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October brought encouraging news for schools: fewer cyber incidents, and faster recovery when they do happen. It also brought a fixed date for the closure of the analogue phone network, closer regulatory interest in AI, and the renewal of the national buying routes many schools and trusts use for technology. None of this needs a rush of new spending. Most of it comes down to knowing where you stand, agreeing who looks after what, and planning the next step in good time.
If strategy and service delivery are part of your agreement, everything in this update is already covered. Your Managed Services team will walk you through each step as part of your regular service reviews, so there is nothing extra to arrange.
Schools are getting stronger. The next step is making sure leaders own the plan
What has changed
Ofqual's latest survey of secondary teachers in England, published on 1 October 2026, shows real progress. The proportion of schools experiencing a cyber incident fell to 27% in 2025 to 2026, down from 29% the year before and 34% the year before that. Recovery is improving too: 66% of schools that had an incident were able to recover immediately, up from 55%.
The survey also asked, for the first time, who is primarily responsible for cyber security in school. 46% of teachers said the IT team and 40% said all staff, while only 9% pointed to senior leadership. Ofqual recommends that leaders schedule a review with their IT lead, download the Department for Education (DfE) cyber response plan template, and use the DfE Cyber Security Hub.
Why it matters for your school
The good work is clearly paying off. The gap now is ownership: in a serious incident, it is leaders who make the calls on teaching, safeguarding records and payroll, so they need to know the plan and have seen it tested.
For trusts in the government's Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA), cyber cover depends on four conditions: offline backups, National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) training for staff, Police CyberAlarm registration and a written cyber response plan. It is also worth checking for any devices still running Windows 10, which left mainstream support in October 2025 and now receives security updates only through Microsoft's paid Extended Security Updates programme, available to schools at an education rate.
A short evidence pack, then a test
Ask your IT lead for a one-page summary: when backups were last restored successfully, staff training completion, the response plan and its owner, and any unsupported devices. Then schedule a leadership recovery exercise before the end of the spring term.
Usually led by: IT lead, with the headteacher or CEO
Cyber recovery exercise and Cyber Readiness
We run a relaxed, hands-on recovery exercise with your leadership team in the room, and our Cyber Readiness assessment shows where you stand against the DfE standards and the RPA conditions.
About Cyber ReadinessYour safeguards are doing the heavy lifting
What has changed
Ofcom, the online safety regulator, published its first report on content harmful to children on 22 October 2026. It found no significant change in children's exposure to harmful content in the nine months after online services' child safety duties took effect.
More change is on the way. The government has confirmed that social media services will not be offered to under-16s, with the first regulations due by the end of 2026 and restrictions expected in early 2027. It will not ban or age-gate virtual private networks (VPNs), but has asked Ofcom to research how services detect attempts to get around restrictions, and will review the position within a year of the restrictions taking effect. Mobile phone restrictions during the school day are now statutory guidance, and Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2026 applies from this term.
Why it matters for your school
The new laws will take time to make a difference online, so in-school filtering, monitoring and your safeguarding response remain essential rather than a fallback. Leaders should be able to see regular evidence that they work, including how attempts to bypass filtering are spotted and reported.
A joint filtering and monitoring update
Ask your designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and IT lead for a short joint report on how filtering and monitoring are performing against the DfE standards, including how bypass attempts are detected, before the spring term.
Usually led by: DSL and IT lead together
Filtering and Monitoring assurance
Our assurance reviews give your DSL clear dashboards and an audit trail, so leaders and governors have evidence rather than reassurance. Our Academy Trust Technology Briefing for Autumn 2026 covers the policy changes in more depth.
About Filtering and MonitoringThe analogue phone network closes. Use the Christmas break
What has changed
Openreach has confirmed that the national analogue telephone network closes on 31 January 2027, and that the date will not move again. Any school system still using an analogue line could stop working, and some of those systems are safety-critical.
Why it matters for your school
The main phones are usually in hand. The lines most often missed are the others: intruder and fire alarm signalling, lift emergency phones, door entry systems, card payment terminals and backup lines. Many were installed years ago and are billed separately, so a general telephony review can miss them. The Christmas closure is the last practical window for work before the deadline.
A list of every line on site
Ask your school business manager or estates lead to list every line, what it connects to and who supplies it, by mid-November. Then confirm a migration plan for each, with any work booked for the Christmas break.
Usually led by: school business manager or estates lead
Site survey and digital migration
We survey your site and move voice and alarm services to digital alternatives through our VoIP and Hosted Telephony service, planned around the school calendar to keep disruption to a minimum.
