How to Add Staff

Applicable to SIMS .net version

7.68 onwards.

Permissions required
You will need to be a member of any of the following User Groups in System Manager to add staff:
Administration Assistant (Basic Details only), Admissions Officer (Basic Details only), Returns Manager
(Basic Details only), Returns Operator (Basic Details only), School Administrator (everything), SEN
Coordinator (Basic Details only).

Introduction
SIMS .net provides the facility to record basic information about staff members for those users who do not
use Personnel 5.xx including basic details, personal information (such as NI number, bank account details,
etc.), addresses and contact information. If Personnel 5.xx is in use, then information is automatically copied
across into SIMS .net (using a utility called Personnel Synchronisation) and is only available for viewing.
Personnel 7.xx (when available) will provide the facility to record much more information including contracts,
pay scales, etc.
The minimum information required in order to save a staff member is surname, forename and date of birth.
Once added, staff members can then be assigned to rooms, chosen as registration group tutors, heads of
year, SEN Coordinators, etc.

Adding new staff

1. Select Focus | Person | Staff to display the Find Staff browser.
2. Click the New button to display the Basic Details panel displayed.

3. Enter any combination of the Surname (mandatory), Forename and Date of Birth and/or select the
Gender from the drop-down list and then click the Continue button. If no existing people match, the
remainder of the Staff Details page will be displayed (populated with the details just entered).

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Capita Education Services, Franklin Court, Stannard Way,

Priory Business Park, Cardington, Bedford MK44 3JZ. Tel: 01234 838080
1016-002
 Any people matching the entered details will be displayed in the Matched People panel.

This provides the opportunity of checking that the staff member does not already exist (they could for
example be the contact of a child at the school and therefore have already been added to SIMS
.net).
ƒ If the required person does not appear in the list, click the New button. The Staff Details page
will be displayed populated with the data just entered.
ƒ If the required person appears in the list, you can edit their details by highlighting their name and
clicking the Open button.

Completing basic details

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 1. Select the Title from the drop-down list.
2. Complete any remaining name fields (Forename, Surname, Middle Name(s), Legal Surname and
Chosen Name) noting that the Forename and Surname fields are mandatory.
3. Select the Gender from the drop-down list (mandatory).

Attaching a photograph
1. If you have an electronic copy of a staff photo, this can be attached to the record by clicking the File
Browser button to open the Select photograph dialog.
File Browser button

2. Select the required file and then click the Open button. The selected photo will appear in the Basic
Details panel.

Completing personal information

1. Click the Personal Information hyperlink to display the Personal Information panel.

If not already complete, enter the Date of Birth (mandatory) or click the Calendar button and select
the required date. The Age field is automatically populated with the age in years and months.
Calendar button

2. Enter any Qualification/Letters (such as diplomas, teaching qualifications, etc.) if required.

3. Select the Ethnicity from the drop-down list if required.
4. Enter the NHS Number if required/available.
5. Enter bank details in the Account Number and branch Sort Code (entered either with or without the
dashes, e.g. 123456 or 12-34-56) if required.
6. Enter the NI Number if required.
7. If the staff member has a recognised disability, enter the Disability Number and select the
Disability that most accurately reflects their condition from the drop-down list.

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Adding an address
When adding addresses, the most efficient method is to search for any existing addresses which can either
be opened or copied. In addition to searching your SIMS .net database, if you have activated the Web
Address Validation Service, it is also possible to search an external database via the internet by entering a
post code and matching it to a corresponding address. This significantly reduces the amount of address data
entry required.
There are two modes for entering an address – Basic or Advanced.
Basic - a post code must be provided together with a house number or name if available. A search is carried
out on both the SIMS .net database and the Web Address Validation Service. This is by far, the most
efficient method.
Advanced - a post code, street or town/city must be supplied. The search is only carried out on existing
addresses in the SIMS .net database.

Adding an address using Basic mode

1. Enter the Post Code and if available, the House Number/Name.

2. Click the Continue button. A list of addresses matching the entered post code is returned in the
Find Matching Addresses dialog.

ƒ If an exact match is found, select the required address then click the Open button to select it.

The address is displayed in the Addresses panel and is highlighted as Validated.

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 ƒ If a similar address is identified in the Find Matching Addresses dialog, highlight it then click
the Copy button to create a copy which can be amended as required.
ƒ If the required address does not exist, click the New button in the Find Matching Addresses
dialog. The New Address Details (Not validated) panel is displayed and is populated with the
address details first entered in the search.
3. Complete any remaining fields as required, ensuring that the type of address, e.g. Home is selected
from the Address type drop-down list.

Adding an address using Advanced mode

1. If the post code is not known, click the Advanced button to display additional address fields. A
minimum of either Street or Town/City must be supplied.

2. Click the Continue button to search existing addresses in your SIMS .net database. A list of
matching addresses is returned in the Find Matching Addresses dialog.

ƒ If an exact match is found, select the required address then click the Open button to select it.

The address is displayed in the Addresses panel and is highlighted as Not validated.
ƒ If a similar address is identified in the Find Matching Addresses dialog, highlight it then click
the Copy button to create a copy which can be amended as required.
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 ƒ If the required address does not exist, click the New button in the Find Matching Addresses
dialog. The New Address Details (Not validated) panel is displayed and is populated with the
address details first entered in the search.
4. Complete any remaining fields as required, ensuring that the type of address, e.g. Home is selected
from the Address type drop-down list.

Adding contact information

It is advisable to record contact information for staff members to ensure they can be contacted whenever
required, e.g. in the event of sickness/absence, etc.
Click the Contact Information hyperlink to display the Contact Information panel.

