Ditto Posted March 14, 2023 Posted March 14, 2023 Simply, are there any of you out there? I would like a DM view on the product and what it's like to work with day-to-day.
AlistairB1983 Posted May 10, 2023 Posted May 10, 2023 I don't use it in my current school - although on Friday we did have our first meeting with them about moving over (so will hopefully do so from next year!) - however I did use it extensively in my last school (2018-2022). So not only was I essentially the only person in the school who really understood how it worked, I also got to see how it changed from when I joined (when it was essentially a primary MIS with secondary 'tacked on') to when I left (a complete rival (if not superior) to SIMS). My view across the 4 years changed - to start with it was horrible, absolutely horrendous due to it's lack of flexibility. I couldn't understand why I couldn't just make or hide columns on marksheets, like SIMS. Everything just seemed to be designed around KS2/Primary users, as we were one of very few secondary schools using the product at the time (approx. 30 or so if I remember right back in 2018). However as the years progressed they updated and refined Arbor more and more, and also came out and did some on-site training with me one summer when everyone else was off, so that I could get the assessments built for the following year exactly how SLT wanted them (I pretty much knew most of it, but she did show me a few improvements/alternatives). By the time I left in 2022 to join my current school, I was genuinely impressed with Arbor day-to-day. It did virtually everything I needed it to, and usually in a format quicker/more obvious than with SIMS. Having now returned to a school using SIMS (for now!) I hate the fact that some things require going into about 4 different menus to fix. Census, for example, in Arbor you run the census and in the 'report' page where it lists the errors and queries, you can click on and fix most of them from within that page. In SIMS you have to load one page with the list of errors/queries, then go somewhere else to input the data, then go back to the census page and re-run it etc. Arbor it's all on the one page (assuming you have the missing info), and you can do it with a couple of clicks and then *poof*, goodbye error. Not only that, but they do all the importing of patches/updates/basedata (for exams) automatically, so you don't have to do anything! Which as a DM/EO in my last role was an absolute blessing. So personally, I absolutely love it. So much so that I've convinced my current school to move over to it.
SpreadsheetJockey Posted May 11, 2023 Posted May 11, 2023 We are also imminently to move to Arbor, from Bromcom, although I have used it sparingly for Trust level information already (our other schools are Arbor schools). Arbor will be my fourth school MIS, after Facility, SIMS and Bromcom so at this point switching over is just something I do every few years! I suspect it will be mostly on par with Bromcom, perhaps a little less secondary friendly due to each product's starting point. Both are infinitely superior to SIMS though, from a data management perspective, even if they haven't got everything right yet. Just being cloud based is a huge plus. And SIMS cloud-based MIS seems pretty much vapourware at this point - I think I have genuinely been waiting on that for at least a decade at this point...
coconurtaler Posted May 12, 2023 Author Posted May 12, 2023 We also have plans to move to Arbor at some point in the next year, but I don't know when yet. My previous school went from SIMS to Progresso ( which was terrible at first but I didn't hate after 2 years) then back to SIMS following a trust change. I have recently heard they are moving to Arbor soon too. Like SpreadsheetJockey I feel it is something I do every couple of years, and in some ways I'd rather get it over with sooner than later. SIMS is ok and it works but it is rather old and clunky. At least all these changes mean we don't get bored
Ditto Posted July 1 Posted July 1 It's been a while. There's a DM job going reasonably locally and I am pondering. I'm expecting for those of you who have commented, and maybe others, things have moved on and maybe you have changed MIS. So, what's life like today for a DM, what's your 'system's stack? This school is secondary with no year 12/13. I have a few concerns about the role advertised: i) it's SIMS ii) it pays the same as what I am on now as a Data Analyst (0.5 FTE) but I would need to be at least 0.8 if not FT, although the job is T/T plus 2 iii) I would have 3 staff reporting to me iv) they want the role to include being DPO. v) their written dress code is specifically shift and tie The first point could be lived with but I would want quickly migrate to a modern MIS. The second, the FTE is about 10% more than my charity Data Analyst role, but due to T/T + 2 weeks and pro-rata ends up about the same. Given the number of reports, do you it's fair? The third, no issue here, I have managed a lot more, but see line above. The fourth, that's a worrying insight to the SLT's understanding of data protection governance (conflict of interest etc.), but if they can be persuaded to outsource to a proper fractional DPO, then fine. The fifth, they would need to be flexible. Shirt or business smart I can do, tie is a not going work - yes I would decline if offered. To add to my comments on the second point. 0.5 FTE is relatively tax efficient. Doubling my salary would not double my income, and play havoc with work/life balance. Also, we are now 18 months away to both kids being at uni, so chance of cheaper holidays goes away. LGPS would be a big plus. And do teachers have their headline FTE pro-rata'd? In some ways I am mad to consider it, but ...
Ditto Posted July 11 Posted July 11 I think talking to myself, but heyhoe! Decided against the post above. Came second or third on an Arbor role they advertised full or part time but settle on F/T and I wanted P/T. Now another local role (max 30 minute commute) has come up. It's advertised as part time but requires 36 hours a week for 42 weeks. For me that's TT +3 - could you imagine a teacher role like this advertised as P/T. Anyway, it reflects the dire situation at work that I'm even considering - maybe they could come down to 0.8 FTE. But..... the are SIMS - same trust as my sons school and I challenged them about using SIMS but I think they will remain behind the curve
idressa414 Posted July 13 Posted July 13 Jumping in here as another Data Manager using Arbor – always good to see a dedicated thread for us! I’ve been finding the reporting side pretty flexible once you get the hang of the custom filters, though the initial learning curve is real. Keen to hear what tips others have picked up, especially around assessment tracking or behaviour logs. What’s everyone’s biggest win (or headache) with it so far? 1
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