The government wants school management information systems (MIS) providers to help it 鈥渉arness the potential鈥 of the real-time data they collect to inform policy decisions. The Department for Education is to take part in a series of trials to feed up-to-date information from schools straight to officials. Ministers believe the scheme could help heads benchmark their schools with others across the country and contribute to government decision-making much quicker. Nick Finnemore, an educational technology consultant, believes the move could also improve the 鈥渙utdated鈥 way 鈥渟tatutory returns are currently handled鈥. 鈥淚n a modern data environment, the government should be able to access the statutory data it needs, when it needs it, rather than relying on periodic, manual submissions. 鈥淸The pilot鈥檚] success will depend entirely on getting all MIS suppliers on board.鈥 Tender documents show the DfE is planning the pilots will explore how it 鈥渃an harness the potential of data to provide new and valuable insights鈥 for schools, trusts and councils. Working with 鈥渕ultiple MIS suppliers鈥, officials 鈥渁im to test the value of increasing data flows鈥 from the systems to 鈥渋mprove the breadth and timeliness of information available鈥. Each trial will run for up to 12 weeks. The department believes that having 鈥渁ccess to near real-time鈥 figures would enable 鈥減olicy decisions to be informed more regularly and more effectively by data鈥. ‘Less time on census returns’ Schools will be able to use the information to 鈥渂enchmark themselves against other similar establishments nationally鈥. They could also 鈥渇eed into department policies much quicker, which will 鈥 directly support improved outcomes for pupils鈥. Among the data MIS providers collect are figures for attendance, payroll, admissions, behaviour and assessments. Duncan Baldwin, an education consultant, added that the scheme 鈥 if it is rolled out 鈥 would 鈥渞equire less time spent in schools on census returns and lead to benchmarking data鈥 provided earlier. Duncan Baldwin 鈥淏ut whenever MIS providers have to deliver new services there is always the question of who pays. The costs must not be passed on to schools in the form of increased annual charges.鈥 The government is calling for MIS firms that can provide access to data for either a small group of local authority schools and/or an MAT of more than 20 academies to step forward. The pilots are expected to begin in 2028. Towards the end of last year, Schools Week also revealed the government is bidding to shield schools from the 拢200 million MIS turf war by drawing up a new framework through which leaders can purchase edtech. Officials launched a consultation on how to simplify buying software and reduce the 鈥渓egal risks鈥 schools face. It follows a string of costly court fights, involving local authorities and some of England鈥檚 biggest academy trusts.
Pete 16 January 2026 MIS providers still need to invest in making their platforms actually fully functional and reliable for schools, their customers, before being distracted by this idea.
Lilly Mack 17 January 2026 I think before they do that they really need to change their funding documents and update processes so that there are no ambiguities. When we check our data for errors against the latest funding rules using the government’s own checking tool, there are always anomalies and they change on a monthly basis depending on what changes the government have made to the documentation. It’s a pain and requires manual adjustments that the MIS systems do not handle automatically.