At Realsmart, we’ve built something different. Our school MIS Sync tool is already widely considered the best in the market because it doesn’t just move data, it gives you a high-level web interface to control exactly how your data is shaped, managed and delivered.

One tool for every platform

Most schools struggle with fragmented basic systems. They need to manage users in Google for learning, Active Directory for local networks, and r for iPads. Our tool is the ultimate “multi-sync” solution, taking data from your MIS and seamlessly provisioning it across the entire tech stack:

• Google Workspace for Education: Automate everything from user creation to Classroom management.
• Active Directory (AD): Say goodbye to manual provisioning; we sync MIS data directly to your AD instance, automating OUs and account movements.
• Microsoft Entra: Keep your Microsoft identity management in perfect sync with your MIS records.
• Apple School Manager: Automatically provision staff and students and create Apple Classroom classes with a few clicks.

Solving Real School Problems

We don’t just provide a school MIS sync; we provide a way to make teaching and learning smoother. Our “Smartadmin” dashboard allows trust and school admins to solve immediate problems that standard sync tools ignore:

• Classroom Automation: No more class codes; Classrooms are automatically created and updated based on MIS teaching groups.
• Timetable Integration: Sync staff and student timetables directly to Google Calendars, including room details.
• Empowering Teachers: Any teacher can reset student passwords instantly, preventing technical hiccups from derailing a lesson.
• Security & Identity: Set custom password policies and upload MIS photos to Google Profiles for a professional, secure environment.

A big update is coming to our school MIS sync tool

While we are proud of being the “best-in-market” solution, we aren’t standing still. We are constantly evolving our product based on the bespoke requirements of our schools.

We are excited to announce that a major update is coming soon. This update is designed to make the sync even more powerful, providing deeper flexibility and even more control for Multi-Academy Trusts managing dozens of schools from a single dashboard.

Take a sneak peek below at some of the screenshots coming directly from our team of developers.

Just to highlight some of the new features we have built into the new version of smartAdmin:

• A more powerful Dashboard: All of the important features straight to your fingertips, New and suspended users displayed, instant suspend actions. Actions that allow you to sync now to all or single services.
• End of Year Management: An area to manage all of the end of year processes, this includes sync postponement date, resume date and a step by step guide on performing an end of year tidy up
• Wonde data interrogation: take a closer look at all of the Wonde data that is coming directly from the MIS to help troubleshoot missing users or identify what is available. 
• Advanced Features: Create your own API connections into realsmart and use your own data how you please. Build your own apps that access your own data, with the help of realsmart. 
• Merge Users: Got a returning user? Need to merge a newly created account with an older one? We’ve got the tool for you. 

This is just a small selection of what is coming but we think you will agree that it all sounds quite exciting.

A few legacy features

If you’re looking for a web application that allows you to easily manage all of your users, groups and more then Realsmart’s school MIS sync is the engine that makes it happen.

Stay tuned over the summer for more news on how the most powerful sync tool on the market is about to get even better.

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Realsmart school websites are built with integrations at their core. Our Single sign-on (SSO) capability is proof of that. In addition, our smartOptions area makes it incredibly easy to connect with key platforms like Studybugs and MyNewTerm. These platforms have seen great uptake recently.

MyNewTerm: Effortless Recruitment

Recruitment is a critical function for every school and trust. offers a powerful platform to manage school job vacancies, applications, and applicant communications.

Integrating with a school website ensures that your “Vacancies” or “Work with Us” page is always up-to-date. This seamless link allows prospective staff to view and apply for roles directly. Consequently, your recruitment drive is as efficient as possible.

With ever increasing budget pressures, schools are still faced all too regularly with spending a fortune to advertise vacancies and recruit staff. In today’s digital world, why then do we make it so difficult for candidates to apply directly? – Founder of MyNewTerm Wayne Cartmel 

To implement myNewTerm on a realsmart website all you need to do is paste two simple lines of code in place and you are ready to go!

