Primary guidance checked 10 October 2026. The DfE collection records an update on 16 September 2026.
Understand the six core standards, review the wider technology standards and identify the evidence your school needs to demonstrate its current position.
Use this practical guide to turn standards gaps into clear priorities, responsible ownership and a costed technology roadmap.
The DfE Digital and Technology Standards describe how schools and colleges can use appropriate digital infrastructure, technology and governance.
The guidance covers twelve areas, including connectivity, networks, cyber security, filtering and monitoring, devices, accessibility, cloud services, IT support and digital leadership.
Six of these areas are identified as core standards that schools and colleges should work towards meeting by 2030:
The remaining standards continue to support effective, safe and sustainable use of technology. A school should therefore avoid treating the six core standards as the only areas requiring review.
The DfE currently identifies six areas as core standards. These standards address essential connectivity, network infrastructure, governance, online safety and cyber resilience.
The summaries below are plain-English interpretations. Each card links to the corresponding official DfE section for the full published guidance.
Provide connectivity with suitable capacity, resilience and support for the school’s operational, safeguarding and educational needs.
Provide secure and reliable wireless service that supports users, devices and teaching throughout the areas where connectivity is needed.
Maintain secure, manageable and reliable switching infrastructure that supports wired services, wireless connectivity and critical school systems.
Establish clear leadership, responsibility and decision-making for the safe, effective and sustainable use of technology.
Support a safe online environment through appropriate technology, clear ownership, effective review and safeguarding-led decision-making.
Protect accounts, devices, systems and data using proportionate security controls, clear ownership and evidence that those controls operate in practice.
The six core standards should not be assessed in isolation. The wider standards cover important dependencies such as cabling, devices, servers, cloud services, accessibility and the quality of IT support.
Review how cloud services are selected, secured, accessed, backed up and managed throughout their lifecycle.
Ensure digital technology, content and services can be used by people with different needs and that accessibility is considered during procurement, design and review.
Plan, commission and review IT support so that service delivery, responsibility, strategic advice and improvement activity remain clear.
Select and manage devices that remain secure, supportable, suitable for their users and sustainable within the school’s replacement plan.
Maintain cabling that supports current network performance, resilience and future infrastructure needs.
Manage servers and storage according to service need, supportability, security, resilience, recoverability and environmental requirements.
Technology standards rarely fail in isolation.
A wireless problem may be caused by switching, cabling, broadband capacity or poor device design. A cyber-security concern may depend on asset accuracy, IT support, identity management, backup or leadership ownership.
A useful assessment should therefore identify dependencies rather than treating each standard as a separate checklist.
Assess each standard, collect current evidence and record where confidence is limited. A useful audit should distinguish confirmed compliance, partial implementation, unresolved gaps and areas where further evidence is required.
Translate findings into practical treatment options. Consider risk, safeguarding impact, service dependency, affordability, asset lifecycle and the order in which improvements must be delivered.
Give each approved action an owner, target review point and clear completion evidence. Maintain an up-to-date view of progress so leadership can understand what has improved and which risks have been temporarily accepted.
Note: asitplan currently supports action tracking and roadmap oversight through its integrated platform features.
A policy or verbal assurance does not always demonstrate that a control operates in practice. Evidence should be current, attributable and proportionate to the importance of the service or risk being assessed.
These are asitplan evidence-quality examples. They are not a DfE-prescribed grading system.
| Activity | Leadership | Finance/operations | IT support | DSL/safeguarding | Governors/trustees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agree review scope | Accountable | Consulted | Responsible for technical scope | Consulted where relevant | Informed |
| Supply technical evidence | Informed | Informed | Responsible | Consulted where relevant | Informed |
| Review filtering and monitoring | Accountable | Consulted | Technical input | Safeguarding lead | Oversight |
| Prioritise investment | Accountable | Financial input | Technical advice | Consulted where relevant | Oversight |
| Accept material residual risk | Accountable | Consulted | Advises | Consulted where relevant | Oversight |
| Monitor roadmap progress | Accountable | Consulted | Responsible for assigned activity | Consulted where relevant | Receives assurance |
This is a suggested responsibility model. Local governance, employment arrangements and support contracts may allocate responsibilities differently.
Identify the senior leader accountable for digital strategy and confirm who supplies technical, financial and safeguarding evidence.
For each core standard, record the current position, supporting evidence, known gaps and evidence confidence.
Check whether cloud services, cabling, devices, servers, storage, accessibility or IT support affect the core-standard findings.
Separate urgent risk treatment from planned improvement, routine maintenance and temporarily accepted exceptions.
Give each action an owner, treatment, estimated cost range, dependency, target period and completion evidence.
Provide leadership with a concise view of current risks, investment requirements, agreed actions and progress since the previous review.
This six-step method is an asitplan implementation suggestion and is not presented as an official DfE-prescribed process.
An IT provider may supply technical evidence and deliver agreed improvements, but strategic decisions, risk acceptance, safeguarding and financial approval remain organisational governance matters. Exact responsibilities should be documented locally.
Age is useful planning information, but decisions should also consider support status, security, condition, performance, service criticality, repairability and future requirements.
The official guidance says schools and colleges should continue to refer to all the standards to support effective use of digital technology.
Technology, guidance, suppliers and organisational requirements change. Evidence should have an owner and a review point.
Policies establish intention and responsibility. Operational evidence is normally needed to demonstrate that the expected process or control is being followed.
Use the free asitplan health check to establish an initial view of your current technology position. For a complete assessment, combine questionnaire responses with current technical evidence, asset information and leadership review.
The health check provides an initial indication. It is not DfE certification and does not replace a complete, evidence-led review.
Assess your current position, understand the dependencies and build a prioritised, costed roadmap that leadership can review and act upon.
asitplan supports assessment, evidence, planning and reporting.
It does not provide DfE certification or guarantee compliance.
Example product view · demonstration data
Structured questions help teams record their current position and identify what needs review. Use that evidence to support the next decision.
Question completion is not a compliance score. Missing evidence must remain visible and findings require review.
Material for Education. Download, share and discuss. No form or account needed.
Questions for school and MAT buyers, plus a reusable school evidence, action and investment worksheet.
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
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Use the published requirements when defining scope and checking evidence. Product examples support planning; they are not certification.
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