Procurement
The DfE published new EdTech procurement guidance on July 9. It is the first DfE document to reference the ICO's Edtech Examined findings, and it tells schools to treat procurement as a connected governance decision, not an isolated IT one. Read it before September.
KCSIE 2026
KCSIE 2026 has been published and comes into force on September 1. It makes phone-free schools the default, brings AI-generated content into safeguarding practice, updates data protection for the DUAA, and rewrites volunteer vetting. Schools have six weeks to update policies.
DfE
The DfE is hiring a Director General for Digital and Infrastructure on its highest-ever salary. The remit – AI, data, cyber, the new child identifier and the school estate, all under one person – signals that government now sees digital and risk as one strategic brief. The org chart has caught up.
Operations
The national education debate often focuses almost exclusively on teachers. But a new DfE report finally recognises the vital role of support staff, acknowledging they are not second-class citizens in the school hierarchy but essential professionals whose expertise is non-negotiable.
Policy
The government's Schools White Paper introduces a £4 billion SEND overhaul, replacing most EHCPs with statutory digital Individual Support Plans. For IT Directors, this means solving complex data integration, security, and assistive technology challenges to prove our inclusive value.
Policy
It is easy to feel like you are standing in the middle of a see-saw, balancing the "ban it" brigade against the "innovate now" evangelists. But if you look closer, there is a coherent strategy emerging. We are moving towards a model of Intentional Technology.
Bett2026
The era of AI experimentation is coming to an end. The time of AI infrastructure is here.