Where this application really excels is when you use it on your multi-academy trust website, display the vacancies all across the trust in one single place, with a filterable interface you now have one port of call for all the schools in the trust.

Studybugs: Simplify Absence Reporting

is an efficient service that makes it simple for parents to report their child’s absence. This significantly reduces the administrative burden on school staff.

With on of our websites, integrating is a smooth, quick process. This means parents can navigate from your school website straight to the Studybugs portal, providing a streamlined and straightforward experience.

The advantage of schools using a service such as study bugs is that the school can analyse all of the data. This then allows early intervention.

Never miss a warning sign again. Studybugs automatically highlights and alerts you to attendance and wellbeing concerns so you can act faster. – Studybugs

There’s more

Our websites extend far beyond just these two services. Whether you need to integrate store functionality such as Shopify or a virtual learning environment (VLE) using our user roles and redirect ability, our website architecture is designed to accommodate various third-party platforms. For example, you might want to install . In any case, our aim is to make your life easier! We are a partner not a barrier.

If you need any help adding a third party service onto your school website then just drop us an email to support@realsmart.co.uk

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Here is a step by step guide and a list of crucial points to be aware of during the transition.

The Transition Process: A Step by Step Approach

1. Initial Assessment and Planning

Before engaging a new provider, thoroughly assess your current website’s performance, what you like and dislike, and what features you want to see in the new website.

• Define Your Goals: What do you want the new website to achieve? (e.g., better communication, increased enrollment inquiries, improved accessibility).
• Establish Key Stakeholders: Identify who needs to be involved in the decision making and content creation process (e.g., Headteacher, Governors, IT lead, administrative staff).
• Set a Realistic Timeline: Work backward from your desired launch date or end of current contract, allocating time for planning, content migration, design iteration, and testing.

2. Provider Selection

Research and select a provider that specializes in school websites and understands the unique requirements of the education sector. Take advantage of bespoke functionality that is aimed at schools. 

• Review Portfolios: Look at examples of other schools they have worked with.
• Request a Demo: Ensure the Content Management System (CMS) is intuitive and easy for staff to use.
• Check Support and Training: Understand what support is offered post launch and whether there are any additional costs. We have no additional costs for support or training.
• Planning for the future: Investigate how easy it is to change providers in the future, can you export your content and how easy is it to work with?

3. Design and Branding

The new website is the perfect opportunity to implement any new brand guidelines or simply give your school a visual refresh. Whether you decide to change the font you use, tweak your brand colours or even change your logo, this is the ideal stage to implement change. 

• Apply New Brand Guidelines: Ensure your new website accurately reflects your school’s ethos, colors, and logo.
• Focus on User Experience (UX): Prioritize clear navigation and mobile responsiveness. Most users will access your site on a phone or tablet.

4. Content Strategy and Creation

This is the most time consuming step but is essential for a successful launch.

• Start Fresh with Content: Resist the urge to simply copy and paste old, outdated material. Use this as a chance to audit, update, and rewrite content to be concise, engaging, and relevant.
• Identify Mandatory Content: Ensure all legally required documents and information are accounted for. We have a handy to ensure your school website is DFE compliant.

5. Development and Testing

The provider will build the site, but your input and rigorous testing are vital before launch.

• Regular Check-ins: Maintain open communication with the provider throughout the build process. Be open with them if you feel like a tweak is needed to the design. 
• Thorough Testing: Test on multiple devices (desktop, tablet, mobile) and browsers. Check all links, forms, and interactive elements.

6. Launch and Post Launch

Plan the migration of your domain name and be ready for immediate feedback.

• Domain Migration: Work with your IT team and the new provider to ensure a seamless switch, minimizing downtime.
• Staff Training: Ensure all relevant staff are trained on how to update and manage the new CMS.

Key Points to Be Aware Of

*For a full list of required content, please refer to the latest DfE guidelines available here:

Conclusion

This transition, while requiring effort, is an excellent investment in your school’s future, ensuring a modern, compliant, and effective digital platform for the entire school community. If you are interested in changing your school website provider to realsmart then just drop us an email, we look forward to partnering with you.

