Fully Managed IT Support Services

The Trust operates 12 primary schools across 11 sites, together with a central Multi-Academy Trust team covering around 500 employees and 3,000 children. The Trust is seeking to appoint a single contractor to provide a fully managed IT support and services solution across all schools and central operations. The appointed provider shall deliver secure, resilient, scalable and high-quality IT services that support teaching and learning, safeguarding, operational effectiveness, business continuity and the continued development of the Trust's digital environment. Services must be delivered in a way that supports the Trust in working towards, maintaining and evidencing alignment with the Department for Education (DfE) digital and technology standards for schools and colleges. The Trust has made significant progress in recent years in relation to:

• Migration to cloud-based systems
• Hardware refresh and device modernisation
• Cyber security strengthening
• Infrastructure and connectivity investment
• Greater consistency of IT processes and service delivery across the Trust

Further investment is planned during the contract period. The Trust therefore requires a provider with the capacity, capability and strategic expertise to support both operational service delivery and longer-term digital development. The successful contractor shall support the Trust to use the DfE digital and technology standards as a recurring benchmark for service review, risk management, strategic planning and improvement activity. This includes the six DfE core standards for broadband internet, wireless network, network switching, digital leadership and governance, filtering and monitoring, and cyber security, together with the wider standards for cloud solutions, digital accessibility, IT support, devices, network cabling, and servers and storage. Over the next 36 months, the Trust's IT priorities include:

• Building on the progress made to date, further improve infrastructure, end-user hardware and connectivity across all schools
• Develop the safe and effective use of artificial intelligence, automation and digital workflows to reduce workload and improve efficiency
• Produce and annually review an IT and Digitisation Strategy to maintain momentum and support continuous improvement across all aspects of IT
• Use the DfE digital and technology standards as a reference point for Trust-wide IT planning, evidence gathering, improvement planning and termly/annual reporting