Adding a telephone/fax number:

1. Click the New button to open the Add Telephone\Fax dialog.

2. Specify the type of Device (Telephone or Fax), together with its Location (Home, Work, Mobile or
Other) from the relevant drop-down lists.
3. Enter the telephone or fax Number.

NOTE: The format of the telephone/fax number is optional. STD codes can be inserted in brackets if
required and spaces can be added between the STD code and number if preferred.

4. Indicate whether this is the Main phone number by selecting either Yes or No from the drop-down
list. Only one number can be set as Main at any one time. It is recommended that the main number
is the number to be used in the event of an emergency.
5. Enter any relevant Notes that may apply to the use of this telephone/fax number, e.g. use between
9am to 5pm.

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 6. Click the OK button to add the number. Repeat as required. Any numbers added will be displayed in
the Telephones panel.

7. If required, change the main number by highlighting the required number and clicking the Set Main
button.

Adding an email address

1. Click the New button to open the Add Email dialog.
2. Specify the Location of the email address (Home, Work or Other) from the drop-down list.
3. Enter the email Address in the field provided. The field will remain red until both a @ symbol and a
full stop have been included in the email address.

4. Specify whether this is the Main email address by selecting either Yes or No from the drop-down list.
5. Enter any relevant Notes that may apply to the use of this email address, e.g. only checked every
2-3 days.
6. Click the OK button to add the email address. Repeat as required. Any email addresses added will
be displayed in the Email Addresses panel.

7. Change the main email address if required, by clicking the Set Main button.

Adding car details

Recording car details allows the appropriate owner of a car to be contacted quickly and easily in the event of
an accident in the car park or if they have left their lights on for example.
1. Click the New button adjacent to the Car panel to open the Maintain Cars dialog.

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 2. Enter the Model, Colour and the Registration number of the vehicle.
3. Click the OK button to add the car. Repeat for any other required cars.

Adding next of kin

It is important to record details of any next of kin in case of accidents or emergencies. A minimum of
Surname is required to store a contact against a member of staff.
1. Click the Next of Kin hyperlink to display the Next of Kin panel.

2. Click the New button to open the Add Next of Kin (Contact) dialog.

3. Enter any combination of the Surname (mandatory), Forename and Date of Birth and/or select the
Gender from the drop-down list and then click the Continue button. If no existing people match, the
remainder of the Contact Details page will be displayed (populated with the details just entered).
Any people matching the entered details will be displayed in the Matched People panel.

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 This provides the opportunity of checking that the contact does not already exist (they could for
example be an agent or a member of staff and therefore have already been added to SIMS .net.
ƒ If the required person does not appear in the list, click the New button. The Contact Details
page will be displayed populated with the data just entered.
ƒ If the required person appears in the list, you can edit their details by highlighting their name and
clicking the Open button.
4. The Contact Details page is displayed and is populated with the details previously entered.
5. If the contact’s address is different from the member of staff, add an address as previously
described.
6. If the telephone/fax number is different from the member of staff, add a telephone/fax number as
previously described.

Adding employment details

The Employment Details field is mandatory. Dates can be entered or click the appropriate Calendar button
and select the required date.
Calendar button

1. Click the Employment Details hyperlink to display the Employment Details panel.

2. Enter the Date of Appointment (mandatory), i.e. the date they started work at your school.
3. Enter the Employment Start date (the date they started working for your Local Authority).
4. Enter the Service Start date (the date they started working for the Local Government Service, i.e.
any Local Authority) as required.
5. If the staff member has been employed for a probationary period, enter the Probation End date.
6. Enter the Health Check date if applicable.
7. Enter the name of their Previous Employer if required/known.
8. Specify the date that the staff member received clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau in the
CRB Check field if required. Although this field is not mandatory, it is strongly recommended that
this date is recorded.
9. If the staff member is a teacher, select the Teacher check box. This will activate the Teacher
Category field below. Select the required option from the drop-down list, such as Qualified
Teacher.

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 NOTE: It is essential that the Teacher check box is selected for teachers if you use Nova-T4.

10. Enter a Staff Code of up to three characters - all staff codes must be unique within the school.

NOTE: It is essential that staff codes are unique to ensure that the Nova-T4 to SQL transfer works
correctly.

11. Enter a Teacher Number, if required.

Enter leaving information

If the staff member leaves your employment, enter the relevant details in the Next Employer field (if known)
and enter a date in the Date of Leaving field.

Adding notes/attaching documents

Notes can be added or documents (or any file) attached to the record. For more information, please see the
How to Add Notes/Attach Documents help sheet (SupportNet Resource Number 9076). Examples include
the following:
ƒ Scanned copies of education certificates
ƒ CVs
ƒ Copies of contracts
ƒ Letters sent and received

Saving the record

Click the Save button on the toolbar to add the member of staff.

For more information, please refer to:

ƒ Managing Pupil/Students in SIMS .net handbook (double-click Managing Pupils on the SIMS Help
shortcuts panel in SIMS .net).
ƒ How to Add Notes/Attach Documents help sheet (SupportNet Resource Number 9076).

Training courses
For information on training courses, please contact your SIMS Support Provider.

Providing feedback on this help sheet

If you have any suggestions or comments about this or any of our other help sheets, please email
helpsheets@capita.co.uk.

Help sheet revision history

Doc. Version Change Description Date
1016-001 Initial Release 08/09/2005
1016-002 Updated to include Web Address Validation available from SIMS .net 7.68 07/02/2006
onwards.

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