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Why wordpress?

WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS) for a reason. It is flexible, scalable, and incredibly user friendly. It powers the majority of the wordwide web which in turn means it is vastly supported by a worldwide community and a wealth of knowledge.

The realsmart offering

While WordPress provides the engine, we at realsmart offer a tailored environment specifically designed for Schools and MATs. Integrating WordPress through a service like ourselves brings a suite of specialised advantages:

1. Enhanced Security and Compliance

We provide dedicated hosting and security features that are essential for protecting sensitive school and student data. This ensures your website meets the necessary regulatory standards and gives you peace of mind. Leveraging the power of tools such as AWS and Cloudflare we work with industry leading technology to give you the very best service.

2. Education-Specific Tools

With realsmart, the WordPress installation is often pre-configured or bundled with plugins and features crucial for schools, such as:

• MIS Integration: We can sync your users from your schools MIS into realsmart to allow users to log into your school website to manage their content. Alternatively we can generate a list of logins for cases where only a handfull of accounts with access are required.
• Calendar and Event Management: Easy publishing of term dates, school trips, and meetings. We can intergrate with feeds from multiple sources of calendar, from Google Calendar to Microsoft Outlook calendars and more.
• Bespoke Theme Options: Themes designed to meet the communication and aesthetic needs of a school environment. Easy to update main carousels, areas to add anayltics tracking and out of the box responsiveness.
• School Specific Plugins: We have developed a long list of plugins designed to make managing your school website easier. From policy management, job vacancies, carousels, popups and more we have plenty of solutions for you to take advanatge of.
• Multisite Functionality: Our multisite functionality makes it easy for you to manage content such as policies, menu links and news posts from one location such as the Trust website and then push this content across multiple other school websites.

3. Dedicated Support

When an issue arises, you won’t be navigating the generic WordPress forums alone. We offer dedicated, UK-based support that understands the specific needs of a school. If you need assistance, simply drop our support team an email, or find the support guide on our .

The best bit? We have no hidden costs, our support service is all part of the package. We’ve heard some fo the horror stories where schools have been charged for a simple colour change or some assistance formatting content.

4. Simplified Management

We handle the technical heavy lifting such as: updates, backups, and maintenance, allowing school staff to focus entirely on content creation and communication. We backup sites every night and store these backups on a 30 day rolling service giving you peace of mind.

Need more Information?

If there is anythin else you need to know about our offering for school websites with WordPress then just drop us a call or have a browse through all of our products. We try to post regular blog posts that will often include any new features we’ve developed or useful information to make your school life easier.

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Absolute Hyperlinks: The FULL Address

An absolute hyperlink is the complete, full URL to a destination. Think of it as a street address that includes the recipient’s name, street number, city, state, and post code. It contains all the information needed for a browser to locate the resource, regardless of where the current page is located. Here is an example of an absolute hyperlink – /school-websites/primary-school-websites/

Key Characteristics of an Absolute Hyperlink:

• It includes the protocol: It must start with http:// or https://.
• It includes the domain name: It specifies the website’s address (e.g., www.realsmart.co.uk).
• It works anywhere: It can be used to link to any resource on the internet, including a different website entirely. 

Attention! If you are linking to your website’s main page from an external site, you must use an absolute URL, for example: https://www.realsmart.co.uk/

When to Use Absolute Hyperlinks:

• Linking to external websites.
• Including links in emails (since you don’t know where the email will be opened).
• Referring to files that will be consumed outside of your website’s structure, such as in a PDF document.

Relative Hyperlinks: The Shortcut

A relative hyperlink provides a path to a resource relative to the current page. It’s like giving directions to a friend that start with “From where you are right now…” It only includes the parts of the URL that are different from the current page’s URL. The browser automatically assumes the current domain name. In our example, instead of applying a link using – /school-websites/primary-school-websites/ We would only use /school-websites/primary-school-websites/ 

Key Characteristics of a Relative Hyperlink:

• It does not include the domain name, it is assumed by the browser.
• It only works within the same website.

