In the other year groups and secondary schools there's a buzz about the place as friends who haven't seen each other since the summer term excitedly recount the best and worst bits of the last six weeks, discuss the prospect of their new teacher/classroom/school. And of course, let's not forget the ‘new kid', who may have just moved into the area, who maybe doesn't know anyone, who in some instances may not speak the same language as everyone else.
Of course, teachers will hit the ground running, having carefully filed last year away. They have already spent ‘holiday' time gutting their classrooms, updating their Learning Platform homepage, reading up on their new pupils' latest assessments and any IEPs, labelling trays and checking resources, backing display boards and planning ahead. A couple of INSET days and the new register arrives - then the fun starts all over again.
Yes, just another standard start to another standard school year and those fantastic, highly trained teams of staff take it all in their stride. Only the NQTs have not seen it all before, some only a few times and some possibly more times than they'd care to admit to.
Micro Librarian Systems (MLS) produce Junior Librarian and Eclipse software, designed to help schools encourage reading and boost their literacy levels. As a business which has been supplying software to education for the last 27 years, MLS understands only too well the deluge of pressures that come at this time of the year. Priding itself on providing unrivalled customer service - which has been a key part in building its excellent reputation - the staff at MLS have been working hard all summer long to prepare themselves for the busiest time of year on the Helpdesk.
"September is always the busiest time for us due to the student [data] import process. Teachers and Librarians use most elements of our software day in day out all year round, but because this process only happens annually, it's been 12 months since they last completed the process and many users need a little help," says Colin Lloyd, MLS Helpdesk manager.
MLS recently launched its MLS Connect software to solve this process once and for all. The software works alongside Eclipse and Junior Librarian, seamlessly integrating with most school management information systems (SIMS.net, Integris etc.) to transfer new pupil data and update existing pupils tutor and year groups at the push of a button. For schools with more regular intakes the system can be set to run more frequently, even on a daily basis if required. Just think no more rekeying pupil data or exporting and importing files to update your library borrowers. Existing users of Eclipse and Junior Librarian can even register for a 4 week free trial of MLS Connect to see how much easier it makes life through September. To register just call Colin or one of the team and they'll do the rest.
As MLS now has over 11,000 customers, Colin is expecting this September to be his busiest yet. In order to ensure the continued provision of great service to such a rapidly growing customer base, not only has the helpdesk team been expanded, but effective initiatives have been introduced that should reduce the need to call the helpdesk in the first place. A new, user-friendly tutorial for the student import process has been created which is accessible through the user area of the website www.microlib.co.uk and has been emailed to every existing customer; the Helpdesk welcome message also directs customers to the website and a new online knowledge base will also be made available to solve frequently asked questions and even some of the more technical ones.
"These moves should significantly reduce the number of calls that we receive. It's not that we don't want to speak to our customers - in fact there is no better feeling than putting the phone down after successfully resolving a query - it's just that we don't want anyone having to sit on hold waiting for one of our advisors when the information is now readily available on our website," explains Colin. "We're using our prior experience to make a few proactive moves that mean we can improve the service we offer our customers, to make September a little easier."
