In January 2024, the Department for Education updated their digital and technology standards in schools and colleges guidance with three new standards:
Digital leadership and governance standards
Good digital technology governance identifies roles and responsibilities, establishes processes for managing digital technology and ensures that information is up-to-date and available to aid decision making.
- Assign a senior leadership team (SLT) member to be responsible for digital technology
- Keep asset registers relating to hardware and systems up to date
- Include digital technology within disaster recovery and business continuity plans
- Have a digital technology strategy that is reviewed every year
It’s advised to complete the first three standards before moving to the last standard on creating your digital technology strategy. This is so you can successfully build your strategy in line with your school or college’s development plan.
Laptop, desktop and tablet standards
Providing devices for students and staff that meet educational needs as well as being safe, secure and energy efficient, are all considerations covered by the standards.
- Devices should meet educational needs and support the digital technology strategy
- Devices should be safe and secure
- Devices should meet or exceed the minimum requirements
- Make sure devices are energy efficient, and that they are bought and disposed of sustainably
Digital accessibility standards
Digital accessibility refers to making digital products, content and services accessible and usable for all, so that everyone can access the same information and use equipment, regardless of their needs and situation.
- Include digital accessibility in relevant strategies and policies
- Hardware and software should support the use of accessibility features
- Communications should be accessible to all
The Department for Education released the guidelines to set out the standards that schools and colleges should aim to meet when renewing and upgrading their digital infrastructure. The guidelines, initially released in 2022, cover multiple aspects of technology including broadband internet standards, network switching standards, network cabling standards, wireless network standards and cyber security standards and received approval from technology leaders and IT managers in education. The documents provide guidance that will move schools and colleges towards enterprise-level IT systems, recommending investment in technology that provide long-term improvements and new learning opportunities for students. We have a whole series of blog posts covering the standards.
Having worked with education establishments for over fifteen years, we understand that every school and Trust is different. If you need advice to confirm whether you currently meet the standards, are not sure which standards to prioritise, or would like help implementing upgrades, you can contact us for impartial advice on the best place to start.