Registers, stages, targets and reporting  2021 - 22

Even if you have used electronic registers before, please read to save you time and frustration!

 

Getting started

Please make sure you have installed the laptop update - hmslinks.me/registers

Which of these describes your circumstances?
(please note - it may be different for each school / instrument you teach)

  • either I or an HMS colleague taught here last year
    skip to ‘Importing clean data’

  • HMS didn’t teach my instrument in this school last year
    skip to ‘Starting a blank register’

  • I’m not sure…..
    skip to ‘Importing clean data’ but be prepared to start a blank register if you discover that there are no children who were previously learning your instrument

Importing clean data

The quality of the data on children we teach is very important to HMS; it is used to predict trends in learning and informs our strategic business planning. It is also submitted to central government helping us obtain essential funding – without which HMS could not function.

To this end data on last year’s learners is carefully scrutinised, and ‘cleaned’ to ensure accuracy. This takes time and money; importing ‘clean data’ into your registers ensures we are using verified information and cuts our costs later in the year.

To import clean data into a register, please do the following;

  • on your tablet, double tap on the icon ‘New register – clean data’
  • if asked for a username and password, use clean and data
  • select ‘Import clean data’ into 2018-9 registers
  • select the page containing the school you wish to import clean data from
  • click on the school you wish to import data from
  • click 'Open' If asked, click 'Allow'
  • wait for the download to complete - this may take a few seconds on a slow connection
    (to click ‘open’ you may need to 'minimise' the window containing the list of schools and be prepared to re-enter the username and password again if asked)
  • you may also need to click on ‘enable editing’ and ‘enable content’ too
  • once the clean data opens,  please follow the instructions on screen

If you have a slow internet connection, there may be a delay between tapping a button / link and the screen changing. Please be patient! Clicking twice or three times on the same thing will only get you in a pickle!

You should now have a partially completed register containing all available relevant details about the students you selected. You can now add more information and additional students as required; please see ‘Using your register day to day’

 

Starting a blank register
(school had NO HMS teaching on your instruments last year)

  • on your tablet’s desktop double tap on the yellow icon with a star called New register (blank)
  • read and / or print the guidance notes that appear on the screen
  • tap on ‘To the register’ to start adding names
  • tapping the pencil icons, add your name and teacher code (4 digits starting with a ‘1’)
  • tap ‘Find school’ to select the school
  • save your work!

 

Using your register day to day

  • start adding student names and details; you will notice blank cells turn pink. This means they will require completing before final submission
    • N/C year – i.e. year 8 you can use R, 1 - 13
    • UPN last 5 – last 5 numbers of student UPN – please ask the school for this
    • Instrument and code – tap ‘Find instrument’ to discover your instrument’s code
    • Year of study – if the student had been learning three years before this year, you would enter ‘4’ (please note this is the cumulative number of years learning with all previous teachers – not just you)
    • Working level
      start – their level when they were added to your register
      end – their level at the end of the year or when they stopped learning with you
    • Attendance – enter as follows
      1 = attended lesson
      A = authorised absence (school trip / exam / class assembly / sports day etc.)

U = unauthorised absence (i.e. available in school but did not attend your lesson)
T = teacher was absent
P = your PPA time
C = school closure
D = HMS professional day

There are also codes for Google Meet teaching and submitted video feedback

  • Ens member? – enter either y or n for both HMS and school

 

Saving your register

  • tap ‘Save + stay’ to save and leave your register open
  • tap ‘Save + exit’ so save and close

Registers save in a specific folder on your tablet – accessible from your ‘Register storage folder’ icon on the tablet desktop. Please do not move them from here!

