Add a session

Welcome to the Data Exchange training module – Add a session.

Take the time to familiarise yourself with the navigation guide, then select Next.

The following is regarding navigation for non-mouse users:

• The space bar is similar to the play/pause button and will play or pause the presentation.
• The left arrow is similar to the back and previous buttons and will go to the previous screen.
• The right arrow is similar to the forward and next buttons and will go to the next screen.
• The tab button will allow you to move through to the different elements on a page and using tab then the enter button will access information within those elements.
• The esc button is similar to the exit button and will exit out of the presentation.
• The end button is similar to the skip button and will skip a section of the presentation.

Select Next to continue.

A session records what service was delivered on a particular date within a reporting period, the type of service delivered and which clients attended. Sessions drive the reporting function of the Data Exchange and at least one session must be recorded within a reporting period for the case and associated clients to be counted in reports.

Adding a session to a case is an important step and should be done each time a service is delivered to one or more of your clients.

There are two different ways to create a session. You can add a session or you can copy a session.

To add a session record, click on the Add a Session tab on the Data Exchange home page

This will take you to the Find a case screen. In this screen you can search for a case using the search functions or if it is a case that has been recently created or used it will appear under the Results listings.

Next select which of the cases within your organisation that you wish to record this session against. In this example, we’re adding a session to the Family services workshop case.

This Case screen shows you the details for the Family services workshop and the clients attached to the case.

You can see here that a number of sessions have already been delivered under this case. To record a new session, select Add Session.

This is the Add a session – Session details screen.

The first field, Session ID, is an optional field; if you wish to, you can leave this blank and a Session ID will be created for you. Alternatively, if you have your own session numbering system, you may wish to enter an ID here.

The following three fields are mandatory as they have a red asterisk next to them.

The Session date field – here you need to record the date that this session was delivered on.

Please note that it cannot be a future date. It is either today’s date or a date in the past. Also note that a session cannot be recorded for a previous reporting period.

Next, select the Service type which best represents what was delivered in this session. Click on the drop down arrow and make your selection from the list. This list of service types will be driven by the programme activity that the case was created under.

In this example we’re going to say that it’s an Information/advice/referral for this session.

If there are any unidentified clients that attended your session, you can record these details here. In most cases this will be left as the default of zero, as this field is normally used to record large group activities.

The last field on this page is an optional field. You can record whether or not an interpreter was present on this particular session. In this example we are going to select No.

Once those details have been completed, select Next.

This is the Add a session – Clients/support persons attended screen.

Here, you can see a list of all clients who are attached to this case.

We need to mark off which clients attended this particular session.

In this example, we’re going to say that Angus Brown, Philip Martin and Harriet Henson attended this session, and attended in the capacity as clients, so we tick the box and click the Attach Selected Clients button.

We now have Angus, Philip and Harriet associated with this particular session.

Optionally, you can also record as present other people who do not meet the criteria of a client but attend as support people. This is not a Department requirement but can be done if you wish to reflect who was present at the session level. Support persons will not be recorded in Departmental reporting.

To attach support people to a case, simply select the client record from the case record, and this time, attach them as a support person by clicking the Attach Selected Support Persons button.

You can see here that in this session we have three clients – Angus Brown, Philip Martin and Harriet Henson and one support person – Anne Anderson who attended this session.

Again, please note that the recording of support persons is optional, and under the Data Exchange, the only requirement is to record clients.

Select Next once you’ve marked off all clients who’ve attended this session. And we are at the Add a session – Review screen.

We can see here, under this review that we’re recording the session under the Family services workshop case, it was delivered on the 11th of January, and its primary focus was Information/advice/referral.

There were no unidentified clients associated with this session, and no interpreter was present.

At this session, we had three clients and one support person.

If any of these details are incorrect, you can use the Back button to go to the previous screens.

Or, if you do not wish to record this session, select the Cancel button and this will take you out of the process without recording the details.

Once you’re satisfied with these details, select the Submit button.

We are now at the Add a session – Finish screen. You can see here that the task bar at the top of the page is showing that the process is finished. There is a message box advising that the creation of a new session has been successful.

You will also notice that a Session ID has been provided to our new session along with the client listing.

