A continuous multi-year programme of customer driven innovation, designed to add-value to your investment in SIMS. Discover the next generation of school MIS.

SIMS Next Gen

SIMS Support

Our school MIS support packages go above and beyond reactive problem solving to give you everything you need to get the most out of SIMS for your school. All at prices designed to reduce your support costs by up to 50%.

Choose the level of support that’s right for you, including our popular Advanced package or - when you’re looking to take your school’s use of SIMS to new levels - our Complete package.

Support hours

Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 5:30pm (excluding bank holidays).

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Unlock your school's potential with SIMS support

Benefit from tailored leadership briefings and seamless onboarding support for new users.

Rapid support and resolutions from experts

Quick answers from expert support teams. For complex issues, the product teams ensure rapid resolution.

Achieve your goals with SIMS Professional Services

Our professional services team is ready to help align SIMS capabilities with your school's specific ambitions.

Choose the right SIMS & FMS Support package for you

Discover the variety of support services offered by SIMS to ensure you get the most out of your school management information system. See how each service level caters to the needs of your school, providing everything from quick answers to complex issue resolution, tailored training sessions, and dedicated account management. Find the perfect support solution to keep your SIMS running smoothly and efficiently.

Foundation

Essential support for getting started with SIMS

Termly best practice sessions

Termly school improvement sessions

SIMS inductions for new staff

SIMS task completion

SIMS consultancy

Included in the plan

Service Desk - case logging & resolution
24/7 Online case visibility & Knowledge Base
24/7 online resource - e.g. videos, tips
'How to' guides & information sent to you

Advanced

A popular option for any school to get the most out of SIMS

SIMS task completion

SIMS consultancy

Included in the plan

Service Desk - case logging & resolution
24/7 Online case visibility & Knowledge Base
24/7 online resource - e.g. videos, tips
'How to' guides & information sent to you
Termly best practice sessions
Termly school improvement sessions
SIMS inductions for new staff

Complete

Essential support for getting started with SIMS

Included in the plan

Service Desk - case logging & resolution
24/7 Online case visibility & Knowledge Base
24/7 online resource - e.g. videos, tips
'How to' guides & information sent to you
Termly best practice sessions
Termly school improvement sessions
SIMS inductions for new staff
SIMS task completion
SIMS consultancy

	Foundation Essential support for getting started with SIMS	Advanced A popular option for any school to get the most out of SIMS	Complete Essential support for getting started with SIMS
Service Desk - case logging & resolution Expert help when you need it with direct access to 1st and 2nd Line support via email, customer portal and telephone during office hours. Underpinned by a market-leading Service Level Agreement (SLA) with specific response and resolution times, your agreement covers core and additional SIMS Software and SIMS Next Gen as well as FMS. In the event that your issue cannot be resolved via email or over the telephone, your support agent will lead a remote access session. If an issue, software bug or the availability/performance of SIMS cannot be resolved by our 1st/2nd line teams, your case will be escalated to our in-house experts - SIMS Service Operations, Product and/or Development. Behind the scenes, we will keep disruption to a minimum in the event of a service outage, with our dedicated Major Incident Team on hand to respond 24x7.
24/7 Online case visibility & Knowledge Base Search for a solution to your issue on our knowledge base and see your case history, tracked updates, identified owners and clearly defined next steps in our Case Management Portal. All cases are managed through our enterprise-leading ServiceNow ITSM platform.
24/7 online resource - e.g. videos, tips Get the most out of SIMS with expert tips, best practice guidance, videos, webinars and other useful content available 24/7 via our online Customer Success Resource Hub.
'How to' guides & information sent to you Reduce the time taken to complete key activities such as the School Census with guides and key educational updates proactively provided for you at the appropriate time from the Customer Success Management team.
Termly best practice sessions Drive best practice and use of SIMS with guidance provided by your dedicated Customer Success Management Team. Up to 1 hour session per term.
Termly school improvement sessions Align your use of SIMS to support delivery of your School Improvement Plan. Your Customer Success Team will work with your Senior Leaders to identify how SIMS can support your School Improvement initiatives. Up to 2 hour session per term.
SIMS inductions for new staff Get new users up and running quickly with welcome sessions providing a high-level overview of SIMS functionality, tailored by specific job roles. Up to 1 hour session per half term.
SIMS task completion Get an extra pair of hands. A SIMS expert will carry out key tasks and processes remotely or onsite for you. For example, these sessions could be used to carry out key procedures such as applying SIMS releases or patches, completing end-of-year processes, data entry, housekeeping and technical health checks. Up to 1 half day session per term.
SIMS consultancy Maximise your use of SIMS. Book the time of a SIMS Software Consultant, to deliver remote support, consultancy or training, to meet your schools requirements for SIMS. Up to 4 x half-day sessions each academic year.

For information on all of our available Support packages, including Foundation, please click here

"The SIMS Support team has been instrumental in helping us achieve this and make much better use of SIMS."

Julia Atkinson, School Business Manager, Severn Vale School

“The service from the helpdesk was perfect, as it always is. I am so grateful for the support and help whenever I need it.”

Julie Guttridge, Freehold Community Academy

"We have a single point of contact who everyone knows is a fantastic source of knowledge and support. We make good use of the wider support team too, who are always there to offer advice or signpost people to a quick how-to video. We wouldn’t be without them."

Julia Atkinson, School Business Manager, Severn Vale School

Our market-leading Service Level Agreement (SLA) ensures we deliver great customer service.

Priority		Contact Method	SLA Response Time	Resolution Time
1	Critical - entire system failure impacting all users	Phone	30 seconds	75% within 60 minutes	90% within 120 minutes
		Portal / Email	Immediate escalation and Analyst response withing 20 minutes
2	High – key system failure with no workaround available, impacting some users or one part of the system	Phone	30 seconds	75% within 120 minutes	90% within 6 hours
		Portal / Email	Analyst response within 20 minutes
3	Medium – an issue causing impact but a workaround is available or only some users or records are affected	Phone	30 seconds	50% within 2 working hours	90% within 8 working hours
		Portal / Email	Analyst response within 2 hour
4	Low - system usage assistance or guidance is required	Phone	30 seconds	50% within 6 working hours	90% within 8 working hours
		Portal / Email	Analyst response within 6 working hours

Notes

'Response' means initial contact from ESS regarding your case via email or telephone.
'Resolution' means a solution is offered. If a visit is required, then the case will be put into 'a state of wait' until the visit has been carried out.

Let’s talk about how you can move to SIMS Support and start saving today.

Complete the form and one of our team will be in touch to discuss how we can support your establishment.

SIMS Support

Choose the right SIMS & FMS Support package for you

Foundation

Included in the plan

Advanced

Included in the plan

Complete

Included in the plan

Foundation

Advanced

Complete

Service Desk - case logging & resolution

24/7 Online case visibility & Knowledge Base

24/7 online resource - e.g. videos, tips

'How to' guides & information sent to you

Termly best practice sessions

Termly school improvement sessions

SIMS inductions for new staff

SIMS task completion

SIMS consultancy

Priority