 

Opening your saved registers

  • double tap the ‘Register storage folder’ icon on the tablet desktop to find a list of your saved registers

 

Submitting your registers – Autumn term

  • you may have noticed that the cell on the far left of the register turned pink once you started adding data - it is waiting for you to add this child to a 'group' (we now require you to show us who learns with who: Group A, Group B etc.) Please assign each child a group - even if there is only one child on the register!
  • once you have added a group, the colour will change firstly to red, indicating that more information is required
  • once you have added all the information required for the Autumn term data collection the row number turns yellow   (if you don’t know the UPN you can add 99999 temporarily)
  • the information we need completed is;
    Forename, Surname, N/C year, UPN, Instrument, Year of study, Working level (start)
  • In the very top left of the register, tap on ‘Validate Register’. Then tap on ‘Validate Register for Autumn Term Submission’ You will either receive a message that either confirms all is well, or details of missing info. Please don’t try and submit your register if it fails validation as it WILL be rejected. You will need to validate each register in turn
  • Once ALL of your registers have ‘passed’ validation, connect your tablet to the internet and double tap on the big green arrow labelled ‘Submit registers’ and follow instructions
  • you will receive an automated email back shortly after submission confirming receipt and highlighting any issues that require your attention

 

Reports and Stages page
The ‘Reports and Stages’ page of the register is where you record data about stage progress and input the information that is used to generate reports

  • the mauve coloured columns need completing for FULL HMS reports
  • the blue coloured columns need completing for END OF STAGE reports
  • the only column needed for both is WORKING LEVEL NOW
  • working level ‘now’ is added just before you produce either type of reports
  • current stage / grade progress allows you to keep up to date records of progress and keeps a running total This information appears on the end of stage report
  • the set of statements starting ‘Performing musically’ require you to input a number; 1 to 4.
    this translates into Excellent, Good, Satisfactory or Development needed on the reports
  • ensemble membership allows you to log both school and HMS membership with optional ensemble recommendations

 

Termly targets and comments

  • Please ensure you complete all information for reports within the register.
  • When you come to generating reports please DO NOT add comments and targets into the word document report afterwards as they won’t be linked with your register. Instead, please enter them directly into the register

Details about how to create reports appear later on in this guide

 

Getting ready to submit your registers at the end of the Summer term

  • for your register to be accepted we require the following cells to be completed
    Forename, Surname, N/C year, UPN, Instrument, Year of study, Working level (start + end)
    attendance, ensemble membership, and continuity
  • once all this information is present, the row number will turn green

HOWEVER

  • if a student is in Y6 and is a continuer the row number will turn black
  • once you have added everything else tap on the large button ‘Show buttons that allow the input of destination secondary schools’ (this is at the top just after the continuation column)
  • on each relevant Y6 continuer row there will have now appeared a ‘Dest. Secondary button’
  • click each one in turn, following on screen prompts to select their destination secondary school
  • please also complete additional Y6 transfer notes (this is for any relevant information that does not appear elsewhere in your register – i.e. in the stages / reporting section)
  • once you have completed  this the row number should turn Green

 

  • In the very top left of the register, tap on ‘Validate Register’. Then tap on ‘Validate Register for Summer Term Submission’ You will either receive a message that either confirms all is well, or details of missing info. Please don’t try and submit your register if it fails validation as it WILL be rejected. You will need to validate each register in turn

 

  • Once ALL of your registers have ‘passed’ validation, connect your tablet to the internet and double tap on the big green arrow labelled ‘Submit registers’ and follow instructions.
  • you will receive an automated email back shortly after submission confirming receipt and highlighting any issues that require your attention

 

HMS will print continuation reports for each Y6 continuer during the Summer so there is no longer any need to complete a ‘Y6 transfer form’

 

Creating reports

Your register has been designed to complete a lot of the more mundane and repetitive aspects of report writing, saving you valuable time.

You can create four different types of reports which can be accessed by tapping on the ‘Reporting’ button

  • FULL HMS reports for parents
  • END OF STAGE reports for parents (new)
  • DETAILED SUMMARY for schools
  • Y6 TRANSFER REPORTS

Create FULL HMS reports for parents
This will create a word document with a single page for every child on the register, and follows the familiar HMS report format.

