The Exams Assist module has been designed, and built, in conjunction with fellow examination officers with one aim - 'to assist centres with the process of conducting examinations’.
SchoolWorkSpace syncs data from SIMS.net and Exams Organiser using ‘Groupcall Xporter’ as data transporter - and are fully compliant with the current Data Protection Policies in the UK. The Privacy Policy can be found here and the Data Sharing Policy can be found here.
The solution is broken down into the following areas, and as you'll see it follows the process from Entries to Running the Exams, this software does support multi seasons and can be used for both internal and external exams:
• Exam Entries - The ability for the exams officers to email the 'Statement of Entries' out to either the candidates or the parent/carer. It's also possible to allocate the 'Examination Entry List' to individuals or a group of staff for them to check and confirm that these entries are correct. These entries are visible to staff via the exams assist portal which eliminates the need to print off these sheets for staff to check and sign, this can all be done digitally.
• Access Arrangements / Modified Papers Recording - It is also possible to import the 'Access Arrangements' requirements per candidate into Exams Assist, this enables the exams officer to view the Access Arrangements required per exam (Component). This information makes it possible to record any modified papers that have been ordered from the JCQ portal. This is a great way of ensuring that all required papers have been ordered. It's also possible to record the specific exam for which a candidate needs the use of a laptop, this information will be displayed in the seating plan, attendance register and the candidate’s card.
• Invigilators and Staffing - As data is sync'd with SIMS.net, it is possible to allocate the invigilators and staff to the season and send out an electronic form asking for their availability for a single or multiple exam seasons. The responses received by these staff will be used to schedule them to a room for a specific exam.
• Scheduling - This is where the exams officer would schedule invigilators / staff to a room. These schedules will be available for the invigilators to see online, a link will be included in each day schedule which is a hyperlink to view the attendance register and seating plan for that room.
• Seating Plans, Registers and Candidate Cards - The ability for the exam officer to print off a variety of reports, there are 2 different types of cards available; Candidate Card or Component Card. It’s possible to print out a copy of the seating plan and attendance register for that room.
• Electronic Attendance Registers - The ability for the staff or invigilators in the room to be able to complete the registers electronically. There are three ways for the invigilators to complete the register, either from the Attendance Register, Seating Plan or by using the QR Code on the candidate card. There are other functionalities available; the recording of SRB, Toilet Breaks and being able to add any incidents that have occurred in the room.
• Attendance Writeback - Once the attendance has been taken in an exam room, it's possible for the Attendance Officer to write this data back into SIMS.net. In a single click it is possible to mark all candidates present in an exam to be present in SIMS; a great tool for all attendance officers in schools and colleges.
SchoolWorkSpace