Activities
My Activities
My Activities are displayed on My Home Page which provides summary information about each activity that the person logged in is involved with. Activities can represent School, Home or other Agency visits, meetings (e.g. Panel Meetings, Case Conferences) or can represent work that a Caseworker has to do such as write up a report or preparation time.
By default all activities that are currentcurrent or in the future are listed. You can restrict the list of activities or include past Activities by selecting a different date from the drop-down calendar.
You can view or update details of an existing CSS Activity by clicking on the Activity Type. Alternatively, clicking on the New icon opens a blank CSS Activity Details page allowing a new Activity record to be created.
This method of adding a new Activity can only be used for Activities that are not linked to Involvements. Activities that are linked to Involvements must be added via the Activities link on the Involvements page.
Click the Refresh button to display all of your activities.
Click on Calendar to open the My Calendar page which allows you to view your complete calendar.
When you click on an Activity Type to open the Activity Details dialog, if any of the people linked to the Activity have an associated Risk or a Parent/Carer or Sibling who is deceased an Alert Message displays to warn you of the fact.
- Activities and InvolvementsActivities and Involvements
Activities can be linked to involvements. To add an activity to an involvement, click the Activities link on the Involvements page. This opens the Activity Enquiry from where you can search for an existing activity or add a new one. It is not possible to link an involvement to a pre-existing activity, as an activity must be specific to its linked involvement.
- Activities and Results OrganiserActivities and Results Organiser
If your Local Authority has a current licence for PULSE, Activities can be linked to Results Organiser which can then be used to analyse outcomes and aims and so assess the level of success or failure of an Activity. For example you can define a Results Organiser Template that has Every Child Matters (ECM) Outcomes as the Aspects and with marks 1-10, and by linking an Activity to this template you can track trends in the ECM Outcomes.
- Activities and OutlookActivities and Outlook
When you save an Activity, if the Activity Owner has a valid Outlook email address and has Update Online Calendar set to true in One v3, then the Activity will be added to their Outlook Calendar.
- Activity EnquiryActivity Enquiry
The Activity Enquiry page is opened by clicking on Activities in the Links panel.
By default the From Date is today's date, so the list includes all current and future Activities with which the person is linked.
- To restrict the list to a date range you can enter a To Date or to view past Activities you can enter a From Date that is in the past.
- The name of the person the enquiry has originated from will be entered but you can select a different name if you wish.
Click Search to regenerate the list of Activities if you have made a change to any of the search criteria.
Double click on an Activity or click the Open icon to display the Activity Details page.
When you open an Activity, if any of the people linked to the Activity have an associated Risk or a Parent/Carer or Sibling who is deceased an Alert Message will pop up to warn you of the fact.
CSS Activity Details
This page displays the details of the selected activity. If you have sufficient access rights you can edit an existing activity or enter details for a new one.
A Wizard is available allowing you to move through each panel by clicking Previous or Next at the bottom instead of scrolling down the page. Click the Wizard icon again to return to a scrollable form.
You can switch the feature panels on/off by clicking the Show/Hide button at the top of the page. The Show/Hide button includes drop-down options allowing you to customise the desktop by selecting the feature panels you wish to show.
The size of each panel can be adjusted by hovering the mouse on an outside edge of the panel, when the cursor changes shape, "click and drag" to the required size.
Upon opening the Activity Details page the Links panel is populated with hyperlinks to other areas of the system which are appropriate to booking Activities.
When adding a new activity, the Activity Owner is entered by default. This is the name of the person creating the activity. This can be changed to a different person if you have access rights to create activities for other people. You must also enter a Service Team and click the Continue button. You must then select an Activity Type.
The following panels are available to enter further information:
- Activity DetailsActivity Details
Activity Details Panel
Each Activity must have:
- An Activity Owner
In most cases this is populated with the name of the person creating the Activity but can be edited if you have sufficient access rights. If you are adding a new Activity via another person's Calendar then their name will be entered as the Activity Owner. - A Service Team
In most cases this will be a Service Team to which the Activity Owner belongs. If they are only a member of one Service Team this will be entered automatically. If they are a member of more than one Service Team then you can select from the Service Team Chooser.
If, however, you are adding a new Activity via another person's Calendar, then although their name will be the default owner, the choice of Service Teams will be those to which you, the Activity Creator, belong.
