Hales Valley Trust is a multi-academy trust (MAT) that consists of seven primary schools in Dudley. In June, they switched to Bromcom’s One-Stop Shop MIS and Bromcom Vision. We recently sat down with Rebecca Cox, trust CEO, to find out why they chose Bromcom, how they found the switching process, and their experience of the new system in the short time they’ve been using it.
Choosing Bromcom
In the autumn of 2024, around the time they were procuring for several other large contracts, the trust began reflecting on their MIS, namely whether it was meeting their needs and if there was a better alternative available. But by the following February, when it was announced that their MIS was being discontinued, they had to consider switching providers.
The trust carried out a very thorough tender process, starting with looking at WhichMIS to learn more about what was available on the market, and bringing together a diverse group of staff to help them make the decision, from the central team to teachers to support staff. In the end, Bromcom was chosen, mainly because of our flexible, advanced MIS.
“Bromcom MIS was clearly the best product on the market.” Rebecca says. “Our previous MIS was old and underdeveloped, so we wanted something that had been in development for a long time. Bromcom’s sales pitch to our team was also a major factor in the decision: they were the only provider to deliver their presentation in-person, not remotely, and they nicely weaved in the queries and questions we had already raised with them to give us a really informative explanation of the product.”
Rebecca had lots of praise for our sales process as a whole, too, namely how responsive our Sales Team were to any questions they had or any requests for meetings. The MAT had heard plenty of positive feedback about Bromcom from fellow trusts, as well – and some negative feedback about other providers.
“If you’re speaking to other trusts and you mention the MIS provider which our current system is being transferred over to, people in the room will say ‘don’t talk to me about that MIS, there are so many issues with it’. It meant staying with them wasn’t really an option for us. A local trust we know use Bromcom so that was a really good indicator the MIS was robust. Bromcom was the obvious choice for us.”
The switching process
Like most schools and trusts, the trust’s central team was concerned that switching MIS would be a “big upheaval” as they’d been using the same MIS for a long time. But according to Rebecca, the switching process has been the standout part of their Bromcom experience.
“The main thing that struck me has been the level of support you’re given to move MIS. We haven’t had any issues because the support has been so good.” Rebecca shared with us. “The regular meetings with our relationship manager have been especially useful as we can check in with them and discuss anything we need help with, they can keep tabs on our own progress, and they can give us bite-sized tasks to help get the system set up. This has made the moving process manageable and ensured we had a smooth transfer to Bromcom.
“The training guides and videos are fantastic and so clear, as well – you just follow the guides, and it works. The entire process has been so easy and seamless, I can’t believe we’ve left it this long.”
Their experience with Bromcom so far
Although the trust and its schools have only been using Bromcom for a few weeks, they’ve had a very positive experience since switching, Rebecca says.
“Bromcom MIS is a much clearer system than our previous MIS and it’s simple to navigate. Straightaway we were very impressed by the usability of the system and how you can deep-dive into data easily. Bromcom will revolutionise how we do things.”
The trust is particularly excited to launch our award-winning parent portal, MyChildAtSchool. The first parent portal they’ve ever had, they’re planning to launch it this summer before the start of the new school year.
Looking to the future, they’re planning on deploying Bromcom Vision, our central data hub for MATs and local authorities, very soon to keep track of their schools.
“It will be a game-changer to have Vision bringing together data from all our schools.” Rebecca shared. “We’re really looking forward to being able to see how our schools are improving and keep track of key metrics like attendance across the board.”
The office staff at their schools are planning on using the BromCommunity, our online community for users to share advice, questions, and best practices, as well which should provide them with additional support in September.
Reflecting on their entire process of switching MIS, Rebecca shared with us the following advice she’d give to schools and trusts considering the move:
“Don’t be afraid to move, and don’t leave it like we did. The support you get to switch at Bromcom has been seamless and has made the entire process far easier than we thought.”
You can find out more about Bromcom’s wide range of cloud-based solutions and how it benefits schools, trusts, and local authorities across the UK on our website. To learn how our products could work for your establishment, book a discovery call with our team.