Consider the following examples of relative paths using as an example:

This link is using /school-websites/primary-school-websites/ and will take you to our primary school websites page.

This link is using /microsoft-active-directory-sync/ and will take you to our Microsoft sync page. 

When to Use Relative Hyperlinks:

• Linking between pages on the same website. This is the primary use case.
• Making your website more portable. If you move your entire site to a new domain name, all relative links will still work without modification, whereas absolute links would need to be updated. We see this more and more commonly with schools now joining trusts etc and their domain name will change. 

Comparison Chart

Choosing between absolute and relative links is usually straightforward once you know the destination. Below is a brief comparison:

Summary

As you can see there are use cases for both types of hyperlink but it is worth knowing the difference. Now that schools change domains a lot more frequently than in the past it is worth knowing about and implementing relative hyperlinks. Using these across your website will save you a lot of time and headache if your school ever changes its domain name, which in present day with schools joining trust, trusts merging etc is more common than ever.

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Why a Dedicated Vacancies Plugin?

In today’s competitive landscape, presenting job opportunities clearly and professionally is crucial. Our new plugin seamlessly integrates with your existing school website, providing a dedicated, user-friendly portal for listing and managing your school’s vacancies.

Key Benefits of the realsmart Vacancies Plugin:

• Seamless Integration: The plugin is designed to blend effortlessly with your current website’s look and feel, maintaining brand consistency.
• Easy to Use: Both for your website administrators and for prospective applicants, the plugin offers an intuitive experience. You don’t need to be a tech expert to set up and manage your listings.
• Centralized Management: Keep all your job postings in one place, making it simple to update, remove, and track applications.
• Professional Presentation: Showcase your school as an attractive employer with well-organized and easily accessible job listings.

How It Works: Simple and Intuitive

We’ve made sure the process of adding and managing vacancies is incredibly straightforward. From creating a new job posting to categorizing it and adding application details, every step is designed for simplicity.

To help you get started immediately and make the most of this powerful new tool, we’ve created a comprehensive help guide. This guide walks you through every aspect of the plugin, ensuring you can harness its full potential without any hassle.

Ready to revolutionize your school’s recruitment process? Check out our detailed help guides here:

We’re confident that the realsmart Vacancies Plugin will be an invaluable asset to your school, helping you find the perfect candidates for your team with ease. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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Getting your website seen by search engines (like Google) can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. This is where a sitemap comes in – it’s a super important, though often an overlooked part of managing your website. Think of a sitemap not just as a technical detail, but as a detailed map for your website. It guides those search engine “robots” (called crawlers) and helps them understand what your website is all about and how it’s organised therefore making it easier to present in a results page.

What is a Sitemap?

Simply put, a sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages on your website that you want search engines to find and include in their search results. Imagine it like the table of contents for a really big book, but for your entire website! There are two main types:

• XML Sitemaps: These are specifically made for search engines. They’re written in a special code (XML) and tell search engines extra details about each page, such as when it was last updated, how often it changes, and how important it is compared to other pages on your site.
• HTML Sitemaps: These are lists of links that people can read and use. While not as crucial for search engine optimisation (SEO) as they once were, an HTML sitemap can still be helpful for visitors trying to navigate very large or complicated websites.

What are the benefits of having a sitemap?

1. Helps Search Engines Find and Understand Your Pages

This is probably the biggest reason to have a sitemap. Search engine bots explore the internet by following links from one page to another. Even though they’re incredibly smart, they can sometimes miss pages – especially on brand-new websites, sites with confusing layouts, or pages that are buried deep within your site. A sitemap clearly tells search engines: “Hey, here are all the pages I want you to know about!”

