Bromcom review

Bromcom is a cloud-based management information system (MIS) for UK schools, multi-academy trusts and local authorities. It covers the standard MIS work, including attendance, assessment, exams, cover, census and statutory returns, and its entry package includes timetabling. Bromcom also sells finance software that it describes as fully integrated with the MIS, and runs the MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) portal and app for parents. It offers versions for primary, secondary, all-through and special schools.

Who it’s for

Bromcom suits schools and trusts in England that want the MIS, timetabling and finance from one supplier. Secondary schools gain the most, because the timetable and exams sit inside the MIS instead of in software from another company.

Trusts and local authorities can add Vision, a central layer for trust-wide configuration, benchmarking and changes across schools, and an Enterprise bundle that combines the MIS, Vision, finance and HR. Our student information system rankings list the other systems to compare.

What it does well

Bromcom sells three cumulative packages. Standard covers the core MIS with assessment, attendance, census, communication, cover, exams, statutory returns, the teacher app and timetabling. Plus adds analysis, behaviour, classroom management, clubs and trips, dinner management, the MCAS parent portal and app, a primary tracker, Power BI, the student portal and a web timetable. One-Stop Shop adds advanced reporting and analytics, safeguarding, options, Google and Office 365 integration, CPD and Bromcom AI, its built-in assistant.

Timetabling in the base package is the biggest practical difference from Arbor, where most secondary schools build the timetable in TimeTabler or Edval and import it. In Bromcom, the timetabler builds the timetable in the MIS and can adjust it later for inset days, closures and curriculum changes without exporting and re-importing files.

Census support is mature. Bromcom says it meets all of the DfE’s statutory data collection requirements, and local authorities publish their own Bromcom guides for each return. Buckinghamshire, for example, has step-by-step manuals for the autumn and spring school census and the school workforce census, so a new data manager has more to work from than the supplier’s help pages.

The finance product comes in versions for maintained schools and for trusts, with budgeting dashboards and scenario planning. A trust that runs MIS and finance from Bromcom deals with one supplier for support, renewals and data protection paperwork.

Where it falls short

Bromcom fits a lot onto each screen. Staff who only take registers and enter marks can find it hard to see where to click, and the options, timetabling and assessment setup screens take proper training. Plan training by role instead of one session for everyone.

The parent app is not in the entry package. MCAS sits in Plus, so a school on Standard has to upgrade or buy a separate parent communication tool. Behaviour tracking is also in Plus, which matters because many schools treat behaviour logging as a core MIS job. Compare like with like when you set a Bromcom Standard quote against another supplier’s.

Bromcom does not publish prices, so you can’t budget without a quote. It also makes it harder to check whether a renewal offer is fair.

Pricing

Bromcom says it prices the MIS per pupil, and the rate depends on the type of school and the package you choose. It does not publish the rates. Bromcom offers a “Buy Back” option, which it says lets a school switch without paying for its old system, and it also sells through procurement frameworks. Get the Buy Back terms in writing and check them against the notice period in your current contract. Our guide to the total cost of school software explains what else to price, such as training, data migration and third-party integrations.

Privacy and data

Bromcom’s cloud FAQ, dated 2022, says it hosts the MIS on Microsoft Azure in the UK South and UK West regions, so data stays in the UK, and that it supports two-factor authentication. The same FAQ says Bromcom has held ISO 27001 certification since April 2020. Its website shows Cyber Essentials Plus and UKAS-accredited certification marks and links to an information security policy and a vulnerability disclosure policy. Because the FAQ is several years old, ask for the current ISO 27001 certificate and scope, and Bromcom’s data processing agreement, during procurement. Our student data privacy checklist lists other questions to ask.

Verdict

Bromcom is a good fit for secondary schools and trusts that want timetabling, exams and finance from the same supplier as the MIS. Price the Plus package if you want the parent app and behaviour tools, because Standard leaves them out. Trusts that care most about trust-wide dashboards and published pricing should compare Arbor.

See the best Bromcom alternatives