Technology Audit
There are six DfE digital technology standards every school is expected to meet. Most aren't there yet. And 97% of the schools we audit are overpaying on top of that. A technology audit is the quickest way to see where you actually stand.
A Complete View of Your Technology
Benchmarked Against DfE Standards
No Products, No Bias
The Bigger Picture
Why a Technology Audit Goes Further
Our telecoms and broadband audits are primarily focused on cost savings. The Technology Audit takes a broader, more strategic view.
It looks at how your school is using technology overall, whether you’re meeting DfE expectations, and how your spend is structured across telecoms, broadband, and IT support.
The result is a clear baseline. Not just “are we overpaying?” but “where are we now, where are the gaps, and what needs to happen next?”
For schools that haven’t had an independent, end-to-end review of their technology, this is typically the right starting point.
The technology audit is typically conducted with your school's digital lead - the person the DfE says all schools should have in place. If your school hasn't appointed one yet, we'd pick that up as part of the audit.
The Service
What the Technology Audit Covers
DfE Standards Benchmarking
Policies and Procedures
IT Support
Telecoms Costs
Broadband, Firewall, Filtering and Monitoring Costs
IT Managed Service Costs
We ask for copies of your current invoices for all of the above, along with any relevant contract information. The audit itself is conducted as a guided conversation - it doesn't require technical knowledge.
What You Receive
Your Audit Report:
A Clear View of Your Position
The report is delivered in plain English, covering every aspect of the audit with clear explanations of our findings and what they mean for your school.
Where your provision is strong, we confirm it. Where there are gaps against DfE standards, we explain their impact and outline what actions should be taken, along with suggested timelines for addressing them.
Any cost savings identified across telecoms, broadband, or IT support are clearly set out, with practical guidance on how to realise them.
Many schools use the report as the foundation for their digital technology strategy. With the DfE expecting schools to have a clear, forward-looking plan, the audit provides the insight needed to understand your current position and define the next steps.
What Schools Say
Trusted by Schools Across the UK
The Cost Perspective
97% of Schools Are Overpaying - Often in Multiple Areas
The Technology Audit reviews costs across three key areas: telecoms, broadband, and IT support. In our experience, 97% of schools are overpaying in at least one of these.
Common findings include long-standing services that haven’t been reviewed, leading to uncompetitive pricing, and in some cases, paying for services or products that are no longer required. IT support is another area where schools often aren’t receiving the level of service they’re paying for - or what the DfE now expects.
There’s no obligation to act immediately. However, having a clear view of your costs across all three areas provides valuable insight, particularly when budgets are under increasing pressure.
The Investment
Fixed Cost - High Impact
The Technology Audit is delivered for a fixed fee based on your school type. We’re happy to confirm the cost upfront, so you have full clarity from the outset.
In many cases, the savings identified across telecoms, broadband, and IT support cover the cost of the audit. While we can’t quantify this in advance without reviewing your current provision, our experience shows that most schools are overpaying in at least one area.
Even where savings don’t fully offset the cost, the report provides the insight needed to build a robust digital technology strategy - something the DfE now expects all schools to have.
How It Works
What the Process Looks Like
Getting started is straightforward. Here's how it typically works:
Initial conversation
You share your bills and contracts
The audit session
You receive your report
Follow-up
What Happens Next
After The Report
The audit is a standalone piece of work. The report is yours to use as you see fit, with no obligation to take any further action.
If we identify areas where we could support - such as a procurement exercise or a more strategic consultancy project, we’ll outline these clearly in the report or in our follow-up discussion. Any next steps are entirely your decision.
Where contracts are approaching renewal, we highlight key dates so you can plan ahead and move quickly when the time is right.
For Multi-Academy Trusts
A Note for Multi-Academy Trusts
For Multi-Academy Trusts, the audit is carried out at individual school level, with each school receiving its own report. Alongside this, we assess the position across the trust as a whole - often where the most valuable strategic insight sits.
It’s common for schools within a trust to operate with different systems, suppliers, and contracts, sometimes for identical services. The audit provides a clear view of each school’s position, highlights inconsistencies, gaps in DfE standards and identifies opportunities to standardise, consolidate, or renegotiate at a trust-wide level.
Where there is a clear case for aligning services - such as phone systems or broadband contracts to achieve savings or improve communications, we outline this. Any future procurement or strategic work is entirely optional and can be planned at a pace that suits the trust.
Common Questions About Working with Us
Questions About the Technology Audit
Not much. We ask for copies of your current invoices for telecoms, broadband, and IT support, as well as any relevant contract information. The audit session itself is a guided conversation rather than a technical assessment – most answers are straightforward. The most time-consuming part for you is usually finding the paperwork.
Not really. The cost review of IT support is one element of the audit, not the whole thing. The DfE standards benchmarking, policy review, telecoms costs and broadband costs are all separate threads. Even if your IT support is in good shape, other areas may still yield useful findings.