Choosing Bromcom MIS
While the local authority made the decision for all its schools to switch to Bromcom, as Chair of the School MIS Review Group, Richard was heavily involved in choosing Bromcom MIS.
“We’d been with our previous provider for many years,” he says, “and wanted a good look around at what was out there in terms of usability, accessibility, and meeting Welsh government requirements, especially when it came to the Welsh language.”
For Richard, one of the most significant factors that stood out to him about Bromcom was that it was web-based:
“Because our old MIS was server-based, we found it was very slow, probably because it had too much data. The user interface was clunky, too, so finding anything took a lot longer than it does in Bromcom – because Bromcom is so easy to navigate, I can easily find the information I need, even when I’m not at school.”
Another key driver of why they chose Bromcom was because of how easy it is to customise the system to a school’s specific needs, he continues:
“I’m really into assessment, and I liked that there was lots of flexibility in the MIS around this. I knew that the system could deliver what I needed it to.”
As with any system change, there was plenty of apprehension around switching to Bromcom. But the support available from Wrexham’s support team and our comprehensive training really helped ease the switching process, Richard says.
“We’ve had training in person and used the training website, so everyone could learn in a way that worked for them. The training overall was organised nicely and really easy to follow, so getting started with the MIS has been straightforward. The written guides on the documentation centre have been particularly useful, as well.”
Their experience so far with Bromcom
Since switching to Bromcom MIS, Richard and his colleagues have shared very positive feedback with us.
“Bromcom MIS has done exactly what we needed it to do.” Richard says. “But there are some parts of the system that I particularly liked, like performance management for staff which is very useful, and the auto reports that come in via email are great, as well, as they don’t need to be made manually every week. Reporting in general has been really good.”
The system not only offers the school better capabilities but new ones, too, Richard continues:
“I really like what I’ve seen around Behaviour, especially the different warnings that get sent to staff when certain behaviour events occur. We didn’t have anything like the Behaviour module in our previous system.”
One of the most significant benefits of switching to Bromcom, however, has been the cost savings, Richard shares. Thanks to Bromcom’s wide-ranging functionality, the school is finally starting to get rid of some of its third-party systems, including three add-ons just for Assessment.
“There are so many third-party assessment apps schools can buy – but they don’t need them because it’s all in Bromcom. We’ve been able to strip back quite a lot of other apps which is really good, and we’re looking to move away from more in the future.”
Looking ahead
Reflecting on the switch to Bromcom, Richard and his colleagues have been a lot happier with new system compared to their old one.
“Bromcom MIS has been a lot better in terms of usability, speed, and simply being able to do what we need to do. Having one system for everything has made our lives so much easier, too. In short, Bromcom has enabled us to do less better.”
Richard and his colleagues are continuing to customise the system and build it out to their needs, with Assessment being one of these areas, he says:
“We struggled on our old system to get Assessment set up. But you can muck around a bit in Bromcom and customise it to your requirements, and you can always undo things so you don’t have to worry about breaking the system. Our teachers are now starting to use Assessment which is really exciting.”
Learn more about Bromcom MIS
We offer our MIS and finance solutions to all kinds of establishments including primaries, secondaries, special schools, multi-academy trusts, and local authorities. To learn more about how we could benefit yours, book a 15-minute discovery call with our team.