USO-AutoUpdate for Serco Facility CMIS has successfully finished a run of beta trials and is now on full release to schools signed up to LGfL 2.0 at no additional cost. Schools using CMIS can install USO-AutoUpdate to automate the export of data from their MIS directly into the LGfL USO, affording them better controlled and more secure access to London Grid for Learning content and services.
To obtain the software, a school’s Nominated Contact can access the installation guide from the LGfL Support Site User Guide, which also contains the link for the software download.
In response to customer requests, the USO-AutoText email functionality has been upgraded to support the sending of attachments. Multiple attachments can be sent via a single email. This is done via the Add attachment button now found on the Email page within USO-AutoText.
The system can handle attachments of up to 20Mb although attachments of different sizes are sent in different ways. Attachments of 1Mb or smaller are attached to the email directly. Attachments larger than 1Mb are stored remotely and the email received by the user will contain a web link instead of the file itself. The recipient can then either click on the link(s) provided or copy and paste the link(s) into a browser and download the documents. Files are automatically removed from the server after 21 days.
In response to the need for external contractors to provide ICT support to some schools in the capacity of a Nominated Contact, a new process to facilitate the provisioning of such USO accounts has been established. It is now possible for a Head teacher to sign off a form requesting that the manager of the external support company be given the ability to grant other employees of that company the status of Nominated Contact for that school.
To obtain the form required to initiate this process, an existing Nominated Contact in the school will need to log in to the USO support site and download the form found under Resources > Forms. The form signed by the Head and the manager of the ICT support company will then need to be scanned and attached to a support case raised by an existing Nominated Contact at the school.
Once the manager of the external support company obtains the Head’s permission and the forms are processed, they will be able to request that the company’s employees be granted Nominated Contact status by raising a support case via the USO Support Site. No further intervention from the Head teacher will be required.
A maximum of 15 Nominated Contacts per school may be created in this way. Each employee of the support company applying for Nominated Contact status will also be required to obtain an OTP tag and register it to their personal USO account. These tags may be purchased from Atomwide.
When employees of the support companies leave their current employment, it is expected that their USO account and Nominated Contact status be terminated by the company within 24 hours. When a Head teacher who signed the initial release form leaves their post at that school, the school must notify Atomwide of the change, either by providing the name of the new Head or explaining the circumstances if no new Head is in place. The usage of any account to access LGfL USO Support Services and/or to access school or user-related data, and the conduct of each individual account holder in their usage of those accounts, remains the sole responsibility of the contracting company’s manager that has accepted this administrative role. This responsibility is discharged for the individual account once the account has been disabled.
In order to ensure that general user account data is maintained up-to-date, schools must adhere to the LGfL mandatory requirement of operating nightly exports from any supported MIS using LGfL USO-AutoUpdate. This service is currently available for schools using Capita SIMS, Pearson e1, RM G2/S2, Wauton Samuel, and Serco CMIS platforms.
This process is intended to allow external support companies to employ different individuals to assist a given school, as circumstances require, while continuing to safeguard that school’s data and allow for accurate auditing of activity taking place within the USO support site.
External support companies that are new to working with USO are welcome to contact sales@atomwide.com for further information.
USO-AutoUpdate software has recently been updated to allow extraction of data from Serco CMIS. Schools using this MIS can obtain a copy of the USO-AutoUpdate software on request to create and maintain their pupil and staff USO accounts. All schools using USO-AutoUpdate for the first time will need to enable the software to export data via the AutoUpdate settings page in the USO support site.
The software is undergoing final trials in various schools at the moment. Anyone wishing to participate in the trial may do so on the understanding that the software provided is a Beta version. To obtain the software, a Nominated Contact will need to raise a support case and request that the software is enabled for their school. A link to the correct version of the software download will then be provided via the support case. All details regarding installation and configuration, as well as the software download, can be found here.
Schools using the Wauton Samuel MIS can now make use of LGfL USO-AutoUpdate software to create and maintain their pupil and staff USO accounts. Schools that have been managing user accounts manually can now automate the updating of USO account data, greatly reducing the amount of work involved in the administration of user accounts via regular, scheduled exports of agreed data fields.
Schools that have been using a different, or third party, exporting process can now switch to USO-AutoUpdate. The current software will need to be disabled before AutoUpdate can be used. All schools using USO-AutoUpdate for the first time will need to enable the software via the AutoUpdate settings page in the USO support site.
Schools will need to have a recent, USO-AutoUpdate-compatible, version of Wauton Samuel School Web Services installed and obtain the relevant login details from Wauton Samuel. They should then download the USO-AutoUpdate software from the link provided in the USO Support Site User Guide (via the Blue ‘Help’ button). All details regarding installation and configuration, as well as the software download, can be found here.
Atomwide and its core service delivery partners, Virgin Media Business and Fronter, take security extremely seriously with regard to all aspects of the services provided in the format of broadband education service.
In order to operate the most robust, sustainable, and scalable hierarchy of user security and identity management across schools, Atomwide has operated for many years within a wider organisational structure assisted by key LA officers and senior Local Authority Advisors (or their commercial sector partner equivalents where LA services have been outsourced), all typically holding the status of Super User or Power User within the USO that underpins all LA services. To obtain this position, LA officers will have been appointed by the Local Authority’s key contractual contact.
Within schools and similar individual establishments, this status is replaced with the local role of Nominated Contact, authorised for appointment, without exception, by the school’s Head Teacher (or equivalent for non-school establishments).
