Aftab_Ahmed

I am absolutely disgusted with ESS tactics. We moved away from SIMS and planned to move away from FMS a year later. I got in writing from them that it would work fine. Given year end took place for April- they disabled some key features via an update and we now were unable to complete year end.. and guess what - they are forcing us to sign a 3 year contract at double the cost of other finance systems out there. They need to be taken to task on this and a bloody good job in schools moving away from them as they trying to screw schools over now they're only 40% and losing more within the education sector.

Please see the latest MIS profiles of market share following the latest data collection: MIS Market Churn – Spring 2025 – WhichMIS? – Presenting a balanced view of the UK’s MIS landscape featuring news, reviews and expert commentary. No surprises there in the direction this is taking place since the last analysis carried out. Lets see where the next few months leads to as I know there are still loads of contracts coming to end / renewal

Really interesting article written re AI and data systems which I thought of sharing. Question is how much AI are you using within your MIS systems and any experience is welcome on this forum as we all have a vested interest in this. https://bromcom.com/blogs/5-common-myths-about-ai-debunked

Dear All Having moved to a new MIS system recently, I have seen some huge benefits in transitioning to BromCom. Not only have we established financial efficiencies but also operational processes with initial application savings of £20K per annum as a start. My issue resides in third party companies - where most are fine with the transition but I was slapped an additional £999 from Cunninghams and only yesterday found out that we are being charged another £150 from Inventry. Other companies have done the transition with no charge and I just wonder what others are seeing out there as it is clear markets are turning within the MIS space and some companies are now seeing this as an opportunity to take advantage on already tight budgets across schools. I'm just glad that BromCom did a buy-back scheme which helped us greatly and I know other schools will, but theses additional third party charges are totally unfair in my eyes. Any thoughts, comments, experiences welcome.

It's things like this, the reason why we made the decision to jump to BromCom's one stop shop. Where not only have we seen financial efficiencies but great enhancements to workflow processes and a no nonsense approach. I couldn't deal with all the broken promises from other companies in the end.

It would also be really interesting to see what financial savings are made since moving across to BromCom for example we have made the following reductions Satchel - which is used for detentions and seating plans. (£5.8K) ParentMail - which is used for parental communications(2.6K inc messaging) RoomBooking System (from TES) as BromCom has its own booking facility (1.1k) SAMPeople - Performance & Absence Management (£4.5k) NovaT is going to be replaced with W-Timetabler SIMS (19.5K) reduced annually with £5K reductions Total savings at this top level is approx £19K which is huge within the sector and will reduce even further Is this similar to what others are seeing ?

Like you we are in the very early stages of the switch and getting familiar with processes. I can clarify that we will be phasing out the following applications as they simply will not be needed: Satchel - which is used for detentions and seating plans. ParentMail - which is used for parental communications RoomBooking System (from TES) as BromCom has its own booking facility SAMPeople - Performance & Absence Management NovaT is going to be replaced with W-Timetabler Im sticking with FMS as the LA for some strange reason still want their schools to use it - but I will phase that out soon. I actually ran SIMS and BromCo side by side - and honestly from an integration perspective - works great while staff are getting familiar. However you must stress to them that any changes will not be transferred when SIMS is switched off. I also used the Salamander toolset to download any uploaded documents to pupils files which can then be imported into BromCom Also - I created my own guides - which a few schools have asked for and they found them great as they are visual and simple to follow Any other issues - dont hestitate to shout out.

Our move from SIMS to BromCom went fairly smooth, there were some areas that I had to quickly do research on after which worked out OK. Teaching staff were glad that we moved as they can see the benefits and the app has been a hit. Back-end administration processes need a bit more TLC as it is a big change in process - but overall the implementation was OK and the whole school can see the added benefits of moving from SIMS. Planning is the key - I also created my own set of teacher guides which proved a hit for staff, as doing the videos was good but not everyone had the time - even though planning was for months. Hope it all goes well - reach out if you need any help with this.

I suppose this all then links back to the schools cyber security policy and plan to ensure that data is accessible in a safe and secure manner. Have many of you started to undertake a cyber security audit -especially with MIS systems being online?

