October 2026 MIS Newsletter

• General Updates
• MIS Training
• FMS
• Arbor
• Bromcom
• SIMS

With the new academic year well underway and the Autumn census period upon us, our Help Desk has been exceptionally busy, with demand further increased by ongoing issues with SIMS Next Gen and third-party connectors. We know that some of you are waiting longer than you would usually expect to speak to us or receive a response, and we really appreciate your patience and understanding. If you are unable to get through quickly by phone, rather than waiting in the queue, please consider using one of our other methods to log your ticket. This will ensure your query is logged with the Help Desk without the need to remain on the phone. Please be assured that the team is working hard to respond to queries as quickly as possible, while making sure each issue receives the support and attention it needs.

We know everyone works differently, so we’ve made it easy for you to reach us in the way that suits you best. There are several flexible support options available, and you can simply choose the one that’s most convenient for you.

Customer contact options

Live chat @  https://my.schoolicts.co.uk/ 

Customer Portal @ https://my.schoolicts.co.uk/ 

Our customer portals allow you to 

• Log and track tickets
• Watch webinars
• Search the Knowledge base for information
• Latest news

Call: 0345 222 6802 Option 1 for MIS support *please leave a voicemail when lines are busy during peak periods. Leaving a voicemail automatically creates a ticket in our system.

Key Benefits of Our Live Chat:

• Instant Support: Get your questions answered in real-time by our knowledgeable support consultants.
• Expert Assistance: Our live chat is staffed by real people, ready to provide you with personalised support.
• Convenience: Access live assistance directly from our website, without the need for phone calls or emails.
• Efficiency: Resolve issues faster with immediate responses and quick solutions.

To start using Live Chat, simply visit our customer portal, log in and click on the chat icon at the bottom right corner. Our team is ready and eager to assist you with any enquiries or support you may need.

Customers can also log tickets via the customer portal  here:

When you log a ticket via the customer portal, select the Ticket Type, either MIS or Technical, to ensure it gets to the right team.  The Priority, if you have an urgent ticket, for example if your MIS is down, please select either P1/P2 all other tickets default to P3 or even P4 if not urgent.

Once you’ve populated the Summary and Details box, you will see a pop-up box with suggested articles in the top-right hand corner:

Clicking on the links in this pop-up may help you to resolve your issue without our input, so please also make use of this.

Remember to tell us which MIS and Module, but also really importantly if Ofsted are onsite, as this helps us prioritise your call through our Ofsted Watch service, and also your preferred contact method as we know sometimes an email reply is what you need during your busy period.

We know you like to speak to us (and we like to speak to you!) but in order to offer the best service to our customers, this is

often the quickest way to log a support request at busy times.

And lastly, as always, our experienced team is available to take your calls. Please contact us on 0345 222 6802 (option 1). If the lines are busy, you can save time by leaving a voicemail, which will automatically generate a ticket and allow the most appropriate person to call you back. PLEASE include your name, the name of the school, the best number to call you back on and a brief description of your query.

Key Dates

• Census Date: Thursday 5^th November 2026
• Deadline for returning: Friday 4^th December 2026*
• Contract data from 1^st September 2025- 5^th November 2026
• Absence data from 1^st September 2025- 1^st September 2026
• Snapshot data- 5^th November 2026

*Check submission deadlines if you submit through the local authority

October has arrived, and the new academic year is now well underway. Timetables are settled, students have found their classrooms and exams officers are once again surrounded by deadlines, regulations and acronyms!

This month brings preparation for the November GCSE examination series, summer estimated entries and the release of important updated JCQ documentation. Here are the key updates and reminders to keep everything moving in the right direction.

November GCSE Examination Series

November GCSE entries should now be complete, with the final entry deadline falling on 4 October. Basedata is already available, so centres should ensure entries have been submitted and checked carefully.

The following JCQ dates should also be noted:

• 1 October – Final date to submit Form JCQ/CCA for GCSE English Language Spoken Language Endorsement centre consortium arrangements.
• 4 October – Final date for November GCSE entries.
• 4 October – Final date to request transferred candidate arrangements through the Centre Admin Portal.
• 1 November – Final date to process November GCSE access arrangement applications through Access Arrangements Online.
• 2 November – First examination on the common November timetable.
• 2 November – First date for submitting special consideration applications.
• 5 November – Final date to submit GCSE English Language Spoken Language Endorsement grades.
• 11 November – Final examination on the common November timetable.
• 18 November – Final date for submitting special consideration applications.

