CMA ruling on school MIS: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decides to allow ESS schools to enact break clause in their MIS contracts
What does this ruling mean?
On 10th January 2023, 10 months since the CMA launched its investigation into ESS’s abuse of the contract terms it held with their customer base, a ruling came out today.
The ruling states:
“The CMA has secured ESS’s offer and signing of legally binding commitments that will enable certain schools … to apply to an independent adjudicator for a 12-month break clause. If granted, the clause will allow them to exit their current three-year contract with ESS on 31 March 2024 and choose an alternative provider, should they so wish.”
What does this mean for schools currently bound to an ESS contract?
- All ESS schools are able, with immediate effective, to apply for break clause in their contract. But there is only one calendar month to do this. The opportunity to apply for a break clause expires on 10th February 2023.
- It means schools are free to explore other MIS solutions. These do not have to be on-premise solutions, but can be the modern, secure and reliable offerings presented by cloud-based MIS.
- It means schools can make a choice about their MIS which best suits their budgets, which at the time of writing, are under more pressure than ever, with schools operating in a far different financial landscape than they were in April 2022.
More from Bromcom
- Bromcom offers BuyBack, which is our offer to schools assuring them they can switch from ESS to Bromcom for their MIS & Finance and pay no additional cost.
- Bromcom are holding a webinar, which will be available on-demand post event, to explain to schools both the process of submitting their break clause and the process of migration to our cloud-based school MIS. Details to follow
- Bromcom are at BETT 2023, in the EXcel London, which takes place on 29-31 March, where our team will be ready to demonstrate our software and guide you through the BuyBack offer.
If you wish to learn more about our cloud-based school MIS & Finance software please head to the Contact Us page and one of our team will be happy to assist you.
