SEIAG/03/2 - SCOTXED PROGRESS REPORT
SEIAG Remit
SEIAG has a key role in taking froward ScotXed developments. The ScotXed team proposes that SEIAG's remit is amended to refer specifically to its involvement as follows:
"SEIAG is responsible for final approval of data exchange specifications and has ownership of the Data Interchange Agreement (DIA) which describes the data to be exchanged and the technical and procedural modalities."
Progress Report
The following Progress Report represents an update of progress within the ScotXed programme since the last SEIAG meeting end 2003.
Personnel changes :
Adam Krawczyk has left and taken a position in Health,
Claire Boyce is leaving to take up a post in Justice Department.
The ScotXed Unit now comprises :
Alison Kennedy, Programme Manager
George Wynne, Programme Deputy Manager
Murray Dunlop, Programme IT Manager
Raymond Buckley, Programme Support Manager
Laura McCallum, Programme Support
Strand 1: Data Exchanges
Unanticipated data protection issues for 2002 have been and are continuing to be resolved. The data exchange specifications for 2003 have been agreed and finalised and put on the ScotXed website for downloading. Meetings have been held with MIS developers to discuss and clarify schema issues and these are on-going. The grants to local authorities to contribute towards the cost of the 2003 exchanges have been awarded.
Initial Feedback on 2002 transfers:
Around 720,000 records were transferred.
Outstanding achievement of 99.4% data content
Congratulations and appreciation of contribution by school staff, especially administrative staff, LAs and MIS suppliers.
ECSU has considered the data in more detail, including analyses of annual trends. This has identified some anomalies, particularly in aggregate staff data, which ECSU will discuss with local authorities/schools. ECSU will review its QA process for 2003 based on lessons learned in 2002.
The data exchange specifications for 2003 (Pupils, Staff , A, A and E, 5-14 Attainment Levels) are published; local authorities and MIS developers are implementing these. Staff unions have been briefed by letter.
Strand 2: DIA development and maintenance
The Technical Group has met but without representation from CoSLA. Edina software gave a presentation to processing staff demonstrating a 'proof of concept' solution to making the Data Interchange Agreement (DIA) available over the Web. Future data exchanges and DIA development will reflect a consideration of all partners' data exchange needs. A prioritised list is being constructed in consultation with stakeholders.
Leaflets for pupils/parents and for staff will be issued in June or August to comply with the fair processing requirements of the Data Protection Act.
There is pressure to develop a national system for school to school data exchanges, incorporating a national system of unique pupil identifiers for education records. This pressure is fuelled by the recognition that a variant of such a system could operate UK wide and help track 'lost' pupils. ScotXed will take this forward with LA contracts, MIS Developers, LT Scotland and SQA and SEED policy colleagues. ScotXed had made a bid to SE for funds in 2004/05 to build a secure central repository.
Strand 3: SEED ScotXed processing system
The system for 2002 has read and validated the data but it is very basic. A new project manager, Murray Dunlop, has been appointed to end September 2003, to develop the system for 2003 with an eye to future data exchanges.
Strand 4: Use of ScotXed data and information
The STACs 2002 post-appeals CDs were produced and delivered on schedule.
The STACs Review Focus Group are taking forward the review. It was agreed by the Focus Group that changes to STACs for 2003 would be minor. The 2004 STACs pre-appeal issue is a more realistic target for more fundamental changes. Sub-groups were formed to take forward investigations of the following issues:
- Sub-group 1 Specification for school-based analyses of pupil level SQA results data,
- Sub-group 2 UPSS (including design and range),
- Sub-group 3 5-14 Attainment and Value Added,
- Sub-group 4 Relative Ratings and Regression
The Review consultation exercise is informing future decisions, priorities and timescales. The review discussions identified that timelines and targets were very ambitious and will be spread over 2 years. The issues emanating from the work of the sub-groups, along with more general issues are being considered at a final meeting of the Review Focus Group in May, at which final proposals and recommendations will be made to SEED. Consultation with the wider user community with regard to these proposals and recommendations will follow in the autumn.
The ScotXed website has been updated as part of the process of incorporating the STACs website and providing feedback about the Review.
LTScotland Development Officers have been engaged in partnership working with local authorities and individual schools to assess the potential, positive impact of ICT on school administration and management. Projects such as ICTSMAD and MISSYP have been supporting pilot studies across the country. The work thus far has been enthusiastically received and deemed to be of potential value. Arrangements are on-going to appoint a third LT Scotland DO from a primary background.
Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, which will collate data all aspects of life in Scotland, will shortly publish aggregate data generated from the data exchanged electronically in 2002.
ScotXed will oversee the production and review of a feasibility study and scoping exercise for a ScotXed data warehouse . This will, in theory, allow Scottish school education partners to realise the potential of ScotXed by releasing information to partners in a supported and controlled environment over SPARK, the schools secure intranet. A prototype warehouse will be required for 2004 to release STACs data as an alternative to CD ROM. A bid has been made to SE for funds for this purpose.
Strand 5: Promoting and communicating ScotXed
Implementation tasks groups have been meeting regularly. However, their modus operandi has been reviewed and ScotXed is proposing to take forward developments in a more efficient way through the establishment of :
- Data Requirements Task Groups
- Technical Task Groups (whose remit will be similar to the Technical Group)
- Implementation Task Groups
Formal arrangements will be set up to ensure effective LA representation. Meetings, generally, will be non-MIS specific. ScotXed is preparing a paper for consultation.
The regular Forum meeting are highly valued by all partners and remain a vehicle for wide-ranging and frank discussion. Many useful developments are agreed and refined in these meetings.
The prototype website (www.scotXed.net) has been updated and will continue to be a focus for information dissemination to partners.
Strand 6: Evaluating the impact of the project
The ScotXed 2002 Annual Review has been prepared in draft form and is with partners for final comments. The Review focuses on issues raised, ScotXed partners' responses and impact on the ScotXed Overview Plan. Any decisions emanating from these discussions will inform the development of the Overview Plan.
SEED IAC SCOTXED UNIT
May 2003