This is in addition to the fund to improve attendance and discipline which is worth 174 million in 2001 - 2. In February 2001 Jacqui Smith recognised and rewarded 'those schools throughout the country that have done the most to combat truancy and tackle the culture which allows children to be absent from school'. Scotland Greenwood Academy, Ayshire was the first Scottish school to adopt the Bromcom system, there are now ten 'Bromcom' schools In Scotland. Head Teacher, Philip Galbraith, highlighted the main additional benefit of the system as the significant saving on routine administration allowing the school to make considerable improvements to the quality of learning and teaching. Northern Ireland Roy McFall at the Corpus Christi school in West Belfast explains how the system has been used to monitor and improve discipline whilst at the same time reducing bureaucracy for teachers.
Teachers use their hand-held computers to log good or bad behaviour.
Five instances of good behaviour or improved work automatically results in a letter being produced for the parents. Enough instances will elad to pupils receiving a special reward such as cinema tickets. Equally, there is a process to monitor and punish poor behaviour with detentions and letters to parents. The discipline reward system was devised by the school and then programmed into the Bromcom technology. North East Eastbourne Comprehensive School, County Durham installed Bromcom in 1997.