SHARED Eadmissions SERVICE IS a HIT for LONDON Submitted By: Gray Matter PR Friday, 12 January 2007
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SHARED eADMISSIONS SERVICE IS A HIT FOR LONDON Submitted by: Gray Matter PR Friday, 12 January 2007 London, January 8, 2007: London’s eAdmissions service is the only online school admissions system to have been implemented as a shared service in the UK and is an excellent example of how shared services are benefiting local communities and enhancing local authority services. London’s eAdmissions system was launched in September 2006 and early results for user adoption of the service have been very positive. The system was developed to allow the 33 London Boroughs to offer online school admissions. Take-up results in the first year of operation have been encouraging, with the London Borough of Hackney, achieving the highest results nationwide - 81% of its secondary school applications were made online. Others that achieved significantly higher online applications than the national average were the Boroughs of Sutton, Merton, the City of London Corporation and Richmond. Overall, on average, the London Boroughs achieved 14% take-up. The system was implemented by the Pan London Coordinated School Admissions Programme and London Connects, led by Wandsworth Borough Council and was developed and hosted by System Associates, a privately-owned web technology partner. London eAdmissions sits under the eAdmissions National Project, which has overall responsibility for supporting 150 local authorities across the country in delivering and promoting online school admissions. Primary and secondary school applications can now be made online by parents, at a time convenient to them, via London’s Portal - www.yourlondon.gov.uk, making it easier for today’s busy parents to apply for a school place. For secondary applications, parents can apply cross-borough by filling in a single application form. Parents can also access useful online services, such as Ofsted reports and school prospectuses, which help them to select a school. If an applicant changes their mind, or their circumstances alter, amendments can be made right up until the school admissions deadline. If an application has not been submitted a week before the deadline, reminders are automatically sent via email. Once the application has been completed, parents can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with receiving an immediate confirmation of receipt via email. As well as considerable benefits to parents, development of a shared system has delivered significant benefits to school administration teams. Administration and stationery costs are reduced by online school admissions and results from an early feasibility study estimated that the co-ordinated online service will have reduced overall costs by more than 50% when compared to each borough procuring and implementing their own local system. Peter Williams, Deputy CEO, London Connects comments: “Significant economies of scale can be achieved by sharing online services. www.yourlondon.gov.uk has provided a platform upon which the 33 London Boroughs can adopt a unified approach to all pan-London services, and save money in the process. Your London’s role is to provide a central point of access, making it easier for anyone with an interest in London to locate the information they are looking for.” The system aims to mirror the processes and procedures already in place for London’s school admissions, Page 1 yet adds additional value in terms of reporting and feedback. However, joining 33 back-office systems is a technological challenge. There are three main proprietary systems used for the administrative handling of school admissions. System Associates developed a system which allows for this and automatically translates data taken from the online application form into the specific, compliant XML required for back-office administration. A new tier of management and reporting tools has also been enabled, allowing administrators to monitor the number of applications submitted to each Borough. The process by which applications are administered can also be monitored by tracking an application by its number, parent name, child name, postcode or date of birth. Local Authorities have the ability to log in and see data and reports relating to applications for their borough and, as an additional part of the school administration process, primary schools have limited access to the eAdmissions system to monitor whether all Year 6 pupils have applied for a secondary school place. This acts as a safe-guard, ensuring that all children in the area apply for a school place for the following year. Those that have not applied can be reminded through their primary school and helped through the admissions process, if necessary. After completing an application, applicants are given the opportunity to offer feedback about the online admissions process and this can be very useful in terms of enhancing and improving the facility, over the long-term. David Macken, managing director of System Associates comments: “Joining government is the way forward for the nation’s public services. Providing online school admissions has encouraged parents to interact with the education system, making it more convenient for busy parents to apply. There is certainly a demand for online transactions and more accessible government services and since the development of Your London, we are finding more and more uses for the Portal and for presenting a unified approach to London’s services. -ends – Please note: A case study about London’s eAdmissions Programme is available on request. Further information: Press enquiries: Kimberley Gray – Freelance PR Consultant Tel: 0118 969 4904/07884 405 835 Email: [email protected] www.kimberleygray.com System Associates Claire Simpson – Director Tel: 01628 511662 Page 2 About London eAdmissions Since 2002, the Pan London Coordinated School Admissions Programme, led by Wandsworth Borough Council, has been working to provide a unified approach to secondary school admissions across London. Parents applying to secondary schools in neighbouring boroughs can do so via a single application form sent to the borough within which they live. To reflect this strategy and comply with the local e-Government requirement for online school admissions, the 33 London Boroughs agreed to work together to provide a system via the Your London portal, www.yourlondon.gov.uk. This system supports the unified approach to London’s school admissions process and is allowing busy parents to apply for a school place online, at a time that suits them. About Your London Your London was launched in April 2005 and was one of the first shared services to have been developed, involving a significant number of government services. London has one of the most complex governing bodies in the World, which can be confusing to residents, visitors and businesses in and around the City. www.yourlondon.gov.uk aims to make it far easier for citizens to find out about London’s public services, regardless of their knowledge of local government. Your London unifies information from 33 London Boroughs as well as other pan-London organisations such as Transport for London, the Greater London Council, London Councils and the Metropolitan Police. About System Associates System Associates specialises in the delivery of integrated web solutions including advanced web management such as high availability hosting, security and support. Working for organisations such as HM Treasury, British Library, Greater London Authority, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Buzz Airlines and London Connects, its product portfolio includes portal technology, bespoke content management, search engines, spider technology, media asset library, Freedom of Information workflow, single sign-on and large online registration solutions. System Associates boasts particular expertise in e-GIF and government-related specifications, accessibility, technical architecture, project management, databases and integration. It has been involved in a number of high profile e-Government projects including Local Directgov, Your London, the Learning Gateway, Collect Britain and Recycle for London. The privately held company is ISO9001:2000 and BS7799 accredited, has achieved Investor in People status and is Windsor & Maidenhead’s Small Business of the Year 2005. The company is located at 16 Grove Park, Waltham Road, White Waltham, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 3LW, Tel: 01628 511660, www.systemassociates.co.uk, Email: [email protected]. About the eAdmissions National Project By September 2006, to meet e-Government targets, all local authorities with a responsibility for education were required to provide the facility to apply online for school places. This initiative is being coordinated and driven by the eAdmissions National Project, led by Hertfordshire County Council, with support from Communities and Local Government (CLG) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). More information about the project can be found on www.eadmissions.org About London Connects Page 3 London Connects is a London-wide agency bringing together local, regional, and central government to support the delivery of the e-government agenda across the capital. Partners include the Greater London Authority, London Councils, and London Boroughs; together with other cross-London service providers and agencies, including Health agencies, London Development Agency, Transport for London, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Metropolitan Police Service, London Grid for Learning, London Libraries Development Agency, and the London Voluntary Services Council. More information can be found on www.londonconnects.gov.uk. Page 4 Distributed via Press Release Wire (https://pressreleases.responsesource.com/) on behalf of Gray Matter PR Copyright © 1999-2021 ResponseSource, The Johnson Building, 79 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8AW, UK e: [email protected] t: 020 3426 4051 f: 0345 370 7776 w: https://www.responsesource.com.