Once the Activity has been saved the Service Team cannot be changed. - An Activity Type
The drop-down lists all those Activity Types to which the selected Service Team is linked.
The Description field will hold up to 200 characters.
The Activity Type, Service Name and Description display in the Activity list on the My Home Page. The Type and Description are displayed in the Calendar entry.
If you change the name of an Activity Owner and the activity has Linked or Recurring activities, the owner of the linked and recurring activities is updated to be the new person.
- An Activity Owner
- Activity DurationActivity Duration
Activity Duration Panel
By default the Start Date, End Date and Complete By Date will be the current date unless the Activity is being added via the Activity Calendar, in which case these Dates will all be the date that was selected on the Calendar.
Any of these dates can be deleted or edited but there must be a Start Date and either (or both) of the other dates for the Activity to be saved.
If there is no End Date, the Activity will be recorded as a TaskTask. A Task must have a Complete By dateComplete By date.
The Recurring Activity checkbox will be ticked if this Activity is part of a recurring series.
The Main Activity checkbox will be:
- Empty if this Activity is not part of a recurring series.
- Marked with a tick if this is an Activity that has one or more Linked Activities or is the first Activity in a recurring series
An Activity thus marked can be made into another recurring series if required. - Marked with a cross if this is part of a recurring series but is not the first Activity in the series - an Activity thus marked cannot be made into another recurring series.
This panel is not available for Linked Activities.
- Location DetailsLocation Details
Location Details Panel
Location Details are optional. The location could be a Base or School Site or the home address of a Child or Parent/Carer. The Location field allows you to search for the Address location for the School, Site, Child or Parent/Carer via the Address Enquiry.
If you select a Base, the Main Site for that base will be entered into the Site field and the Address of that site will be entered into the Location field. All of these fields can be edited if required; any address on the system can be selected as the LocationLocation.
Tip: Any activities recorded for a base can be accessed from the Activities link on the Base Definition page.
- Additional Activity DetailsAdditional Activity Details
Panels are available to link one or more EPM Activities, Focuses and/or Target Groups to the Activity.
- The EPM Activity tree view is currently defined in the One v3 EPM module.
- The Focus(es) can be chosen from those linked to this Service Team in the Services Focus | CSS Service Team Administration.
- The Target Group(s) can be chosen from those linked to this Service Team in the Services Focus | CSS Service Team Administration.
Other Details
This panel allows you enter optional details such as the OriginatorOriginator, Booking Status Booking Status*, Group SizeGroup Size*, Travel MilesTravel Miles and a Follow Up DateFollow Up Date*.
These fields are not available for Linked Activities.
- Activity TimeActivity Time
Activity Time Panel
This panel records a breakdown of time spent during different phases of the Activity. The time elements listed here are determined by those set for this Service Team on the CSS Service Team Definition page.
Up to six Time Categories may be displayed - Follow-Up, General, Onsite, Preparation, Support Time and Travel.
Double click on an Activity Time to make it editable and enter the time in daysdays and/or hours.
Mandatory time elements are indicated with a red box.
As times are entered, the totalstotals below are updated.
- Linked ActivityLinked Activity
Linked Activity Panel
An Activity can have any number of Linked Activities and will then be marked as a Main Activity.
The Linked Activity panel displays details of any activities already linked and enables you to Add, Edit or Remove Linked Activities if you have suitable access rights.
- A Linked Activity cannot have recurrences added to it.
- You cannot add a Start Date, End Date, Start Time, End Time or Complete By date to a Linked Activity since these are part of the Main Activity details.
- By default a Linked Activity will have the same Activity Type as the Main Activity but this can be changed if necessary.
- Any Activity times added for a Linked Activity will be included in the Activity Time panel on the Main Activity details page.
An Activity with one or more Linked Activities is marked with a page icon on the Calendar.
If you change the name of an Activity Owner and the Activity has Linked and/or Recurring Activities, the Owner of the Linked/Recurring Activities will be updated to be the new person.
- Recurring ActivityRecurring Activity
Recurring Activity Panel
If this is a Main ActivityMain Activity in a recurring sequence the associated Recurring Activities will be listed in this panel. The details displayed cannot be changed from the panel; in order to view or edit the details for one of the listed recurrences, double click on the line to open the Activity Details for that recurrence.
