Explore Education, Business and IT-provider material. Each audience has its own product brief, example review and planning checklist, alongside relevant published guides and articles.
The Education pack has its own brief, worked example and checklist. Downloads are public and require no form.
35 resources · Education
School and MAT technology reviews, DfE evidence, asset priorities and the investment discussion with leaders, governors and trustees.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
A fictional school review with evidence gaps, school and trust responsibilities, a three-year hardware plan and explicit cost exclusions.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Questions for school and MAT buyers, plus a reusable school evidence, action and investment worksheet.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
briefing
The price on the laptop quote may be only part of the bill. Before agreeing a purchase, ask what it will cost to get the equipment ready and keep it useful for staff and pupils.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
The cupboard full of cables helps keep school computers connected. You do not need to understand every box inside it, but knowing where it is and who looks after it can help when something goes wrong.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
briefing
A teacher needs a new app. The office needs a replacement laptop. A parent asks about online safety. These requests may all involve IT, but they need different people to help.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
You find the laptop, but its charger is missing. Another one has gone to a different classroom. A simple equipment list can make it easier to prepare lessons and decide what the school needs to buy.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Article
Two serious PHP security flaws can put websites at risk, even when the pages look normal. Here is how to find out whether you are affected, what to ask your provider and which warning signs to watch for.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, Businesses, IT providers
Article
The Department for Education's digital standards cover many parts of school IT. You do not need to understand every technical detail before using them. Start with a school need and involve the colleagues who can check it.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Article
News about a proposed cyber-security law can sound as though every school must act immediately. First check the current official position. Then ask useful questions about the IT services the school already buys.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, IT providers, Businesses
Practical guide
A three-year IT budget should help colleagues understand what the school needs, when it needs it and what the likely costs include. It can do that without a complicated scoring model or a list of unexplained specifications.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
An IT audit is a structured check of what the school has and how it supports its work. Staff can contribute useful observations without testing technical settings themselves. Start with a clear question and involve IT where needed.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
The Department for Education's digital standards can help schools in England ask the right IT questions. To use them in a school plan, connect the guidance to a real need, the right colleagues and a practical action.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
A constructive framework for reviewing your Managed Service Provider's performance, separating operational metrics from strategic assurance.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Using the same laptop models or apps across a multi-academy trust can simplify support and buying. The choice should still fit the work in each school, including specialist teaching and individual access needs.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
An old computer is not automatically a problem. But repeated faults, unsupported software or awkward workarounds can make school jobs harder. Describe those effects before deciding what to repair or replace.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
The list says six laptops are in the trolley, but two moved classrooms last term. An inaccurate equipment list can make borrowing, repairs and buying harder. A small, regular check can give colleagues a better starting point.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Governors may have little technical experience and still need to understand an IT decision. A useful report explains the school work affected, what has been checked and which choices need attention.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Staff may want AI help with lesson ideas, wording or routine office work. Clear school guidance should tell them which uses are allowed, what information they can enter and who checks the result.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
An IT check can produce a long list of findings. Turn it into a useful plan by separating urgent problems, unanswered questions and improvements that can wait, then giving each job a responsible contact.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
The DfE's KCSIE guidance mandates annual filtering and monitoring reviews. How to gather the technical evidence to prove your systems are effective.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Why replacing laptops just because they hit 'five years old' is a wasteful strategy. How to prioritize IT replacements based on user impact and security risk.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Acquiring a school means acquiring its technical debt. How MATs can conduct thorough IT due diligence before the transfer is finalized.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
A green 'backup successful' email is not proof of resilience. How schools can implement rigorous restore testing to survive a ransomware attack.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Global Admin accounts hold the keys to the kingdom. Why schools must strictly audit and restrict privileged access to prevent catastrophic data loss.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Earning a Cyber Essentials badge means nothing if the controls are turned off the next day. How to build continuous compliance rather than passing a static test.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Schools use hundreds of undocumented web apps. How to discover Shadow IT, build a usable software register, and regain control of data privacy.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
You can't manage what you can't measure consistently. How MATs can establish objective IT metrics to compare performance and prioritize funding across academies.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
How MATs can achieve total oversight of their IT estate without stripping autonomy from local schools or creating a massive central bureaucracy.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Stop throwing away functional hardware and stop repairing obsolete devices. A practical framework for making cost-effective IT lifecycle decisions.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
You cannot learn how to respond to a cyberattack during a cyberattack. How to run a realistic, stress-tested tabletop exercise with your leadership team.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Staff are using unapproved AI tools to manage their workload. How to audit this 'Shadow AI' usage constructively to improve security without alienating teachers.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Most AUPs are copy-pasted legal jargon that staff never read. How to write an AUP that is enforceable during an HR dispute or cyber incident.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Practical guide
Your security is only as strong as your weakest supplier. A framework for auditing the cyber security and data privacy posture of third-party vendors.
For Schools, Multi-Academy Trusts
Article
Cyber Essentials is a certification scheme for basic protection against common online threats. Before starting or renewing an application, ask which version of its requirements applies and who will check the technical answers.
For Schools, IT providers