Blog
How school technology works
Technical judgement, legal framework and buying decisions, explained for the people who have to make them: school leadership, owning bodies and IT leads at publicly funded private schools (concertados), private schools, universities, business schools and vocational training centres.
Networks and Wi-Fi
Design, sizing and maintenance of a school's network.
- Why school Wi-Fi is one of the hardest environments to coverClassroom density, peaks when lessons change and concrete walls: why Wi-Fi in a school is a difficult environment.
- How many access points does a school need: sized by density, not floor areaAn access point shares out capacity, not square metres. What really governs the number of access points in a school.
- A university network is not a large school's networkStudents' own devices, large lecture theatres, exam season, research and halls of residence: why a university network does not scale up from a school's.
Cyber security
Why protect a school's network and what each layer protects.
- Why a school's network needs protectingWhat sits inside a school's network, why it is a target and which layers of defence come into play.
- Why a school needs content filtering: what is at stakePupil protection, the school's responsibility and families' trust: what lies behind the decision to filter content.
- Most attacks do not start at the firewall: they start with a password85% of ransomware against schools gets in through identity (Sophos, 2026): malicious email, impersonation and stolen or compromised credentials.
Telephony and communications
VoIP, public address systems and announcements: how a school communicates internally and externally.
CCTV and access control
Cameras and access control in a school: what the law allows and what each measure protects.
- Cameras in a school: where recording is allowed and where it is notWhat the law allows a school to record, where recording is prohibited, who can view the footage and how to respond to a family.
- The school has two hundred keys and nobody knows where they areWhy a bunch of keys is a management problem, what changes with electronic access control and what the law requires.
Devices and content
Device fleet management, filtering and the use of technology in the classroom.
Online safety and responsible use
How to support students and families in using the school's technology.
Legal obligations
What the regulations require of a school and how to comply.
- Working time recording in schools: why a school is not an officeSpain's RDL 8/2019 requires every school to record working time. The difficulty comes with the shape of the school day.
- The AEPD's ten-point guide for schools, translated into what needs to be doneThe ten points with which the AEPD opens its guide for schools, turned into specific decisions for the senior leadership team and the IT lead.
Equipment and budgets
What to buy, when to replace it and how to fit it into the budget.
Service and operations
Support, issues and the day-to-day running of a school's technology.
Guides for IT leads
Day-to-day tasks for whoever looks after a school's technology.
- ‘The internet is down’: how to narrow down the problem before calling anyoneA structured process of elimination for the IT lead: what to ask and what to check, and in what order, when someone reports that the internet is down.
- An online exam with a hundred and fifty students at once: how to get there without surprisesA rehearsal beforehand, tested logins and an agreed plan B: how to prepare a simultaneous online test without the morning going wrong.
The education sector
Data, comparisons and how to choose a provider.