To create a recurring sequence of activities, click the Recurrence icon at the top of the page.
A recurring activity is indicated with a rotating arrow icon on the Calendar.
If you change the name of an Activity Owner and the Activity has Linked and/or Recurring Activities, the Owner of the Linked/Recurring Activities will be updated to be the new person.
- If an Activity has Linked People and you then create a recurring series from it, the Linked People will be copied to the recurrences.
- If you link people to a Main Activity after creating a recurring series, they will not be copied to the recurrences but must be linked to each Activity separately if needed.
- Link PeopleLink People
Link People Panel
Any number of people can be linked to an existing Activity. For example these could be children, staff, parents/carers etc., some or all of who might be required to attend meetings. When you have linked a person you will then have the opportunity to link some or all of their Key ContactsKey Contacts.
After you create a new activity, the name of the activity owner and the subject of the involvement are included in the Link People tab. Click the Add icon to link more people to the activity.
The Link People grid can be scrolled from left to right and has columns for relevant data, some of which can edited from here. These include details such as their base, role, checkboxes to indicate if they are if they are the Lead PractitionerLead Practitioner if they are the SubjectSubject, whether they are scheduled to attend and/or have actually attended the Activity, their Activity Attendance codeAttendance code, the time spent on the Activity, Group Size and Support Type.
- If an Activity already has Linked People and you then create a recurring series from it, the Linked People will be copied to the recurrences.
- If you link people to a Main Activity after creating a recurring series, they will not be copied to the recurrences but must be linked to each Activity separately if needed.
Linking People to an Activity (including adding Key Contacts)
To link people to an activity, click the Add icon. This opens a dialog with two tabs. The first tab is the Person Enquiry which lets you search for and select people using known criteria. The second tab is Key Contacts. If you want to add the key contacts of a person who has already been linked to the activity (for example a Base Contact of a child who is the subject of a Case Conference), highlight their name and click the Add icon. Select the Key Contacts tab to select them and link them to the activity as well.
Click the OK button to close the the Key Contacts window and return to the Activity Details page,with these people selected. The people will not be saved against the activity until you click the Save button at the top of the Activity Details page. This creates the link between the activity and the people.
If the person you are linking has a deceased parent, carer or sibling an Alert Message will warn you of this when you save. A similar Alert Message will also be displayed whenever the Activity is opened.
If necessary people can be removed from the list using the Remove icon.
Edit Linked People
You can add or edit all the details concerning a linked person's role in the Activity directly in the grid. Alternatively, select the name of the person you wish to edit and click the Edit Edit icon. This opens the Linked Person window where you can add further details or edit details that are specific to this person's role in the Activity.
Linked Person Memo
When you select a name in the grid the Linked Person Memo icon at the right hand end of the grid displays a blue icon if no Memo has been recorded for the person and a red icon if a Memo has been recorded for them in this context. Click on the icon to add, read or edit a memo. - Visible to Online UsersVisible to Online Users
This panel enables the local authority to specify whether they would like the activity they are creating to be visible online for users at the base they have selected.
If an activity is set to be visible online for a specified base, then any linked documents and linked activities are also visible online. Therefore, only information relevant to the base should be included.
If a user needs to view activities for their base in CSS Online, the Is Online User check box must be selected via v4 Client | Tools | Team Structure | Posts | Post Definition | Post Details.
Some fields on the Activity Details page can be set to mandatory. One checks that the mandatory fields are completed, if not, a validation message is displayed. Mandatory fields are set via Tools | Set Mandatory Field | Mandatory Field Admin.
- Click the Workflow button to create a Workflow Item and assign it to a user or post. The workflow item displays in My Workflow Messages on the My Home Page.
- Click the Memo button to store relevant information against the record. When the record is saved, the Memo icon changes from blue to red.
- Click the Set ACL button to define access level to data for individual users or users in a specific post or group.
- Click the Data Panels button to display the View/Hide Data Panels dialog. The purposed of this dialog is to give you the option to hide panels which are infrequently used.
- Click the Alerts button to display the Alert Messages dialog for the current record. These messages are displayed when the record is opened.
- Click the SQL Mail Merge button to display the SQL Mail Merge dialog for the current record. SQL Mail Merge is created using the Entity.
