Batch Reporting

Overview

The purpose of the batch reporting facility is to allow the creation of multiple books of pre-defined reports that are then delivered already ‘split’ into schools.

The process of producing a batch report is very straightforward; this guide will show how to make a ‘book’, add reports to it, submit the batch and then send it to schools.

All Local Authorities can use the batch reports functionality. Still, some options in terms of publishing reports are only available to LA, who have purchased the Broadcast option from Angel Solutions. 

There is a quick (3-minute) video overview below and more details in the text that follows the video. (Please note that some 2023 changes to the ability to edit books and reports are not shown in the screens shown in this first video, but the functionality remains largely the same)

The second video, shown below, is also short (2 minutes) and highlights the 2023 changes made to batch reporting to improve the ability to maintain and edit books as well as the checking system which ensures fewer batches fail.

Where to find Batch Reporting

The Batch Reporting module is available via the Nexus Menu - Batch Reporting.

You can access Batch Reporting by hovering over the appropriate option (Nova) and clicking Batch Reporting.

Once you have navigated to Batch Reporting, you will land on the Batch Reporting homepage, split into two sections – Books and Batches. Books are collections of different report definitions that will be put together in one 'book'. Batches are the individual instance of running a book. 

Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Create a new book

All batch reports start with the creation of a new ‘book’. A Book is a collection of reports you specify to be included in your batch.

Select the ‘New Book’ option. You will then be prompted to give your new book a name.

Once named, you will be taken into the ‘Edit Book’ screen. From this page, you can add the reports you want and make alterations to the book's overall layout, such as changing the order of those reports. You can edit the parameters of reports within the book and if you wish, you can also delete existing reports or the entire book from this page.

Reports that are not available to be run for the year selected are flagged with an 'Attention' icon and will need to be reviewed.

Step 2: Add and define reports

To add reports to your book, click the ‘Add a Report’ button.

You can then select the report you wish to add to your new book. 

You can create books that can be used yearly without needing to be recreated. However, some reports are only available for particular years (where this will be a problem this is highlighted as shown above). Please ensure that you have selected the correct report version that you would like to be included in your batch.

Once you have selected the report, you can change the name used within the book for this report. The name entered here will be used as the name of the report produced, so please ensure that the name is descriptive of the report content so you can recognise it later (perhaps a year later).

You will also be able to apply filters to the report to customise the data it displays. For example, your chosen report can filter on Sex, Free School Meals, Ethnicity etc.

You can also set the way the report is displayed. For example, Counts/Percentages, school, LA or national data included etc. Any option available in Nova for single report can also be applied to the batch report version. 

Within Nova, you can also select aggregates for some reports at this point, and you can click on ‘See More Pupil Filters’ to see additional filtering options.

Once you are happy with any applied filter and aggregations - or to continue without adding them - click Save.

You can check over the contents of your reports by clicking the  icon next to each one. You can also reorder your reports by dragging and dropping them into your preferred order or delete them by clicking theicon.

Once you are happy with any changes to the order, click the Save Order button, as amendments will not automatically be saved without this step.

If you have set up a book that is suitable to be a template for another book, you can copy the whole book and then make changes to the parameters for the book and reports within it if you wish to do so. 

Batch Reporting allows for the inclusion of pupil-level reports in any book. If you include one of these reports within your book, it is your responsibility to ensure that if it is sent out or distributed only to people with the necessary permissions to view that level of information. 

Step 3: Submit a book to generate the batch

Back on the main Batch Reporting page, if you are happy with the contents of your book, click the Submit this book for processing icon in Nova, or Submit link in Keypas.

You then need to:

• Give your batch a name.
• Select the relevant book and year from the drop-down menus.
• Choose school selection in Nova – this determines which schools’ reports will be included in your batch.
• If necessary, check the Single PDF box. By checking this option, a single PDF will be produced for each establishment. Each PDF will contain all relevant reports from the submitted book. When this is not checked, a separate PDF will be made for each report in the book. There are pros and cons to each approach, and users' preferences will also come into it. 
• Select the folder structure that you want the reports to be produced in. (This is particularly relevant to LA with the Broadcast functionality purchased from Angel Solutions, and you will want to ensure that this matches your existing folder structures if there is already one set up) See notes below. 
• If necessary, check the email when complete box. By checking this option, an email will be sent to the address on your Nexus account when the batch has been completed. This can be useful as you can only queue three batches at a time, and - if you have more than that - it's a helpful prompt to return to Nexus and queue the next batch. 

If your Local Authority has access to Broadcast, then the folder structure must end with the DfE number to be compatible, however, Year and Batch can be in either order. (Generally you should match your existing folder structures if already in place, or publishing a batch created with a different sequence will create a new - alternative - folder structure alongside the existing one with which users may be familiar) i.e. the only compatible options available on the folder structure drop-down are Batch/Year/DfE and Year/Batch/DfE, or none (as the file name includes the DfE name). If any other option is chosen, the reports in the batch will be considered global reports and will be shared with ALL schools.

There has been a change to ‘single PDF’ mode where a single PDF will be produced for each establishment that contains all relevant reports from the submitted book. These reports will now be named “{7_digit_estab_no}_{batch_name}”, and there is the option to save the PDF in the root level of the zip by choosing 'None' from the Folder structure drop down.

Once you have entered the settings, click the Submit Book button.

Running an entire batch across multiple schools may take a long period of time, especially during the data collection period. You should first run the batch report for a single school that has submitted the necessary data to ensure that all reports appear correctly before proceeding to larger batches.

Once your batch runs, you will be shown an estimated time scale for when it will be finished. This is a rough estimate to try and give you a guide on how long it may take.

Once your batch runs, you will see a percentage of how complete this is. You'll also be able to see some information in the right-hand panel, including the batch, book it was based on, number of reports, when it was submitted and who by.

You can cancel your batch by clicking the red cross icon.

If running a batch for schools in Nova, see the Reports header to view and check how many reports are included in your batch. 

Hint: Batches will be slower where there are more reports with more domains included for more schools - if you try and run smaller and 'faster' batches during the day and leave larger and 'slower' batches overnight, you can get through more reporting if you have a considerable number to create. 

Step 4: Downloading the completed batch

Once the batch process has been completed, Nexus will send an automated email to you if you requested to receive one.

The batch will then appear listed alongside a status indicator to inform you of any errors.

Error Icon

 

If you see this message alongside your report, it means that it has finished, however, one or more reports have failed. All other reports in the batch will have been generated successfully.

This means that the entire batch has failed. If you see this error, please contact the Nexus Support Team on 0845 129 7197 or email [e-mail].

Downloading the batch

To download the finished Batch Report, click on the Download icon under Actions. Your batch will download as a ZIP folder in the structure you specified earlier in the process.

Distributing to schools

If your Local Authority has rolled out Perspective Lite to schools and has Batch Reporting to Schools switched ON, then you will also be able to see this Distribute to schools icon, which allows you to distribute those reports to the relevant schools. You can also recall a distributed batch by clicking theRecall icon (as long as schools have not already downloaded those reports).

Schools can then access the reports from within their Perspective Lite accounts.

Pushing to Broadcast

If your Local Authority has subscribed to the Broadcast module (an upgrade on top of standard Nexus software delivered as part of your NCER membership), then instead of the distribute to schools icon, you will see the  Broadcast Cloud icon. This will push your newly created reports to the Broadcast Cloud, ready for use in Broadcast. They will remain available in the Broadcast cloud for 30 days.

If you then navigate to the Broadcast area of Nexus and click Upload, you will have an option to select an existing file from the Broadcast Cloud.