Invaluable SIPS IT support helps power a leading primary school
IT has many service lines, and the ways in which we can help schools is virtually endless. Mrs Lucy Bray, Head Teacher, at Mesty Croft Academy, explains just how invaluable IT support has become to her vibrant primary school:
“Mesty Croft Academy is a large, two-form entry primary school, part of the Wednesbury Trust. We are a key part of our community and have been educating pupils to become upstanding adults for generations.
“Our school mission is to inspire ‘our next generation to believe and achieve’ so moving with the times is something staff and pupils do naturally, therefore running a busy school, I encouraged my team to capitalise upon the benefits IT can offer, maximising productivity while helping alleviate workload. We took the considered decision to move from a previous supplier to procure SIPS IT Services, and within six weeks, SIPS had delivered notably more.
“Upon reflection, we were previously using third party systems that we did not really need, as they were overlapping with Capita modules, so we began to streamline. We started by using the ‘Assessment’ module for early years, and after a successful trial expanded to using it for the whole schools MIS. We progressed to also using ‘Behaviour’ and ‘Achievement’ modules. It’s a frequent occurrence for staff in the classroom to pull on data accessed via the Capita modules not only to take a register but also to review pupil records, all in ‘real time’. SIPS IT invested time carefully setting up the modules, as we wanted them to operate and our key partnership gave us all the confidence we needed to continue.
“SIPS also ensured we have a secure internet connection (through TRUSTnet). Our infrastructure and hardware are supported by a SIPS IT dedicated friendly and knowledgeable technician who helps us on site to keep the school’s computers, servers and printers running perfectly – to name just a few tasks.
“We often ask the odd ‘quick question’ and nothing is too much trouble, so we call upon them as and when we need them, in person, via telephone or email. Overall, through carefully buying services and adding extra modules over time, we have grown to trust SIPS IT as a specialist; competent in sharing best practice, but what we like most is the fact that SIPS IT really understand schools and what they need, that’s what sets them apart from other alternatives.
We also buy many other SIPS Education services including Governance Clerking, HR, Healthy & Safety, GDPR support and Music & Arts. In my experience, gained over many years, I have found SIPS to prove themselves competent, responsive and professional. I would certainly encourage other schools to see first-hand the positive impact the services can make to their children’s education.”
Mrs Lucy Bray, Head Teacher, Mesty Croft Academy