- Click the UDF Manager button to display the UDF Manager dialog. UDFs (User Defined Fields) enable you to add extra fields to accommodate data items that one does not store.
- Click the Sign Off button to electronically sign off the activity record. The digital signature records who signed off the activity and the date.
- Click the Clone button to create a copy of the current activity. Linked people can also be cloned at this point.
- Click the Copy Alerts button to copy any alerts to recurring activities.
- Click the Recurrence button to create recurring sequences of an activity.
Linked Activity Details
The CSS Linked Activity Details window displays when you click the Add or Edit button on the Linked Activity panel of the Activity Details page.
Most of the functionality is the same as the main CSS Activity Details page with some exceptions:
- The Activity Owner cannot be changed from here. These must be the same as the Main Activity. If the Owner of the Main Activity is changed then the Owner of the Linked activities will also change The Service Team cannot be changed.
- The Activity Duration panel is not available
- The Location Details are the same as those available for a Main Activity.
- The Additional Activity Details (EPM Activity, Target Group, Focus etc) are the same as those available for a Main Activity, with the exception of Booking Status, Group Size and Follow Up Date, which are not available.
- The time Categories available in the Activity Time panel are those defined for the Service Team responsible for the Main Activity.
- Other Activities cannot be linked to a Linked Activity.
- People cannot be linked to a Linked Activity.
Activity Recurrence
Clicking the Recurrence icon in the Task Bar opens the Activity Recurrence window and allows you to create a repeated series of Activities based on the details entered for the original Activity. The original Activity will then become a Main Activity.
You can only add one recurring series to each Main Activity - if you try to create a second recurring series you will be asked to confirm that you wish the first series to be deleted and a new series created based on your choices.
- The Start and End Times default to those for the Main Activity but can be edited.
- Select the Recurrence Pattern -
- Daily
Enter a number of days (the Activity will recur every "n" days) or Every Weekday (the Activity will recur on Monday to Friday only) - Weekly
Enter the number of weeks apart the Activity is to recur and the day of the week on which it is to take place - Monthly
Enter the day of the month and how many months apart the Activity is to recur. If you enter, for example, the 31st day, for months without 31 days the Activity will recur on the closest earlier date (i.e. 28th, 29th or 30th depending on the month and year) or - Yearly
Enter the date for the annual recurrence
- Daily
- Select the Range of the series - i.e. the Start Date, and either a number of occurrences or the date by which the series must end.
Please note that entering a different start date for weekly, monthly or yearly recurrences will update that entered in the Range panel. The Start Date of the Main Activity will also be updated.
Click the OK button to close the Activity Recurrence window and return to the Activity Details page. The recurrence will not be saved until you click the Save button on the Activity Details page.
An activity that is part of a recurring series is indicated with a Recurring Activity icon on the calendar.
Link to Results Organiser
Results Organiser and Activities
Activities can be linked to Results Organiser which can then be used to analyse outcomes and aims and so assess the level of success or failure of an Activity. For example if you define a Results Organiser Template that has Every Child Matters (ECM) Outcomes as the Aspects and with marks 1-10, by linking an Activity to this template you can track trends in the ECM Outcomes.
The link between Activities and Results Organiser will only be available if your Local Authority has a current licence for PULSE and the Service Team has had at least one Activity Template added in Service Team Administration.
If these criteria have been fulfilled the the link will still be inactive until the Activity has at least one linked person and has been saved.
You can only link one Template at a time to an Activity.
Clicking the Results Organiser icon in the Task Bar opens the Select Template window. This lists all the Results Organiser Templates that are appropriate to the Service Team that is responsible for this Activity.
Double click on the Template you would like to link to this Activity or click on the template name and click Select or Open. The Results Organiser Grid will open, populated with the names of all the people who are linked to this Activity and the Aspects defined for this template. This has more limited functionality than the same grid that is displayed as a panel within Results Management - please see Results Organiser Grid (Activities) for more details.
Results Organiser Grid (Activities)
The version of the Results Organiser Grid that is opened by linking a Template to an Activity is displayed as a modal window. This is very similar to the panel version that is available within Results Management but has some important differences that are described here.
- The major difference between this and the Results Management Results Organiser Grid is that if you are linking a Template to an Activity, the Populate Grid functions will not be available to you. This is because the Template will have been pre-defined for use with Activities that may have both adults and students linked. For this reason also the grid refers to People rather than Students.
