Choosing a school MIS: a checklist
Choosing a school MIS is one of the biggest decisions a school makes about its systems. This school MIS checklist covers the questions worth asking every supplier, whichever MIS you end up with.
Before you start
If you’re wondering how to choose a school MIS, start with the people who use it. A school MIS touches everyone: teachers taking registers, the office chasing absences, the SENCO, the data manager preparing the census, and parents using the portal. Involve a few of them early, write down what frustrates them today, and see each MIS doing those jobs, ideally in a demo you can use yourself.
The checklist
Questions to ask of every school MIS you look at.
Where your data is kept
On the supplier’s servers or your own? Who can reach it, how is it encrypted, how is it backed up, and are restores tested?
The DfE returns
Is the school census built from your records and checked against the DfE’s rules? Does it use the current attendance codes, share attendance with the DfE as the regulations require, and send and receive CTFs?
How it feels for teachers
How many clicks is a register, a behaviour incident or setting homework? Does it work well on a tablet or phone?
Roles and permissions
Can each person see only what they should? Are safeguarding records kept apart from everything else?
Staff data
Are HR, the single central record and the workforce census in the same system, or another one to keep in step?
Moving your records
What comes across from your current MIS, what doesn’t, and how long does it take? Can you check the data before switching?
The apps you already use
How do your homework, communication and catering apps get the data they need, and can you control what they see?
Parents
What does the parent portal show, can parents report absences and answer consent forms, and is it easy on a phone?
Support and updates
How are updates delivered, how often, and what happens if one goes wrong? How do you get help?
The cost over time
What is included, what costs extra, and do you pay for modules you won’t use?
How PMC People answers the checklist
- Your data: on your own server, encrypted, with nightly backups and weekly test restores. See an on-premises school MIS.
- DfE returns: the school census checked against the DfE’s rules, the current attendance codes, attendance shared with the DfE, and CTFs in and out. See school census software and school attendance software.
- Staff data: HR, the single central record and the workforce census built in. See a school MIS with HR.
- Moving your records: the Move from SIMS module, step by step, checked before anything is saved. See moving from SIMS.
- The apps you use: a data-sharing module that gives each app only the data you tick.
- Updates: one click, signed by us, with a backup first and an automatic roll-back if anything fails.
- Cost: each school module is a separate add-on, so you pay for what you use.
Try it yourself in the live demo, where a guided tour shows each part as a different member of staff.
Questions about choosing a school MIS
How long does it take to change MIS?
It depends on the school and the systems involved. Planning, moving data and training usually take a few weeks to a term, and most schools switch at the start of a term.
Should primary and secondary schools choose differently?
The questions are the same, but the answers matter differently. See an MIS for primary schools and an MIS for secondary schools.
Can we try PMC People before deciding?
Yes. The live demo has a fictional school with every module and a guided tour.
More about PMC People as a school MIS
Put PMC People through the checklist
Take the guided tour, or apply to be one of our beta schools.