Nominated Contacts are the vital, recognised and authorised ‘conduit’ for communication, support and action between Atomwide and the school. They can be nominated by any in-post Head Teacher whose role can itself be verified by a combination of the school’s up to date DfE EduBase entry, Local Authority officer-sourced information, or in some cases, practical supporting evidence from the school.
The validation of the Head Teacher’s identity is taken very seriously by Atomwide, since we recognise their role as the school’s Data Controller in the eyes of the law, and also the person on whom responsibility ultimately rests should any breach of security result in the unauthorised release of sensitive, perhaps child-specific, personal, geographical, or status-related data pertaining to USO account holders.
Accordingly, no facility is offered for any person not previously authorised to communicate with the Atomwide USO Help Desk on any school or user-specific matter. The only exception to this is reserved for communications with law enforcement officers acting with appropriate authority.
Schools not wishing to have their service provision in any way governed or influenced by LA officers or policy, can arrange this by issuing an instruction by the Head Teacher via a support case on the support site, at which point appropriate changes to the governance process will be made for that school. Due to the significance of Head Teacher’s responsibility in a number of key areas relating to data protection and service management, no opportunity is provided for the Head Teacher’s role and responsibility to be over-ridden or otherwise bypassed by another party.
Atomwide greatly appreciate the ongoing support for this strategy by Local Authority ‘leads’, support staff, school Head Teachers, education-associated establishment Managers, and school staff in general, as well as third-party commercial partners employed under the direction of schools and Councils. We appreciate that urgency can spawn frustration, and so are all the more grateful to those users that respect the structures put in place to ensure the safety of information, user identities, and ultimately the children, students and staff that Atomwide exists to serve.
LGfL is moving towards using a Unified Sign On for all its services. Users should be aware that as of 1 September 2011 access to all LGfL content will be via LGfL USO accounts only. (This is the same login as is used to access StaffMail or LondonMail accounts.)
This means that from 1 September:
- Users wishing to access content from home will not be able to do so using a Fronter login.
- Screens where a choice of the type of login is offered will no longer appear as all logins will be via LGfL USO.
- Users whose London MLE account is not linked to their LGfL USO account will still see a Fronter Login screen but LGfL content within the MLE will require a further login.
- Access to content via network IP recognition will continue within the schools as before.
- Access to personalised content will require USO authentication as normal, whatever your location.
For the full briefing document, including details on the compatible MIS platforms and how to obtain USO see: www.uso.lgfl.net
Atomwide is offering free one-day training courses to Nominated Contacts within LGfL schools. The courses are designed to give Nominated Contacts, particularly those who are new to their role, a good understanding of USO-account administration, the USO Support Site, and the relevance of these to the wide range of LGfL services.
Courses will cover the following topics:
- Overview of LGfL USO, Shibboleth and OTP authentication
- Getting the most from the USO support site
- Raising and tracking support cases and contacting the Service Desk
- Manual account creation and administration
- LGfL USO-AutoUpdate – configuring settings, understanding data export results, matching accounts
- Overview of functionality that hinges on AutoUpdate
- Introduction to ADSync
- Configuring LGfL StaffMail, including creating aliases and shared mailboxes
- Configuring LGfL LondonMail/SafeMail
- Secure file transfer with LGfL USO-FX
- Introduction to LGfL WebScreen 2.0 web filtering system
- Introduction to parent USO accounts to access parental reporting
- Overview of LGfL USO-AutoText
Spaces can be reserved via the Course bookings page found under the Training tab in the Support Site. Each person wishing to attend a course is requested to make a booking themselves as it is not possible to make reservations on behalf of others. Once an initial booking is made, it must be approved by the school’s Head Teacher or a designated Course Booking Approver. “Course Booking Approver” is a newly-created USO profile setting that is granted to Heads by default and can be granted to other individuals by raising a support case.
The courses aim to ensure that Nominated Contacts have the confidence to carry out all tasks related to their role and so, questions and interaction are welcomed throughout the day.
Most of the information made available to users concerns the provisioning and administration of USO accounts. However, knowing how to terminate USO accounts correctly is of high importance when pupils or staff leave an establishment or are otherwise no longer eligible for a USO account.
A comprehensive document available on the USO support site outlines steps that should be taken to stop a user’s USO account and their access to licenced services or to keep an account temporarily under the “sponsorship” of a school. Please refer to this document for the latest guidance.
Atomwide can now provide Parent USO accounts for use with compatible parental engagement services. These accounts are available to parents through a secure self-registration process and will allow parents to view parental reporting data within the online interface provided by a variety of services, currently including the London MLE, USO-integrated SIMS Learning Gateway, and Atomwide’s own ParentLink Reporting pages.
Parent USOs are initially available for use with LGfL 2.0-subscribing schools for use with the London MLE, SIMS Learning Gateway and ParentLink services as described above. They are also released today for use by all Buckinghamshire LA WAN-connected schools for use with SIMS Learning Gateway within the Bucks Learning Portal (BLP). In all cases, Parent USO capability is enabled on a per-school basis in response to a request from a school Nominated Contact via the USO Support Site.
Schools are asked to contact their Parental Reporting service provider to ensure that the appropriate reporting service is available to their school, and also to ensure that USO-AutoUpdate is being used to export the necessary data to Atomwide, prior to requesting Parent USO accounts to be enabled.
Schools in other USO-licensing LAs should contact Atomwide or their LA for further details on the future availability of Parent USOs.
More information on the creation of parent accounts and what is required to access parental report data can be found in the LGfL/Atomwide USO Support Site online manual. Click the blue “Help about this page” button from any page in the USO Support Site to access the manual, then select the “Parental Engagement” topic from the menu structure on the left-hand side.