As always, please check individual awarding organisation requirements, as dates can vary depending on the qualification or specification. Nobody wants to discover a missed deadline at 4.59pm, particularly when the system has also decided that this is the perfect moment for a password reset!

Summer 2027 Estimated Entries

The deadline for submitting estimated entries for relevant June 2027 qualifications is 10 October.

Estimated entries are provisional and do not commit centres to final entries. However, they allow awarding organisations to plan for early examination materials and allocate visiting examiners or moderators where required.

Not every subject requires estimated entries, so centres should check the relevant awarding organisation guidance and submit information for the qualifications that apply to them.

It may feel early to be talking about summer 2027, but in the world of exams, summer preparation begins now!

The New JCQ ICE Booklet Is Now Available, you can access it here: https://www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/JCQ-Instructions-for-conducting-examinations-2026_FINAL.pdf

The updated JCQ Instructions for Conducting Examinations (ICE) for 2026–27 is now available.

This is the definitive guidance for preparing for, conducting and completing examinations securely and consistently. Changes from the previous version are highlighted in yellow, making them easier to identify.

Most importantly, this document is not solely the responsibility of the exams officer. JCQ states that the:

• Head of centre
• Senior leaders
• Exams officer

must read all chapters of the ICE document.

Other staff involved in examination administration must also read and follow the sections relevant to their responsibilities. This includes invigilators and anyone supporting candidates through an access arrangement.

Exam officers may know the document inside out, but examination compliance is a whole-centre responsibility. The head of centre remains accountable for ensuring that staff follow JCQ regulations and awarding organisation requirements.

Centres should therefore:

• Download and circulate the updated ICE booklet.
• Ask the head of centre and relevant senior leaders to read all chapters.
• Record that the document has been shared and read.
• Review the highlighted changes for 2026–27.
• Update centre procedures, training materials and checklists where necessary.
• Ensure relevant information is included within invigilator training.

Updated Unauthorised Items Poster

The JCQ Unauthorised Items poster has been updated for 2026 and is effective from 1 September 2026.

The updated version now specifically includes:

• Mobile phones
• Smart glasses
• Watches
• Storage or web-enabled devices

Centres must download and print the new version, remove outdated posters and replace every old copy currently displayed.

The poster must be displayed prominently outside each examination room where candidates can clearly see it before entering. It may be displayed as a printed A3 poster, in black and white or colour, or projected onto a wall or screen.

This is a good opportunity to carry out a quick tour of all examination rooms and storage areas. Old posters have a habit of quietly surviving on walls and noticeboards long after everyone thought they had been replaced!

Is Your Centre Ready for the New Academic Year?

October is the ideal time to review your examination processes before the main summer preparations begin.

Our Exams Consultancy and Project Support services can help schools and trusts with:

• JCQ compliance reviews and readiness checks.
• Examination policy and procedure reviews.
• Secure storage and examination room checks.
• Standardisation of processes across multiple schools.
• Development of practical systems, templates and audit trails.
• Support with entries, seating plans and access arrangements.
• Short-term project support during staffing gaps or periods of increased workload.

Sometimes an experienced fresh pair of eyes can identify a risk before it becomes a problem, which is always preferable to meeting that problem during a JCQ inspection!

Supporting New Exams Officers

Our proven and successful Exams Mentoring Programme remains one of our most popular services. It supports new exams officers as they find their feet and develop into confident, knowledgeable and proactive professionals.

Those who know, know! There are multiple deadlines to manage, hundreds of regulations to understand and a significant amount of risk mitigation required throughout the examination cycle. Having an experienced expert to provide guidance and help lead the way is invaluable, particularly when everything is new and the acronyms appear to have their own language.

This carefully fine-tuned service covers every aspect of the exams officer role, providing practical guidance, reassurance and continued support throughout the year. No new exams officer should be expected to understand everything hidden within the regulations from day one.

Without the right support, this is where the pressure begins to build and overwhelm can arrive like a high-speed train. When a new recruit feels they have no option but to walk away, the impact is felt across the school affecting staff retention, operational stability and, most importantly, the students relying on a well-managed exams service.

We Are Here to Help

Whether your school requires a fully managed exams service, mentoring for a new exams officer, additional support during a staffing gap, invigilation support, a compliance review or help completing a specific exams project, our experienced team is here to help.

Please contact us to discuss your requirements and find out how our support can be tailored to your school or trust.

Until next month, keep checking those deadlines, replacing those posters and reminding senior leaders that the ICE booklet really is required reading!

Did you know… we can provide short, medium and long term Data Management cover? If you’re experiencing staff off sick, on maternity leave or seconded elsewhere, we can ensure your data needs are covered.