This now concludes adding a session.

We have just completed how to add a session.

You can view a demonstration of how to add Referrals to other services which is part of the Partnership Approach or how to Copy a session. 

Click on the icons to view these.

Otherwise select Skip.

Partnership Approach section

There at two different areas that you can record information for a session under the voluntary Partnership Approach.

They are Referrals to other services, and SCORE Assessments. SCORE Assessments is covered in a separate module, so we will now look at recording a Referral to other Services under the Partnership Approach.

Again this is an optional step and is only relevant to the services you are delivering and if your organisation has opted in to the Partnership Approach.

The first step is to select Referrals to Other Services.

This brings us to the Referrals to other services screen.

Next, select the Add Referral to Other Services button and this will allow us to record a referral made within this session for one of the clients who participated in this session.

First, click on the drop down arrow and select the client that you wish to record the referral for, in this example, it is Harriet Henson.

Next, we record which type of referral this was, whether it was an internal referral which means that Harriet was referred to services within the same organisation or it was an external referral which means that Harriet was referred to a service provided by a different organisation.

In this example we’re going to say this was an internal referral.

And then, simply the Referral purpose, or why you made this referral for Harriet. In this example, we’re referring Harriet for Mental health wellbeing and self-care reasons. We could also record that there were multiple reasons that we referred Harriet if it was appropriate.

Once we have made our selection, select Save.

We can now see here that under this particular session, under this particular case, Harriet was referred internally for Mental health wellbeing and self-care.

We can look at additional details by selecting the blue triangle, and we can also edit these details if we wish to.

To add referrals for other clients attached to this session click the Add Referral to Other Services button or if we select the Back button, you will be returned to the Session details screen.

Here you can also add additional referrals by clicking the pink silhouette.

This concludes adding information for the Partnership Approach.

We have just completed the demonstration of Referrals to other services within the Partnership Approach section. If you wish to view the demonstration on how to copy a session, click on the Copy Session icon.

Otherwise select Skip.

Copy a session section

The Copy a session function is very useful if you have the same clients associated with a case attending the same types of sessions regularly.

For this demonstration we will be using the example case of Monday Group. So we click on the hyperlinked name to view details about the case.

Here is the Case information showing the clients attached to the case and the sessions that have already been delivered under this case.

What we want to do now is create another session for this case so we will do this by clicking the Copy Session button.

The Copy a session – Session details screen displays.

The Case ID, Service type, Number of unidentified clients attended session are brought across from the session we are copying.

The Session date is the only field on this screen that needs to be added or amended.

We need to enter in the date that this new session occurred. Then click Next.

The Copy a session – Clients/support persons attended screen displays.

This screen copies the clients who have attended the previous session we copied.

If details have not changed simply proceed to the next screen by clicking Next; otherwise you can edit, add or remove clients and support persons here.

We can see that even though Michael is associated with the case, he did not attend the session that we have copied.

He has however attended the new session that we are creating.

So to attach Michael to this session we need to tick the box next to his name, click on the Attach Selected clients button.

This will attach Michael to this new session.

To remove someone from this session we would need to tick the box next to their name, for this example we will select David Jackson and then select the Remove Clients/Support Persons button.

This moves David out of the selected clients who attended the session. We then select Next.

The Copy a session – Review screen will display, here we can review that the details for the new session are correct, if so, click Submit.

We are now at the Add a session - Finish screen. You can see here that the task bar at the top of the page is showing that the process is complete. There is a message box advising that the creation of a new session has been successful. You will also notice that a Session ID has been provided for our new session and you can view the clients that have attended the session.

Also available are buttons for the Referrals to Other Services and SCORE Assessments. This is for the entry of additional information if your organisation has opted-in into the voluntary Partnership Approach.

This concludes adding a session using the Copy a session function.

We have just completed the demonstration of how to copy a session. If you wish to view the demonstration on how to add Referrals to Other Services, click on the Partnership Approach icon.

Otherwise, select Skip.

There is a wealth of information and support material available to assist you in using the Data Exchange effectively. These include the Data Exchange website, the Protocols document, task cards along with other eLearning modules and Helpdesk.

Select the icons below to access these.

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