- The Save As function is limited to Marksheet (All)
- The Populate Results function is limited to All Results
If you wish to use the functions that are not available with the modal window version then you can save the grid as a Marksheet and open the Marksheet in Results Management.
You can enter the results directly in the grid or, if the associated results are already held in the database for those Aspects you can select the required Aspect(s) and click Click the Populate Results button to return All Results data
The data may be edited by adding new results and changing existing results; copy and paste functionality is available by right-clicking on a cell and selecting appropriately. If an invalid result value is entered in a cell an error message is displayed. Some columns may be defined as Read-Only which may not be edited unless you are the author; such columns have a different background colour.
Each column has click sortclick sort functionality, which orders the grid by the selected column.
Edited data may be saved to the database by clicking the Save button. Results History can be viewed by right-clicking on a cell. Where more than one result per Aspect per person is stored in the database a small RED triangle is displayed in the cell; the hover information will indicate (Multiple Results). Right-click to view the history.
Contextual data columns may subsequently be added to the grid by right-clicking on a name and selecting Contextual Data. This will open the Choose Contextual Data dialog.
Hovering on a cell containing a result will display the Result Date.
Choose Contextual Data
This dialog is opened by right clicking in the student column and selecting Contextual Data. It allows you to add student information columns to the grid from Student Data, Student History and Student School History.
All options are checkbox controlled. A ticked box will include that item as a column in the grid.
Results Analysis Function Icons (Activities)
The function icons along the top of the grid allow you to manipulate the analysis and are very similar to those available in Results Analyses opened from Results Management. When you are using Results Analysis directly from an Activity rather than through the Results Management Focus, the only Save As option is Marksheet and you cannot set a date filter for Populate Results.
| Save | Saves the Analysis to the database, incorporating any edited results. |
| Save As | Allows you to save the People and Aspects (All) as a Marksheet. |
| Export | This exports the Analysis as an XML spreadsheet.The spreadsheet will automatically be displayed. |
| Pivot | This option will transpose the axes. It will not allow you to transpose the axes if there are too many people (Max. 250). |
| Clear Grid | Gives options to clear the whole grid (All), clear Columns or Rows. |
| Populate Results | Automatically starts a background process to gather data for the analysis. If the data is subsequently edited or one or more rows (people) are deleted from the grid and this button is clicked again, the process will be repeated and the edited data will be overwritten. This method will once again generate data using the original cohort. |
| Calculate Formulas | Formulae fields are indicated by f. Data can be edited and recalculated as required. Populate Results allows you to gather the original data. |
| Summary | Clicking Summary inserts a group of rows at the foot of the grid showing calculations based on the Number of Results, Total Points, Mean Points, Maximum and Minimum result. |
| Hide Chooser | This is Show/Hide which toggles the Populate Grid panel. |
Linked Person
The Linked Person window is opened by highlighting a Linked Person's name in the Link People grid and clicking the Edit icon. It allows you to add or edit further details for a person that are specific to the Activity, as an alternative to editing them directly in the grid. There are three panels - Role/Establishment, Linked Person Details and Activity Support Type.
Use the Enquiry/Search facilities to enter the relevant Base and Role of the Linked Person.
If you enter a Start and End Time for the person's involvement with the Activity the Total Time will be calculated automatically. You cannot type into this field.
A checkbox is available to indicate that the person is scheduled to attend the Activity and another allows you to record actual Attendance.
Two further checkboxes allow you to indicate that this person is they are the Lead PractitionerLead Practitioner and if they are the SubjectSubject of the Activity. You can also record the Group Size if required.
You can select any number of Activity Support Types for the Linked Person - click the Add icon to open the Activity Type SearchActivity Type Search.
Clone an Activity
Cloning an Activity creates an exact copy of the original activity.
When you have cloned an Activity you should then edit some or all of the details in order to create a unique record.
- If the Activity being cloned has Linked Activities you will be given the option of cloning the Main Activity only, or the Main Activity and its associated Linked Activities.
- If the Activity being cloned has Linked People you will be given the option of cloning the Main Activity only, or the Main Activity and its associated Linked People.
- If the Activity being cloned is part of a recurring series the Recurring Activity checkbox will not be ticked on the clone so that, if you wish, you can create a recurring series from the new Activity.