In these unprecedented and challenging times, the message from our customers is clear: Schools are not closing from today (23/03/2020). Closing is the wrong word, schools are CHANGING from today but courageous school staff up and down the country will be working harder than ever to ensure that the students in their care are supported and that their learning continues unabated.
At Bromcom we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our customers and, for us too it is business as usual, as we provide our full array of services remotely. Bromcom customers already know the true benefit of cloud services and as always, Bromcom MIS and Finance are accessible anytime, anywhere and from any device.
We sincerely hope that in these rapidly changing circumstances, by not having to worry about how to access vital school management information, school staff can take some comfort. But we want to help even more and have already produced short instructional videos to guide you through some procedures that may be particularly useful right now www.bromcom.com/blogs/school-closure. Of course, our Support Desk is on standby to help you with any queries you may have on these procedures or anything else Bromcom related.
This week we have seen schools and MATs make fantastic use of the integrated communications within Bromcom. Well-targeted emails have been sent, informing specific parents of partial closures and quickly drawn-up arrangements, and Schools have used SMS texts to help identify their Key Worker parents.
We want all our customers to benefit as much as the can from Bromcom’s one-stop-shop service. During this trying time, Bromcom will be offering access to the My Child at School parent portal and Student Portal virtual learning environment (VLE) free of charge for 12 months for any customers not using these integrated facilities. Web training session to bring you up to speed quickly will also be for free.
With My Child at School (MCAS) it is simple to keep parents informed about their children and fully engaged with school. The free MCAS smartphone app allows schools to push notifications to parents’ pockets, keeping them informed of a changing picture, without costing the school any extra. Use MCAS to deliver personalised Assessments, Reports and Learning Plans to parents anxious about the prospect of home-schooling as well as keeping them informed about any homework and assignments being set remotely.
The Student Portal and Student app provides students with a way of accessing important school information in a clear and simple format. Timetables, calendars, digital homework, hand-in dates, lesson resources and class forums are all vital tools in keeping the virtual classrooms running and the learning flowing.
We understand that teachers may well be pushed out of their comfort zones in the coming weeks, as they are asked to deliver lessons digitally and remotely. We continually strive to make our users’ lives easier and will soon be rolling-out our new Lesson Dashboard. This new area is designed specifically to bring all the most used and useful teacher elements of Bromcom into one convenient space. Send messages to your class, set and mark homework digitally, store your lesson plans and write objectives for future lessons. Keep your eye on this blog for more information.
Finally, may we take this opportunity to wish you and your families well in the coming weeks and months. Rest assured that Bromcom will be available when you need it and our dedicated team will always be on-hand to help. By working together, we’ll come through these uncertain times more resilient, more skilful and more determined than ever to improve outcomes for our outstanding young people.
