This paper examines previous studies and supplier recommendations for the requirements of Management Information Systems (MISs) in schools. Utilising the broad headings in the Becta (2006) document ‘functional requirements for information systems including MIS’ it expands on its recommendations as a baseline for a school’s MIS. It looks in brief at 34 different areas that may form part of a school’s system and considers the minimum features that each should encompass. It considers the need for more detailed examination of some of the categories and concludes that much has been achieved over the last 20 years or so. However it also notes that the areas of open standards, interoperability, transfer, functionality, cost effectiveness, statutory driven developments and usability are still major issues.