Given all the discussions on AI within MIS systems, NSPCC have released this interesting report in the safety aspects of using AI which I thought would share with you all. Happy reading on this report NSPCC generative-ai-childrens-safety.pdf

Also - if you have Salamander - they can export documents uploaded very quickly using their tools etc. It's worth asking them as well

I have read with interest on other forums, how various MIS providers have built in Teacher Apps to allow the ability to undertake various MIS related tasks. How are other schools embracing this, and are you allowing Apps to run on personal devices which potentially has access to sensitive data, therefore ensuring GDPR is met. Are there any apps that have proven to work effectively with MIS systems and has anyone encountered any GDPR issues? Many thanks

Hi - Just reading the latest post from SIMS_Customer_Support - does that mean there is a new version of Nova T is being developed as you mentioned Finance and not timetabling or is it a case that the old version of Nova is being integrated with the new version of NextGen ??

Can you merge roles : ie export and then import into a new role as giving staff the ability to switch roles is confusing. Just wondered what others are doing on this ?

With the recent announcement by Govt ministers at BETT upon the direction that they are proposing on digital strategies upon schools, I found this really useful overview schema put together by Brendan O'Keefe which summarises the main focus points of the agenda. It will be very interesting in the MIS world, how this is going to be implemented and how prepared schools really are to adopt this type of technology given it is a shift change from historical practices. What are your thoughts on this and the preparation involved to overcome those challenges mentioned in the document as it would certainly be interesting in what schools will be doing going forward - given we all play a vital role in this. BOK's AI In Education Summary.pdf

Strange as I know of loads of schools who moved and have done it successfully with clear set project deliverables. I know that with the move, there has to be a big push to ensure all staff undertake the training but it does pay off. A project schedule is normally provided which clearly sets implementation and deliverables to be met with a transition period for API's to be moved.

That sounds fantastic. It would be great to see a road map of these developments. I also wonder how the other major vendors are developing this and to remain compliant with GDPR laws.

It will be interesting to see what developments are coming especially with predicted outcomes of students data and future pathways - which I thought was already developed and embedded by some of the big MATs out there. No doubt there will be a big push at BETT this year.

Dear All, It was announced by government that they are re-looking in how AI is being used in public services and in particular education where they have invested over £1m in companies developing AI solutions by April this year. https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crr05jykzkxo.amp It would be interesting to see how other schools are using AI in particular across MIS systems and how effective it is for outcomes to support teaching and learning and data outcomes. Any views, thoughts or experiences are greatly appreciated.

This is a really interesting article on the MIS landscape and direction that we all anticipate the direction schools are taking. Especially with the recent wins by BromCom in taking on Northern Ireland and Welsh schools in a huge turn which were once ESS SIMS schools. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/uk-schools-mis-software-5-years-who-looks-safe-bet-future-sanders-jmdwe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&utm_campaign=share_via

I read with interest this article only just released where BromCom won a second Local Authority contract in Wales.I was wondering if anyone has seen any cloud MIS that meets Welsh statutory requirements other than BromCom https://www.whichmis.com/bromcom-wins-second-welsh-local-authority-contract/

I think it is open to all - as it's about experiences on the MIS marketspace generally.

To answer your question - No I do not have a connection. I saw the post on my LInkedIn and thought it might be a good opportunity for anyone to win prizes given we are all interested in the MIS landscape at the moment

Dear All Please see this link below from the Wisdom Partnership where you can win a number of prizes for your school where you can reflect, share and celebrate practices in using MIS platforms. Click on the link below as it is completely free to enter and would be a good opportunity to air your voice and experiences in what is a very crucial subject at this moment in time. https://www.thewisdompartnership.com/navigating-the-future-of-mis-the-blog-competition/ Regards Aftab

So the new government have made a huge announcement: The government will legislate to allow councils to open schools again, end the automatic academisation of failing maintained settings and make academies follow reformed national teacher pay scales and conditions. Just wondered if this would impact on schools making secisions on major changes - ie MIS systems that are critical now that there are added pressures looming within the sector. Thoughts anyone ??