As a Birmingham City Council Maintained school we were required to source alternative arrangements for Finance, Payroll and HR in the academic year 2024-2025. This was going to be a major requirement in relation to just one aspect, but the fact that this was in relation to 3 key areas for a school this was certainly a daunting prospect.
“In respect of HR we decided to migrate to SIPS as our new service provider. This was determined following an extensive process of evaluation regarding a range of providers and what would closely align to the needs of the school. All too often providers for any service are quick to communicate what they can provide, but understandably steer away from the questions that focus on what comes at an additional cost or is not available at all. In the case of SIPS the discussions that took place prior to transfer highlighted a level of honesty and detail that we required as a school and illustrated not only the service level agreement expectations, but also in respect of exit strategies. This latter part is a key aspect we like to focus upon as it is imperative to consider not only when provision meets need but also what to expect should the need arise when alternative solutions are required. We often view this as a benchmark of a company and the type of relationship that can be expected when entering into discussions and this is especially important when considering HR as it involves the aspect of personnel and the many associated challenges that inevitably arise.
In the brief period we have worked alongside the SIPS team we can honestly report the experience has been a positive one. This is so reassuring as it has meant that the workload and stresses of the HR conversion have, on the whole, been smooth and although this is a model of collaboration credit needs to be applied to SIPS for enabling this to occur. To date we have found response time extremely quick and efficient from basic HR queries through to more challenging areas such as absences and recruitment. Contact either by telephone or MS Teams have occurred at a quicker level than expected and when this has not been possible a notification acknowledging receipt and proposed actions for making contact offered. In the case of the latter this is invaluable as it offers a level of reassurance that support is available even if it cannot be provided at that exact moment in time.
From a personal perspective specific praise and credit must be applied to Kate Shadwell. Kate has quite simply been the font of all knowledge and the epitome of professionalism. Her ability and skills are impressive and she has ensured tricky situations are both tolerable and negotiable. Throughout her involvement with Stanville Primary School and her work supporting myself and colleagues, she has been industrious and professional at all times. The level of guidance and support has been as required and what makes this all the more impressive is the fact that she has many other schools and clients to support yet at no time has it ever felt we weren’t given her full attention.
As stated this testimonial is reflective of only a brief relationship between SIPS and our school, but to date it is evident that we have received a level of service that provides value for money. It is also important to share appreciation of good service in this day and age as we all know that sadly complaints far outweigh the highlighting of good service and individual performance”.
