For years, many schools have been locked into expensive MIS contracts that deliver more complexity and cost instead of driving real school improvement.
Thousands of pounds are spent each year on systems that are over-engineered and packed with features that rarely get used or aren’t specialist enough.
We partner with 14,000 schools and hear about this frustration all of the time. As the Business Manager at St Benet’s Trust put it:
“We were sick of paying 100% of our MIS to only use 40% of it.”
And this is why our MIS is free. We have listened to our customers and built an MIS that represents this 40% need and saves wasted money.
As a school improvement partner, our approach is to help schools spend their budgets where it has the greatest impact. By removing the cost of the MIS itself, schools are free to invest in the technology and services that genuinely support their improvement priorities and deliver meaningful outcomes.
Teacher workload has reached crisis levels, with administrative pressure repeatedly cited as one of the main reasons staff leave the profession. And although many educators report positive impacts of technology, the Technology in Schools Survey 2024–25 conducted by the DfE found that around 1 in 10 primary leaders surveyed said that current technology has increased their workload rather than reduced it.
What is understood by the school community is that an MIS is essential for attendance, census returns, safeguarding and statutory duties. In fact, most recognise the MIS as the ‘attendance system’; however, MIS providers have capitalised on this statutory requirement and used this to serve their needs, not the needs of schools.
For too long, schools have been pushed into a choice created by the all-in-one MIS. To drive improvement, they are told to either fully commit to a single siloed platform or step outside and choose specialist tools. Neither option truly supports a schools continuous improvement journey or how leaders need to use data.
The first option is to embrace the all-in-one MIS. These systems promise simplicity, but often deliver shallow insight. Schools are pushed up the value chain, paying for broad, bloated functionality while still lacking the depth needed to drive real improvement.
The second option is a patchwork of specialist tools. This brings depth, but at a cost. Systems don’t connect, data becomes harder to trust, and admin effort grows just to keep everything aligned. Schools are left choosing between compromised insight or unnecessary complexity.
In either of the above scenarios, the school is left with an increase in workload and complexity without actually driving school improvement.
As a School Improvement Partner, Juniper’s joined-up approach rethinks what an MIS should be, and who it should work for.
Designed around the realities of schools, Juniper MIS provides everything needed to meet statutory data and compliance requirements, without charging for the operational storage of data or the completion of returns. We believe schools should be able to invest in the products and services that genuinely drive improvement.
Every school works differently and each are unique. Many already rely on trusted specialist tools, whether that’s CPOMS for safeguarding or a preferred finance system, such as SAGE and they shouldn’t be forced to abandon what works just to afford or make an MIS function properly.
At Juniper, our MIS is one of many applications that are inclusive in our free JoinUp Platform. We also offer Parent App, CommsHub and school community for free too to our existing customers.
With a single login and a consistent view of data, schools no longer need to juggle systems or re-enter information. From attendance in Juniper MIS, to progress tracking in Sonar Tracker, to communicating with families through parent and engagement tools, everything works together, without having to export spreadsheets or log in and out of other solutions.
Designed to meet statutory requirements with confidence, Juniper MIS deliberately only includes the essentials:
Juniper MIS is also built with accuracy, security and trust at its core. The system:
JoinUp with Juniper doesn’t lock schools into expensive contracts nor does it push schools into paying more to unlock the functionality they need. It is a philosophy grounded in integration and connection, meaning that data is connected and in the right place at the right time of need. It is a philosophy to truly support schools in driving continuous improvement.
Who is eligible?
All Juniper customers are eligible for a free MIS. At the moment, our free MIS is available and ready for the primary schools that already partner with Juniper. Now that this has been delivered, we are actively working towards a secondary version, recognising that secondary schools have different requirements and essential features.
We are also keen to work closely with secondary schools, many of which are already customers with Juniper and use Sisra Analytics. We are currently talking directly to schools in order to understand which elements of the MIS represent the 30% that they use.
Secondary schools who are interested can be involved in the ongoing development, working with our product and engineering teams and becoming early adopters as secondary-specific features are released across the next academic year.
Making our MIS free for primary school provides our schools with freedom to choose.
Freedom from inflated contracts.
Freedom from systems that don’t reflect the realities of school life.
Freedom from paying for features that never get used.
With Juniper MIS at the centre, schools can build connected and intuitive technology that grows with them; maybe over time, even redefining what a Management Information System should be.
See how your school could benefit from our free MIS and Plattform and explore what’s possible when you JoinUp with Juniper Education.