Sims capita schools

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Education Software Solutions ESS - the dominant school MIS in England - wrote to schools last month stating it would automatically extend its contracts from one year to three years, giving schools until February to sign up or find an alternative.

Law firm Stone King is considering possible legal action against ESS SIMS on behalf of schools after school staff attended a briefing it held on the matter this week. The firm is holding a further briefing on the issue on Monday 6 December where it "will review whether the actions of ESS may be the subject of a legal challenge".

Tes understands that at least school leaders raised their hands when asked during the briefing whether they would be willing to join collective action against ESS SIMS. Graham Burns, partner at Stone King, told Tes that schools were reporting that ESS was offering no flexibility on terms and that this was putting them in a difficult position at a time they were facing huge difficulties due to Covid.

Instead, schools have been given very short notice and placed under intolerable pressure. He said the question of whether schools would like to join "collective action" had "a lot of support". I am expecting a significant number, which I would be able to announce next week," he said. When asked for a roadmap of where they are going in the future, they haven't [replied].

Oxenham, who is also the Institute of School Business Leadership ISBL national lead on school finance, added: "They are offering a three- to five-year renewal [by February] which is leaving it so late that most trusts or schools would struggle to source an alternative. The Department for Education advised schools two weeks ago to "pause before agreeing" to the new contract while it investigated the changes.

A spokesperson for the ParentPay group said the DfE is set to issue a statement saying schools no longer need to hold off from signing because the change in contract terms are consistent with those of other suppliers to schools. ESS SIMS says on its website: "Our legal advisers have informed us that whilst the Departments officers are entitled to their opinions concerning schools' procurement processes, they are unaware of any statutory powers held by the Department in this regard.

The data is so important to headteachers they don't dare to lose it. Mr Brant told Tes this week: "We are human and we are people that represent a business that is investing in the future of SIMS to support the education sector. We are very much committed to that.

We have made clear statements of intent for how we plan to continue to invest in the software. He added: "There is no basis for legal action with the move to industry standard three-year agreements, which simply aligns us with many other providers.

You can read two more articles on Tes for free this month if you register using the button below. Alternatively, check if your school has a Tes subscription. Already registered? Log in. Check if your school has a Tes subscription. Hundreds of schools join legal action over SIMS contract. ESS owner ParentPay says five months' notice is 'not unreasonable'.

Helen Chapman. Register Subscribe now. Subscribe now. Topics in this article Compliance. Read more.