Why St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan MAT like Bromcom’s One-Stop-Shop Solution
Background
In the vibrant county of Suffolk, St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Multi Academy Trust (SEIDMAT) has been at the forefront of educational excellence for over eight years. Serving a diverse range of schools, each with its own unique character and challenges, SEIDMAT prides itself on delivering exceptional education tailored to the needs of its students. However, the outdated and cumbersome Management Information System (MIS) used by the trust was becoming a barrier to progress, hindering administrative efficiency and stifling innovation.
Challenge
The goal was to find a solution that could cater to all school sizes and lighten the administrative workload. The trust needed to ensure compliance, tracking, and efficiency on a scalable level. The pressing issue was to provide remote support for an on-premise system. The legacy MIS was outdated and no longer capable of meeting the trust’s evolving needs.
The MAT required a new MIS that would meet the needs of its diverse group of schools, be scalable and could support its future growth plans. The previous management system was not user-friendly and caused a wide range of difficulties at both school and Trust level.
"The significant win with Bromcom is its ability to consolidate several functions into one system, creating a single source of truth. This efficient approach saves time on data import and export and eliminates the need for multiple systems."
Solution
SEIDMAT formed a working group, which included representatives from its schools and central team, to evaluate potential solutions. The working group identified a number of key criteria that the new MIS needed to meet, including user-friendliness, scalability, and compatibility with the trust’s other systems. After a rigorous selection process, the trust selected Bromcom as its new MIS provider.
They found their answer in Bromcom’s One-Stop-Shop MIS, which offered a modern and user-friendly MIS that met the MAT’s requirements and had a proven track record of success in other schools and trusts.
The system provided them with consolidated views via MAT Vision, saving a significant amount of time. This automated consolidation presented an aggregated view of all school data. This meant that the head of school improvement and the CEO can get an overview of all schools, including attendance rates, in just a few clicks.
The staff are now able to direct focus where it’s needed most, with no bottlenecks in information flow. This ability to track trends has proved to be highly beneficial.
From a school leadership perspective, Bromcom’s solution proved to be highly beneficial. Headteachers, for instance, now receive attendance reports in their inboxes every Friday. The accessibility of the system allows them to get this information from home or their office, thereby reducing the reliance on office staff.
The implementation of Bromcom extended to school payments, clubs, and activities making it easy for parents. Schools were well-supported during this transition, with one-on-one training sessions and meetings. The Trust plans to have all schools using Bromcom for these purposes by September.
"The system has significantly reduced the workload of office staff by enabling teachers to manage much of the data themselves."
Outcomes
The Trust feels the significant win with Bromcom is its ability to consolidate several functions into one system, creating a single source of truth. This efficient approach saves time on data import and export and eliminates the need for multiple systems.
Bromcom has also proven to be a time-saver in all of the SEIDMAT schools. Teachers have begun to record attendance daily, reducing the workload for office staff. Parents can now order dinners, book clubs, and schedule trips through the system.
Bromcom’s parent portal has enabled the Trust to provide parents with instant access to important information, including attendance records, grades, and behaviour reports.
Parents can access the portal on their mobile devices, making it more convenient to stay informed about their child’s progress.
Ryan Lamb praised Bromcom’s post-implementation support, noting its intuitiveness and user-friendly interface. This ease of use allows users to solve many of their own queries, which is crucial in an on-demand world that we have become accustomed to. The bite-sized video training has been particularly helpful, allowing end users to learn at their own pace.
The transformation has been so profound that headteachers, who previously had little to no interaction with the management system, now use Bromcom daily and have been very positive about its effects. Overall, Bromcom’s solution has made the MAT more efficient, saving time and streamlining processes. SEIDMAT is well-positioned to deliver outstanding education to its students and to support the communities it serves.
"Bromcom's solution has made our MAT more efficient, saving time and streamlining processes. It's a One-Stop-Shop system that has truly transformed our operations."
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