School technology checklist: what to check each term

What is on a school technology checklist, and when?

During a school year pupils join and leave, devices age and support contracts run out, so the same few checks come round at fixed points. The table sets out what to check, when, and who the UK schools standards give each check to. A school on semesters can run the every-term checks once a semester. This is one of the group's school technology guides.

In a Malaysian school, the business professionals or finance team are usually the school office or whoever holds the budget. Each row is explained below, with the UK schools standard it comes from.

What should be ready at the start of the school year?

At the start of the year, every new pupil and member of staff should have the accounts they need, every device and display should work, and everyone should have the rules for using school technology. Accounts for people who left over the break should already be closed, so the first week is spent teaching rather than fixing logins.

The rules go out first. The UK Department for Education's cyber security standards for schools and colleges expect a school to have an acceptable use policy in place already; where it does not, the policy “should be updated towards the end of the academic year and shared with students, staff, and any cover or temporary staff at the beginning of the new academic year.” Where a school uses a student contract, the same standards say it should include the relevant parts of that policy, and that this “will need to be carried out at the beginning of every academic year.”

Accounts follow the people. The cyber security standards list “creating accounts only when required” and “disabling accounts as soon as someone leaves their role”. The start of the year is when the most accounts change at once, so it is the week to check them.

Devices are recorded when they are bought. The DfE laptops, desktops and tablets standard asks schools to tag devices “with labels or tags to keep track of them when you buy them and add them in an asset register”.

Our practical additions for the first week: switch on and test every classroom projector or display and its cables; update devices that sat unused over the break; check the charging trolleys and the spare devices; and note who holds each device when it is handed out, so the end of the year can count them back in.

What school technology checks happen every term?

Every term, a school should review who has access to what, revisit its cyber risk assessment and test that its backups can actually be restored. The UK schools cyber security standards ask for all three each term, because they catch what changed during the term, such as a leaver who kept access, before it becomes a problem.

Accounts, termly. The UK schools cyber security standards ask schools to “review accounts with your business professionals or the finance team every term to identify changes that might have been missed”, including changing access levels and suspending or deleting accounts no longer in use.

Risks, termly. The cyber security standards ask schools to “Conduct a cyber risk assessment annually and review every term”.

Backups, termly. They also ask schools to “test and log your backups termly or if there is a significant change”, including the ability to recover and restore. The questions to ask a learning platform supplier about its own backups are in Easy Edu's guide to school platform backups and uptime.

What should a school look at at the end of every term?

At the end of every term, a school should check which devices, software and systems have become unsupported or are about to, and tell the people who plan the budget, so a replacement reaches the next budget before the old device fails.

The UK schools cyber security standards say: “At the end of every term, IT support and the business professionals or the finance team should review the contracts register and inform the SLT when digital technology:” has become unsupported, or is due to become unsupported. The SLT is the school's senior leadership team. They add that the end of support dates for each device's operating system should be recorded in the asset register.

Our practical advice: the end of term is also the time to count devices back in, note faults and book repairs, so the next term starts with everything working.

What should a school renew once a year?

Once a year, a school should repeat its cyber training, review and test its continuity and recovery plans, review its registers before the budget is set, and revisit its technology strategy. These are the checks that keep the whole plan current, not just the devices.

Training. The UK schools cyber security standards say cyber training “should be given at least annually”.

Plans. The DfE digital leadership and governance standard says continuity and disaster recovery plans “need to be reviewed and updated annually or when a significant change occurs”, and that the disaster recovery plan “should be tested annually (at a minimum)”.

Registers and strategy. The same standard says schools should already be “updating your registers every time something changes”, and that the digital lead should review them “ahead of your next financial planning cycle”. It asks for “a minimum 2-year strategy” covering what might need to be refreshed or replaced, revisited and reviewed “annually (at a minimum)”. How to plan the money across hardware, software and support is in the group's guide to planning a school technology budget.

How long should school devices stay supported?

A school device should stay supported with security updates for as long as the school plans to use it, so the checklist should carry each device's end of support date.

The UK schools cyber security standards say: “The end of support dates for each device’s operating system should be recorded in the asset register”, and the end-of-term review above is where they are read.

Our practical advice: when the end of support dates are on the asset register, the end-of-term check in the section above becomes a two-minute read rather than a search. Ask any supplier how long a device will get security updates before buying it.

Which group company covers which part of the calendar?

Within ES Producation Groups, the devices, displays, learning platform and payment on a school's calendar sit with different companies, so a school can ask the group about several parts or only the part it needs. Each company's own site holds the detail where it has one; ES Producation Services is reached through the group contact.

What to line up before new devices arrive is in the group's school device roll-out checklist.

What should a school send when planning the year?

Send what the school already has (devices, displays and the learning platform), what is due for replacement or renewal this year, and whether a payment option is wanted. With that, the group can put the school in touch with the right company for each part a group company covers.

• The devices and displays in use, roughly how old they are, and any that have lost support.
• The learning platform, if any, and how accounts are set up today.
• What is due for replacement or renewal this school year.
• Whether a payment option is wanted.

WhatsApp the group on +60 12-565 2091 or email info@neonplus.com.my, and we will put you in touch with the right company. Every school technology guide from the group is listed on the insights page.