A SIMS alternative for your school
PMC People is a school MIS with HR built in, running on your own server. If you’re looking for a SIMS alternative, the Move from SIMS module brings your records across from SIMS’s own exports, one step at a time, checked before anything is saved.
Why schools look for a SIMS alternative
SIMS has been the MIS in many English schools for a long time, and plenty of schools are happy with it. Others start looking for a SIMS alternative when a contract comes up for renewal, when they want something staff find easier to use, or when they want their pupil and staff records in one system instead of two.
Whatever the reason, the worry is usually the same: years of records, and a move that has to happen without disrupting the school. PMC People is built so that moving from SIMS is a series of small, checked steps rather than one big leap.
New to the term? Read what a school MIS is first.
Moving from SIMS, step by step
The Move from SIMS module uses exports SIMS already makes: a whole-school CTF and reports saved as CSV. Each step shows exactly what it will do before anything is saved, and can be run again: nothing is added twice.
Pupils and contacts
A whole-school CTF from SIMS brings pupils, contacts with parental responsibility, addresses, SEN, free school meals, ethnicity and languages.
Staff
A SIMS staff report adds staff with their post, department and start date, matched by staff code, work email, or name and date of birth, so no one is added twice.
Groups, classes and the timetable
Year groups, forms, houses and tutors, then classes and the timetable from your timetabling software. Each pupil keeps their SIMS admission number.
Medical needs
Medical conditions, dietary needs and doctors’ details, with notes kept encrypted.
Attendance history
AM and PM marks as they are in SIMS. A full school year takes a few seconds, and codes the DfE no longer uses are listed for you.
Behaviour, achievements and exclusions
Incidents, achievements, suspensions and exclusions, with their types, points, actions and the DfE’s reasons.
Photos
Choose all the photo files at once; each is matched by admission number or UPN.
What you get by moving to PMC People
PMC People does the job of an MIS, and a few things most don’t.
- HR in the same system
- Staff records, the single central record, recruitment, absence, training, payroll export and the School Workforce Census sit beside pupil records.
- Your data on your own server
- Records stay on a server in your school, your trust or a host you choose, encrypted and backed up every night.
- Only the modules you need
- Each school module is a separate add-on: start with students and attendance and add more when you’re ready.
- The DfE’s rules built in
- The DfE’s attendance codes, CTFs, suspensions and exclusions, and the school census checked against the DfE’s validation rules.
- Easy for teachers
- A register takes seconds, behaviour is logged from the student’s name, and homework is set and marked online.
- Try it first
- The live demo has a fictional school with every module, and a guided tour that shows each part as a different member of staff.
What doesn’t come across from SIMS
No SIMS migration brings everything. Being clear about this up front makes for a smoother move. Assessment marksheets, SEN plans and reviews, letters and documents, and SIMS’s own settings (such as customised attendance codes) aren’t imported. They’re set up in PMC People, usually alongside the move, and we can help plan it.
Most schools switch at the start of a term, so the attendance history comes across complete and staff start fresh in the new system.
Questions about moving from SIMS
Can we move from SIMS in the middle of the year?
Yes. Attendance, behaviour and exclusions for the year so far come across, so reports and the school census are complete. The start of a term is the easiest time, though.
Do we need SIMS’s help to export our data?
No. The steps use exports you can make yourself in SIMS: a CTF and reports saved as CSV. The module explains which fields each report needs.
Can we run SIMS and PMC People side by side?
Yes. Every step can be run again, so you can bring data across, check it, and run the steps again just before you switch.
Is PMC People a full SIMS replacement?
With the school modules it covers pupil records, attendance, behaviour and safeguarding, timetables and cover, assessment and reports, SEN, homework, seating plans, the school census and a parent portal, with HR built in.
How much does it cost to move?
PMC People is in beta. We’re looking for a beta school to help us finish it, with a free licence during the beta and a reduced price afterwards: become a beta school.
See what moving from SIMS looks like
Take the guided tour through a fictional school, or apply to be one of our beta schools.