

Attendance Report etc

Tracking Grids

• Filtering a Tracking Grid

Assessment

• Creating a marksheet

• Filtering a marksheet

Reporting

• Adding a filter to any SIMS report

sims ch discover user guide - phase 1 · ch sims and sims discover can be opened at the same time....

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