About VoIP and Hosted TelephonyMaking the most of AI, safely
What has changed
On 8 October 2026 the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator, announced that ten major AI developers, including Microsoft, Google and Apple, had committed to changes in how they handle personal data. It has also opened a call for evidence on agentic AI, meaning tools that take actions on a user's behalf. The call closes on 20 November 2026 and will inform a future statutory code of practice on AI and automated decision-making.
Why it matters for your school
There is no new legal duty on schools yet. However, AI features are now built into tools schools already use, often switched on by default. Future guidance is likely to ask how AI use was approved, what data it can reach and how human oversight works, particularly where pupil records or safeguarding information are involved. Getting a simple picture in place now puts you ahead.
A register of AI tools in use
Ask your data protection officer (DPO) and IT lead to list the AI tools and features in use, with who approved each, which have a data protection impact assessment (DPIA), and what data they can access. Review it as a leadership team this term.
Usually led by: DPO, with the IT lead
Microsoft 365 data governance and AI readiness
Our reviews check access permissions to sensitive data and set sensible controls, so staff can use AI with confidence while pupil data stays where it should.
About Software and CloudGetting more from what you have
What has changed
The Chancellor's Budget on 28 October 2026 set the wider funding context for the year ahead, but no new national funding ring-fenced for school technology was identified in October. The DfE published the schools budget support grant 2026 allocations on 14 October, and academy trust audited accounts are due by 31 December 2026.
The DfE's ambition remains for all schools and colleges to meet its six core digital and technology standards by 2030:
- Broadband
- Wireless
- Switching
- Digital leadership and governance
- Filtering and monitoring
- Cyber security
Why it matters for your school
Technology investment competes within existing budgets, so clear priorities go a long way. A multi-year plan helps you replace equipment on your own timetable rather than when it fails, and shows governors how spending moves you towards the standards.
A costed three-year technology plan
Ask your finance and IT leads to agree a plan showing replacement cycles, contract renewals and the gap to each standard, costed and prioritised by risk, ready for next year's budget setting.
Usually led by: finance lead and IT lead
Standards gap assessment and Hardware as a Service
Our independent gap assessment shows where to focus spend first. Where it helps, Hardware as a Service spreads device costs evenly over the plan period.
About Hardware as a ServiceNew routes to market from 2027
What has changed
Two of the main public sector frameworks for buying technology are being re-let by the Government Commercial Agency (GCA). The dates below are the GCA's own estimates and may move:
Published framework values are estimated ceilings across the whole public sector, not money available to schools. What matters is timing: contracts renewing from mid-2027 may need to be bought through the new arrangements, and the suppliers on each route may change.
Why it matters for your school
A compliant route matters for trusts under the Academy Trust Handbook and the Procurement Act 2023. If a contract renews next year, a little planning now keeps your options open and avoids a rushed decision later.
A 24-month renewal schedule
Ask your procurement or finance lead to list technology contracts expiring in the next 24 months, with the current route to market, the planned route and a decision date for each.
Usually led by: procurement or finance lead
Requirements and compliant routes
We help schools and trusts define what they need and identify suitable compliant buying routes, so renewals run smoothly.
Our frameworksHow many can you tick today?
- Cyber recovery: we know how quickly we could restore teaching, safeguarding records and payroll, and we have tested it recently.
- Cyber cover: we can evidence all four RPA conditions.
- Safeguarding: our DSL gets regular evidence that filtering and monitoring work, and concerns reach them quickly.
- Analogue lines: we know which alarms, lifts, door entry systems and phones still use analogue lines, and have a plan for each.
- AI and data: we know which AI tools staff use, who approved them and what data they reach.
- Contracts: we know which technology contracts renew in the next two years and how we will buy each one.
A few gaps? You are in good company, and most are quick to close once the facts are gathered and an owner is agreed.
Sources
All sources were checked on 7 November 2026.
- Ofqual: Schools making strides in cyber security as recovery times improve (1 October 2026)
- Department for Education: Cyber Security Hub, including the cyber response plan template and the Risk Protection Arrangement cyber cover conditions
- Microsoft: Windows 10 Extended Security Updates for education
- Ofcom: Report on content harmful to children (22 October 2026)
- UK Government: Growing up in the online world: government response (July 2026)
- Department for Education: Keeping children safe in education 2026
- Openreach: Switching off the analogue phone network (31 January 2027)
- Information Commissioner's Office: ICO secures changes from leading AI developers as scrutiny extends to AI agents (8 October 2026)
- HM Treasury: Budget 2026 (28 October 2026)
- Department for Education: Schools budget support grant 2026: October 2026 allocations (14 October 2026)
- Department for Education: DfE update for academies, 14 October 2026 (audited accounts deadline)
- Department for Education: Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges
- Government Commercial Agency: RM6377 Network Services 4 and RM6398 Technology Products and Associated Services 3 (upcoming agreements)