2. Gives Visibility to “Lost” Pages

“Orphan pages” are pages on your website that don’t have any links pointing to them from other pages on your site. Without these internal links, search engine crawlers would never be able to discover these pages. A sitemap gives search engines a direct way to find and index these otherwise isolated bits of content, making sure no valuable information goes unseen.

3. Improves Your Website’s Search Engine Ranking

By helping search engines find and understand your pages better, sitemaps directly boost your SEO efforts. Indexed pages mean more chances to rank for the right search terms, which leads to more people finding your website through search engines. It’s a basic but essential part of making your website technically sound for SEO.

How to Create and Submit a Sitemap?

Most modern website builders and content management systems such as WordPress (this is what we use!) have plugins (like Yoast SEO or XML Sitemap Generator for Google) that automatically create and update XML sitemaps for you. Realsmart have the plugin XML Sitemap Generator available to use in your plugin library. All you need to do is activate the plugin and the settings page will present you with the URL for your sitemap, it really is simple!

Once you have your sitemap URL, you’ll need to tell search engines about it using their special tools:

• Google Search Console: This is the main place to submit your sitemap to Google. on uploading a new sitemap!
• Bing Webmaster Tools: For submitting your sitemap to Bing.

Make sure to regularly check your sitemap in these tools for any errors, ensuring that search engines can easily access and process it.

We hope this post helps you to go out there and create a sitemap for your school website!

Team realsmart

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Firstly we hope you are all well rested and refreshed after a nice summer break. Getting back into the stride of things can take more than a few coffees but we are here to help take the strain of managing any of the digital services you may use via realsmart. Don’t forget that our amazing support team are only an email away via support@realsmart.co.uk to assist if you need help.

What’s new?

Over the summer months we’ve been working to refine our existing products but we have also added a handful of new offerings that you may look to implement, these include:

• Apple Sync tool: We have developed a tool that will allow you to sync your MIS data into Apple School Manager, allowing the provision of Users, Courses and Rosters across to all of your Apple Devices. We’ve developed a user friendly interface to take you though this process step by step. Check out more information on our Apple Sync Page and keep an eye out for more features.
• Active Directory Sync: Our AD Sync tool is now out of beta and being used by a number of schools. We pull users from your MIS and then send this data to Active Directory to create users, groups and organisational units. A sleek interface and the ability to schedule when the task is run helps you save time and effort in user management.
• Microsoft Entra Sync: The final piece of the puzzle. Taking the MIS data and provisioning it to Microsoft, still in the early stages but our aim is to offer a product that mirrors what we currently provide for Google. Drop us an email if this is a service you would be interested in using.

What else do we offer?

We know there are a fair few of you that make use of our full suite of tools but there are also plenty that maybe only use a single service we offer. Why spread your solutions out via multiple providers when realsmart can offer you multiple solutions in a single package?

Here is a quick reminder of what we offer:

• School websites: We offer bespoke professional website design solutions for schools & Multi-Academy Trusts, have a look at some of our recent work. Our websites are easy to manage and come with a suite of plugins that focus on school specific actions such as displaying events, managing policies and loads more.
• MIS to Google Sync: Our google sync is the most advanced on the market. Taking all of your MIS data and provisioning it to Google. We provide a sync that provisions users, groups, timetables, classrooms and more. Our simple interface provides easy management and the ability to look into each module and customise your experience.
• Google Workspace upgrades: As a trusted Google partner and reseller we are able to provide you with upgrades to your Google Workspace for Education licenses, these are available in 3 tiers starting with Free access. Interested in the use of Google Gemini? Get in touch with us.
• Chromebook QR Code login: Sometimes passwords just don’t cut it, especially with younger users and in classroom situations. Our QR code login solution offers a simply and effective way to get your students logged in fast and efficiently.

Help and advice

As well as our friendly support, developer and design teams we have a useful library of articles that can walk you through some of the day to day issues that crop up now and again. Our is the first place to stop if you need a quick refresh on editing your website, managing a use issue or trying to implement a new solution within your school.

