London ESW

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London ESW

• Teresa Thompson eAdmissions
• Jenny Duxbury Hertfordshire County Council
• Anne Macavoy Surrey County Council

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Welcome

• Housekeeping
• Introductions
• Objectives

• National Project
• What you want

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Experience Sharing Workshop

• eAdmissions National Project
• Interactive Knowledge Experience Sharing
• Next Steps / Review

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eAdmissions Objectives
The main objective of the eAdmissions National
Project is to help all LEAs meet

• Online targets
• Take-up targets

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Objectives Online Target

• All LEAs to offer online schools admissions by
  September 2006 for the 2007 entry

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Objectives Take-up Targets
Parent/Carer take-up is key use and acceptance of
online school admissions by the parent/carer

Year 1 take-up
Year 2 take-up
5 - 10
10 - 20
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Meeting the Objectives Framework
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Resources LEA Toolkit

• Latest Products

• Business Case Template
• LEA Case Studies
• Minimum Feature List Implementation
• Add-on functionality
• Marketing Collateral
• LEA eAdmissions Implementation Timeline and Task
  List

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Resources Research

• National survey of study into attitudes
• towards online schools admissions

• LEA online survey

• Parent/Carer Feedback on online admissions
• (Hertfordshire and Bristol)

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Research FeedbackOnline applications

• Benefits of online (Hertfordshire) - nursery

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Experience Sharing Workshop

• eAdmissions National Project
• Interactive Knowledge Experience Sharing
• Next Steps / Review

?
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LEA Experiences

• Hertfordshire County Council

Jenny Duxbury
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Hertfordshire Experiences

• Online admissions in 2005 for 2006 entry
• Parents/Carers can apply for nursery, primary,
  junior and secondary school places online
• Nursery, primary, junior co-ordination within
  Hertfordshire. Secondary - inter LEA
  co-ordination.
• Parents/Carers can retrieve their allocation
  details online
• Email allocation details to parents/carers
• Parents/Carers can lodge an appeal or apply for
  continuing interest online

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Hertfordshire Experiences
Hertfordshire Online Schools Admissions Trends
for entry years 2003 to 2005
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Hertfordshire Experiences
500pm
530pm
430pm
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SOLA Additional Functionality

• SCHOOLS ONLINE ADMISSIONS (SOLA)

• Allows efficient communication with schools
• Community and voluntary controlled schools
  can confirm claimed sibling links
• Voluntary aided and foundation schools can
  submit their allocations (which are then fed
  into the admissions database
• direct)
• Schools can view applications made online to
  their school
• Schools can view applications made online from
  their school

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Hertfordshire Experiences Lessons Learnt

• In larger LEAs, ensuring the correct school is
  selected
• Ensuring UACs (Unique Application Code) are not
  duplicated
• Parents/Carers not remembering their security
  details
• Ensure any information provided on paper is
  mirrored in the online system
• www.eadmissions.org

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Hertfordshire Experiences Benefits / Barriers
Parent/Carer views
I wanted to know exactly what was going on
and I could track it all the way through, plus
the fact you get to know a day earlier
If I were to do it again I would probably do it
online because its more convenient.
I do think the computer for a lot of people,
is quite a daunting experience...
the reason I did it through the school was
cos theyd said to my daughter can you bring
your form in?...
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LEA Experiences

• Surrey County Council
• Anne Macavoy

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Surrey Experiences

• Spring 1999
• Highlighted online admissions as an in-house
  initiative
• Autumn 1999
• CISCO
• The Admissions Services was highlighted as an
  area of potential for developing online
  admissions

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Surrey Experiences

• Spring Summer 2000
• Frequent meetings with experts at CISCO
• Main problems
• Authentication of the application form /
  (signature / proof of it being a bona fide
  application)
• 2. Resources
• Time
• Legal Timescales
• ICT support
• Money

PROJECT COLLAPSED
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Surrey Experiences

• 2002
• The project was revisited
• Started to work with CAPITA
• This time
• We identified funding
• We agreed support from CICT colleagues
• We had a clear timetable

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Surrey Experiences

• SPRING 2003
• CAPITA had developed a prototype which would
  download into our EMS database

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Surrey Experiences

• SUMMER 2003
• Began extensive testing. This achieved good
  results.
• Optimistic that we could go live in September
  2003 for September 2004 admissions round

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Surrey Experiences
Asked CICT to look at the spec
HITCH

• A problem over security
• left the database vulnerable
• likely to jeopardise other corporate systems

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Surrey Experiences
Online applications
Admissions Transfers online
EMS database
Asked CAPITA to resolve Suggested putting a break
in the firewall
CICT security would not accept this because they
would not allow the public to have direct access
to the LEA database
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Surrey Experiences

• LATE SUMMER 2003
• Realisation that we were going to miss the
  deadline for 2004 applications
• Not realising just how big the security issue was
• Online admissions was put on the backburner

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Surrey Experiences

• SUMMER 2004
• Project was resurrected again when
• Surrey joined the West Sussex Consortium
• This move provided another kickstart to the
  project
• This time mindful of the security issue CICT
  colleagues were invited to join us at the
  consortium meetings
• FUNDING WAS PROVIDED
• STILL SECURITY ISSUES
• CICT not happy that public could get direct
  access to LEA database

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Surrey Experiences

• AUTUMN 2004
• Surrey joined the Bucks Consortium
• We talked to other colleagues
• in the consortium
• in Hertfordshire
• in Bradford
• Enabled CICT to talk directly to colleagues in
  other LEAs

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Surrey Experiences
SPRING 2005

• Security issue finally solved to CICTs
  satisfaction

Online applications
LEA / EMS
Admissions Transfers online
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Surrey Experiences

• SUMMER 2005
• Begin testing on intranet
• GO LIVE eAdmissions in September 2005 for
  September 2006 admissions round

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Surrey Experiences

• AUTUMN 2004
• Joined Hertfordshire Consortium
• To investigate GIS admissions
• PROVIDED FUNDING
• to develop a SMART X prototype with SIA
• using DataMap to enable parents
• to measure home to school distances
• access APA maps and
• to find their nearest school
• link to school website
• Test in April to GO LIVE in September 2005
• This time Surrey has been very mindful of our
  past experience

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Surrey Experiences

• FINALLY
• LESSONS LEARNT
• Join a consortium
• invaluable for exchanging ideas
• sharing experiences
• provides money / funding
• Look at other LEA websites
• Plan your timetable / timescales
• Negotiate support for your LEA system from
  providers (CAPITA, Arete, Foundation, RM, Bespoke
  Systems)
• Negotiate the appropriate level of support /
  resource needed from ICT colleagues
• Ensure that any online system IS SECURE

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Experience Sharing Workshop

• eAdmissions National Project
• Interactive Knowledge Experience Sharing
• Next Steps / Review

?
?
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Next Steps / Review
Next Steps / Review
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www.eadmissions.org

• Find out more about the eAdmissions National
  Project by visiting our website
• www.eadmissions.org

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LEA Toolkit

• To get to the LEA Toolkit, click on Resources and
  LEA Toolkit.
• www.eadmissions.org