Please note that you will need to complete the more personalised areas of ‘termly targets’ and ‘comments’ within the reporting page of the register keeping everything together in one place. (remember also that this information is also used for Y6 transfer data)

You can either create one single word document containing reports from all (selected) children OR individual word documents and / or PDFs which schools will appreciate as they will be able to email them direct to parentswithout having to print first

  • on the main register page make sure you have completed;
    Forename, Surname, N/C year, Instrument code, Year of study, Working level  ‘Start’
  • tap the ‘Reporting’ button (top right)
  • ensure the following are completed; (they are all mauve)
    • working level now
    • the eight columns immediately after attendance – starting with ‘Performing Musically and ending with ‘Overall progress’
      (Use a number between 1 and 4;    1 being ‘Excellent’ and 4 being ‘Requires Improvement’ )
    •  if applicable add the names of the HMS / School / other ensembles they are members of.
    • if applicable add ensemble recommendations
    • ensure that the relevant termly targets are present
    • add comments
    • when ready tap ‘Create reports’. If nothing seems to happen you may need to tap on the word document icon at the bottom of the screen
    • now you can choose which children to create reports for; by default all children are selected but you can deselect them all and select individuals as required
    • clicking ‘ok’ will merge all the information held on each child from your register into a Word document which will be saved to your reports storage folder.
    • the completed report will remain open on the screen but may be hidden behind your register so you may need to tap on the word document icon at the bottom of the screen to view it

 

Things to note

  • newly created reports are not linked to the register, so they won’t automatically update if you change information in the register – and visa versa
  • each time you create a new set of reports from the register for the same school, it is saved as a slightly different file name, so there is no risk of losing previously created reports

 

Create END OF STAGE reports for parents
This creates a ‘snapshot’ of a child’s progress once they have completed a stage, and can be produced very quickly with little extra effort. These should only be produced once a stage has been completed

  • follow the step by step instructions for FULL HMS reports, but ensure that you have also completed the ‘last stage completed’ and ‘Current stage progress’ columns.
  • beyond this you do not need to add any extra information to produce a complete report

 

Create a DETAILED SUMMARY for schools
This exports a spreadsheet containing all the information on the reporting page.

  • ideal for when you are asked for a list of current pupils and their standards, and very useful for schools to keep tabs on who is learning, what standards they are, attendance etc.

 

Create Y6 transfer reports
This produces transfer information on all your Y6 students. HMS will create these over the Summer from your register, but you can make them too from here if needed.

 

Send reports by email

  • save and close the report(s)
  • start – Mail and create a new email
  • tap ‘Insert’ and ‘Paperclip’
  • on the left hand side of the window that appears scroll to the top and tap on 'Desktop' Then double click 'Report storage in the right hand pane
  • pressing and holding ‘ctrl’ on the keyboard allows you to tap and select multiple files
  • enter the recipients email address and a subject and send as normal

Please remember that all of the reports that the register produces are saved inside the ‘Reports folder’ and can be printed or emailed.

 

Extra useful information

  • if you have more than 75 students in a school you will need to complete a second register. In order to differentiate between the two and ensure one does not overwrite the other please proceed as follows;
    • when you enter your name add a ‘1’ to your first name for the first register and a ‘2’ for the second
    • register 1 for the school becomes Dave 1  Smith
    • register 2 for the school becomes Dave 2  Smith
    • Please do not add a number to your surname
    • you can ‘zoom’ in and out on either of the screens – but only if you have a cell ‘selected’
    • if you can’t zoom, try tapping on a cell that you can edit and then zoom
    • use the up and down arrows at the top of the columns to sort various columns alphabetically – i.e. surname, instrument, NC year etc.
    • you can spell check your comments and targets from the ‘Reports and Stages’ page
    • word should also have a spellchecker installed. If you suspect that yours is not working, please ask for help
    • the ‘home’ icon takes you back to the top left of the page