Our Data Management Service provides schools, academies and Multi-Academy Trusts with access to experienced education data specialists who become a trusted extension of your team. Delivered remotely through secure access, the service offers comprehensive support across assessment, census, examinations, reporting and day-to-day data management, with expertise in statutory returns, compliance and funding-related processes.

More than simply completing tasks, our service gives schools confidence that critical data responsibilities are being managed accurately, efficiently and by professionals who understand the demands of the education sector. Whether you require long-term support to strengthen data management capacity or short-term cover for sickness absence, maternity leave, peak workload periods or unexpected staffing gaps, our team provides a flexible and dependable solution.

Customers value the reassurance of responsive, knowledgeable support, practical advice and sector best practice. Feedback consistently highlights the service as reliable, efficient and cost-effective, helping schools reduce pressure on internal teams while avoiding the time, expense and challenges associated with recruitment and training.

To find out more contact us today via info@schoolicts.co.uk, by calling 0345 222 6802 option 5 or read our case-study from St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School to find out why they couldn’t be without their remote Data Manager from School ICT.

• Please click here for further information.

Protect your Post-16 funding before you submit your Autumn census

Post-16 funding is too important to leave to chance. Yet the autumn census arrives at a time when teams are already balancing new starters, timetable changes, enrolments and the day-to-day demands of the new academic year. There’s still time after census day to review your Post 16 data before you submit your census return.

Our Post-16 Funding Scrutiny Service provides an independent review of the key data that underpins your post-16 funding, helping identify anomalies, compliance issues and potential funding risks before census submission. Whether you’re new to post-16 funding, have experienced staff shortages, or simply want additional reassurance, our specialists can help you validate funding-critical data and highlight areas that need attention.

Don’t wait until queries arise after submission. Gain confidence that your data is accurate, your funding is protected and your school is claiming what it’s entitled to.

Need extra capacity or specialist support with statutory returns this year?

Our Statutory Returns Service gives schools flexible access to experienced education data specialists when internal time, capacity or knowledge is limited. Support is delivered remotely and can be used for one return, several returns or as part of an agreed package across the academic year.

We can work alongside your team or manage agreed parts of the process on your behalf.

This includes preparing and checking data, identifying missing or incorrect information, resolving validation errors, reviewing funding and enrolment details, producing the required return file and supporting submission.

If your team has already completed the return, we can also provide an independent review before it is submitted to provide reassurance, accuracy and funding compliance.

The service can cover returns including the pupil census, School Workforce Census, key stage collections and Catholic Census.

The level of support is shaped around your school, the condition of the data and how much help your team needs.

Whether you are covering staff absence, managing a vacancy, supporting someone new to the process or simply want specialist reassurance, we can help reduce pressure, protect valuable staff time and give leaders confidence that returns are accurate, complete and submitted on time.

Get in touch to discuss the right support for your school: info@schoolicts.co.uk or call on: 0345 222 6802.

With the new academic year now firmly underway, October is often the point where schools move beyond the September settling-in period and begin focusing on the key priorities for the year ahead. Whether you’re refining assessment processes, reviewing operational workflows, or preparing for statutory returns, investing time in training now can help ensure a smoother and more efficient year.

Our upcoming training programme covers a range of topics designed to help schools make the most of their MIS, improve efficiency, strengthen data quality, and ensure staff feel confident using the tools available to them.

Coming next month: Webinar Week!

Our ever-popular Webinar Week returns next month, with a packed programme of useful sessions. Keep an eye on your inbox for the full line-up and booking details.

Training Spotlight: Assessment

As the first half-term draws to a close, many schools are beginning to review progress, analyse attainment data, and prepare for autumn reporting. Making effective use of assessment tools can help ensure data is recorded accurately, analysed efficiently, and used to support informed decision-making across the school.

Our Assessment training sessions are designed to help users build confidence in managing assessment frameworks, recording outcomes, monitoring progress, and producing meaningful reports. Whether you’re new to assessment management or looking to refresh your skills, these sessions provide practical guidance to help you get the most from your MIS.

Arbor Secondary Assessment – Monday 9^th, 16^th & 23^rd November –  Arbor Secondary Assessment User – School ICT

Bromcom Secondary Assessment – Thursday 12^th November – Bromcom Secondary Assessment – School ICT

Arbor CPD Sessions for Teaching Staff

We’re introducing a new range of Arbor CPD sessions designed specifically for teaching staff. These focused one-hour sessions help teachers make the most of Arbor’s classroom tools and the valuable information available within the system.

