Comparison

Schools NI vs SIMS Parent

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head

★ 2.120 ratingsView app →

About

Schools NI

Stay updated with the latest news, galleries, and events from schools in Northern Ireland. This application specifically focuses on school web design news.

Highlights

Latest news updates
School galleries
Event listings
Focus on school web design

Features

Read full description

Schools NI gives you the latest News, Galleries and Events from Schools in Northern Ireland. The App only currently supports School Web Design Schools

About

SIMS Parent

This app allows parents to actively engage with their children's education by providing access to homework, calendars, timetables, and assessment results. Parents can also track progress, view behavior reports, and communicate with schools via secure messaging. It consolidates information for children attending different schools, enhancing safeguarding and parental involvement.

Highlights

View homework and assignments
Access student calendars and timetables
Track assessment results and reports
Monitor attendance and behavior
Secure messaging with schools
Manage multiple children across schools
Update safeguarding information

Features

Read full description

Please note: For security, this app requires an invitation code from your child's school. Be proactive Engaging with your children's education is key to their success. Help them stay on track with due dates by seeing their: - Homework - Calendar - Timetable - Extra-curricular activities Track progress See the information needed to understand your children's education and their overall performance better. Securely view your children's records: - Assessment results - Truancy - Behaviour: good and bad - School reports Stay connected Get alerts. Send and receive messages. Schools can send you alerts and messages straight to your phone. All your children in one place across schools With SIMS Parent, you can see all your children's data even if they attend different schools. (Requires schools to set up access for SIMS Parent) Safeguarding Help keep your children safe. In an emergency, up-to-date information helps schools meet their safeguarding obligations. Manage what information the school holds right from your phone. About SIMS SIMS: the School Information Management System at the heart of 21,000 UK schools.

Screenshots

Schools NI4 screens

SIMS Parent4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Schools NI at 25% against SIMS Parent's 2%. SIMS Parent's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Schools NI ships an update every 2 months, SIMS Parent fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level

Schools NI versus SIMS Parent: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter	Schools NI	SIMS Parent
Price	Free	Free
Rating	—	2.1 (20 ratings) — better
Positive reviews	25.0% of reviews — better	2.0% of reviews
Number of ratings	—	20 — better
Update frequency	Every 2 months	Fortnightly — better
Ads	No	No
In-app purchases	No	No
Monetization	Free	Free
Devices	iPhone, iPad, iPod	iPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS	12.0	11.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size	13 MB	39 MB
Age rating	4+	4+
Developer	Gerard Corr	Education Software Solutions Ltd

Customer experience

Schools NI

Written reviews4 reviews

Positive25.0%

Neutral0.0%

Negative75.0%

SIMS Parent

All ratings19 ratings

Positive26.3%

Neutral5.3%

Negative68.4%

Written reviews98 reviews

Positive2.0%

Neutral1.0%

Negative96.9%

Bugs and requests

Schools NI

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SIMS Parent

Reported bugs

61 issues

App crashes frequently
App logs users out unexpectedly
Login details are not recognized
Password reset functionality is broken
App is very slow to load

Show 56 more

App freezes or becomes unresponsive
Notifications are not delivered or displayed correctly
Unable to access certain features like dashboard or messages
App does not work on iPhone
Account gets locked without reason
Password reset requires unprovided security questions
App gets stuck in a login loop
App does not load school pages
App does not refresh data
App is not updated for a long time
Unable to reply to teacher messages on iPhone
Login details are declined
Cannot log in with new password after reset
App requires re-registration every time
App signs out or bugs out frequently
App kicks users out randomly
App does not accept activation codes
Login details keeps getting declined
App is unusable at best of times
App is missing features after installation
App is not sending password reset emails
App is stuck on a specific date
App is not user friendly
App gets stuck in an endless loop
Two-step authentication causes immediate lockout
Password reset button doesn't work
Black box covers typing area on iPhone
App is buggy and in development stage
Login page remains blank
App is stalking and annoying
App constantly asks to change password, then invalidates it
App disables accounts and won't reset passwords
App stalls loading on different sections
App says account already exists after deletion
App keeps loading and then logging off
App shows error when trying to access messages
App has issues with multiple children at the same school
Tiles don't load
Homework section has disappeared
School dinner money account tab fails to load
App acts as a hopeless gatekeeper to website
App logs out and takes ages to log back in
Recognition points take ages to load
Session expired errors
App asks for invitation repeatedly
App does not allow marking homework as submitted
Cannot open links for homework or attachments
Random notifications with nothing to view
App is not updated for weeks
App is not fit for purpose
App is a complete wind up
App is utter garbage
App is a joke
App is dysfunctional
App is a waste of time
App is a horrible, wretched app

Requested features

13 requests

Fix login issues
Improve app stability
Update app regularly
Better password reset functionality
Improve communication features

Show 8 more

Make app more intuitive
Allow easier access to support
Improve server capacity
Allow linking multiple schools easily
Fix message sending/receiving
Make app work on all devices
Provide clear error messages
Allow easier login with fewer steps

In-app purchases

None

Schools NI

No in-app purchases

None

SIMS Parent

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Schools NI free?

Schools NI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Is SIMS Parent free?

SIMS Parent is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Do Schools NI or SIMS Parent have ads?

Neither Schools NI nor SIMS Parent shows ads.

Which is updated more often, Schools NI or SIMS Parent?

Schools NI ships an update every 2 months, and SIMS Parent fortnightly. Most recently, Schools NI was updated on October 29, 2026 and SIMS Parent on October 29, 2026.