We are always open to suggestions on ways to improve our products and new features you would find useful. We work with you as a partnership so don’t hesitate to reach out.

Keeping it real!

Team realsmart

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No Hidden Costs

One of the most significant concerns for schools is budgeting. realsmart offers transparent pricing with no hidden costs. This means schools can plan their expenses effectively without worrying about unexpected fees for updates or support. We often hear from new schools about how they were unexpectedly charged by their old provider, sometimes for something as simple as a colour change!!

Regular Updates

Websites need regular updates to ensure security, functionality, and relevance. We take care of these updates, ensuring the school website stays current and protected. This proactive approach saves schools valuable time and prevents potential issues. Everything we change or update is thoroughly checked and tested in a like for like development environment. 

Pride in our website support

Realsmart prides itself on providing exceptionally responsive support for all of our services including our school websites and Sync services. Our dedicated support team aims to address all tickets within an hour, ensuring minimal disruption to your website operations. Furthermore, we actively monitor website uptimes using our in-house heartbeat monitor, allowing us to proactively identify and resolve potential issues before they impact your users. This commitment to quick responses and continuous monitoring ensures a reliable and stable online presence for your school.

Our team monitor all support requests even out of hours and our useful allows you to browse FAQ’s and useful guides all with the aim of helping you manage your school website easily.

Easy-to-Use WordPress Backend

Realsmart websites are built upon the user-friendly WordPress platform. This easy-to-use backend allows school staff to easily manage content, add updates, and make necessary changes without needing extensive technical knowledge. The intuitive interface simplifies website management, reducing the learning curve and saving time. The very latest WordPress editor is as simple as stacking lego bricks! Want a gallery? Select the gallery block, want a table? Select the table block. Drag and drop these into the order you desire and away you go.

Benefits Summary

Here is a quick summary of the benefits we provide:

• Transparent pricing with no hidden costs
• Regular website updates to ensure security and functionality
• A service we are proud of
• Easy-to-use WordPress backend for simple content management

We offer reliable, efficient, and cost-effective website support, making us an ideal partner for schools seeking to maintain a strong online presence.

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A well-designed primary school website is essential for building strong relationships between schools and parents. By providing easy access to important information, such as school events, curriculum details, and policies, schools can keep parents informed and involved in their child’s education. This open communication fosters trust and creates a more supportive learning environment for all.

Key Benefits of a Primary School Website for Parent Communication:

1. A Central Hub for Information:
   • School Calendar: Keep parents updated on important dates, events, and holidays.
   • Curriculum Information: Share details about subjects taught and assessment methods.
   • News and Announcements: Communicate important updates, achievements, and school activities.
   • Policies and Procedures: Provide clear guidelines on school policies, such as attendance, privacy, behaviour, and homework.
2. Improved Communication and Trust:
   • Open Communication: A well-maintained website demonstrates the school’s commitment to transparency and open communication with parents.
   • Trust Building: Sharing information regularly helps parents feel more connected to the school and builds trust in the educational process.
3. Improved Parent Engagement:
   • Easy Access to Information: Parents can access important information at their convenience, without having to wait for paper newsletters or phone calls. Information such as when a parents evening is happening can be quickly disseminated to parents.
   • Increased Engagement: A website can encourage parents to become more involved in their child’s education by providing resources, opportunities for feedback and social media links.
4. Efficient Communication:
   • Online Forms and Surveys: Use online forms and surveys to gather feedback, collect important information, and streamline communication processes.
   • Quick and Easy Updates: Posting updates on the website is a time-efficient way to reach a large number of parents.
5. Accessibility and Inclusivity:
   • Translation Tools: Offer translation tools or multilingual content to support parents from diverse backgrounds.
   • Accessibility Features: Ensure the website is accessible to parents with disabilities by using appropriate design principles.

By investing in a well-designed and regularly updated website, primary schools can create a more connected and supportive community for their students and their families. A digital classroom that fosters open communication and transparency is essential for building strong partnerships and ensuring the success of every child.

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