Topics include:

• Lesson Dashboard & My Classroom – making day-to-day classroom management easier
• Recording Behaviour – promoting consistency and making effective use of behaviour information
• Assessment & Assignments – recording, monitoring and using assessment data effectively
• Using Data Holistically to Drive Improvement – turning information into meaningful actions that support pupil progress and outcomes

Sessions can be delivered at a time that suits your school, making them an ideal option for staff meetings, INSET days or targeted professional development.

Interested in arranging a session for your staff? Contact helpdesk@schoolicts.co.uk to discuss your requirements.

Looking for training that’s not currently scheduled?

Whether your school uses Arbor, Bromcom or SIMS, our team can discuss additional training and consultancy support.

If you cannot find the course you need within our current schedule, please get in touch. We can discuss your requirements and explore a bespoke session tailored to your school or trust.

We’re constantly reviewing our training offer, so if there are any courses you’d like to see, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at helpdesk@schoolicts.co.uk.

Booking is now open please visit https://www.schoolicts.co.uk/online-training/

Unlock the full potential of your MIS

Your MIS is one of the most important systems in your school. Our Data Assurance Service helps you ensure your data is accurate, your processes are efficient and you’re making the most of the functionality available.

What’s included?

• Expert review of your MIS data and configuration.
• Identification of unused functionality and opportunities for improvement.
• Advice on the latest developments and best practice.
• Support with housekeeping and data retention requirements.
• A tailored report with clear recommendations and training opportunities.
• A server health check for on-premise systems.

The result? Greater confidence in your data, improved efficiency, and reassurance that your MIS is supporting your school as effectively as possible.

Could your MIS be working harder for your school? Speak to our team about our Data Assurance Service and uncover opportunities to improve efficiency, strengthen data quality and maximise the return on your MIS investment. Contact us at: helpdesk@schoolicts.co.uk to find out more.

ParentPay Group is continuing their exciting project to move all FMS6 schools across to FMS (Next Gen)! 

This major programme will continue throughout 2026, with PPG contacting schools directly to support them through the migration process at a suitable time.

What happens next? 

Step 1 – When your school receives the migration email, please complete the onboarding form as soon as possible.
Step 2 – Your school will then be invited to select a preferred migration time slot.
Step 3 – Your school will move from local FMS6 to FMS Connected – this is typically completed within 24 hours.
Step 4 – Later in the year, schools will transition from FMS Connected to the full FMS (Next Generation) platform.

Why this change matters

Moving to a single cloud-based platform allows us to provide schools with a more secure, reliable and continuously improving service, while reducing the technical burden on finance teams.

Please note: this is a mandatory migration, and all schools will need to move to FMS Connected before the end of the migration period. Schools that do not schedule their migration within the required timeline may have restricted access to local FMS6.

Important reminder

Please keep an eye out for communications from PPG regarding your migration window. Some schools may have already received emails relating to the migration programme, but these may have been overlooked or filtered into other inbox folders.

When it is time for your school to move, you will receive regular reminder emails asking you to complete the onboarding form and choose your preferred migration date.  Once you have completed the migration questionnaire and have your migration date, please contact the Help Desk.

These emails do require action, so please do not ignore communications from ParentPay Group, as delays may impact your migration timeline and access to local FMS6.

Important note: If you are a user of FDS (Finance database selector), PPG will only migrate FMS databases that are actively in use. FMS databases that have not been used or were last active 8 years ago or more will not be migrated. Lowest open Year 19/20.

If you have any questions or require support, please contact the Help Desk on: 0345 222 6802 or e-mail: helpdesk@schoolicts.co.uk

If you have recently moved to FMS Connected and utilise the Personnel 7 links between SIMS.net and FMS 6, you may experience a sync issue between SIMS.net (server based) and FMS Connected.

PPG (ParentPay Group) state that the sync can take up to 2 – 4 hours for a change in SIMS Personnel to be reflected in Salary projections. In some cases, this may take longer, e.g. overnight. This may indicate a problem with the configuration.

There are some checks to carry out:

1 – When running Salary projections via – Focus – Personnel links – Salary projections. You should be presented with a small number of splash screens including “Recalculating commitments”. If this appears to load very quickly or no splash screens appear then this may be an issue with the MIS link.

2 – Tools – Define – Financial Years – Define salary periods – The current financial year should have periods defined e.g. 26/27.

3 – Tools – MS Settings.

• The tickbox should be Ticked.
• The username and password fields should be populated.
• A file path needs to exist in the last box.

If you experience any issues, we recommend that you check the above and log a support call via helpdesk@schoolicts.co.uk.