Digital Strategy: Getting Started…

It’s 18 months since the DfE introduced the expectation that schools should have a minimum two-year Digital strategy in place, resting on ‘a longer-term vision for digital technology to support all educational and organisational needs.’

Expectations around Digital Leadership and Governance are now within the ‘core’ digital standards that the DfE is pushing for complete compliance by 2030. (It is best to plan for this expectation despite the fact that at time of writing we are still awaiting the results of the DfE consultation from the Spring of 2025).

The recent Academy Trust Handbook (2025) has now made it a requirement for Academy Trusts to ‘have an understanding’ about the extent to which they meet the standard. So in terms of strategy, they need to know if they have a strategy (and by implication, a vision) and whether it meets DfE requirements.

Getting the right people involved

It is expected that ‘all things digital’ are led from the Senior Leadership Team. The Digital Leadership standard outlines the ‘best practice’ involvement of a range of people in putting the strategy together…. And that gives us a good clue what we should expect of the areas to be covered by a Strategy.

No mention is made of ‘digital champions’ but no SLT leader ‘worth their salt’ would sideline them!*

That’s a lot of people! The DfE's expectation on governors/trustees is one of support and challenge – a key part of their role in strengthening all aspects of the organisation's operations.

It appears to us that having a poor strategy has the same consequences as having no strategy at all (with the added nightmare that you think you’re doing the right thing…when you’re not).

• disrupted learning if the digital technology does not support curriculum delivery 

• potential compromises to safeguarding  
• an increased risk of a cyber attack 
• budget pressures if digital technology systems fail and need to be replaced 
• buying digital technology that is not suitable for the organisation’s educational vision 
• a lack of resources (such as the right roles, budget and funding) to support the use and replacement of digital technology  

The standards haven’t kept up with the expectations around AI from the DfE and Ofsted published earlier in June 2025 so we can expect more updates. Whether a discreet AI channel is needed in the strategy (or that it appears in the other channels where relevant), it’s clear that schools cannot ignore this facet of Digital as it touches all areas of the school’s provision.

The best Digital Strategies we’ve seen recently have been built on preparatory work that has included a SWOT assessment of the digital provision. This has been coupled with a thorough understanding of the organisation’s development plan (a good reason for placing the Digital Leadership responsibility within the SLT). The DfE emphasises a thorough knowledge of the ‘digital estate’ and offers template registers to support this work – this is only a large task if it hasn’t been done incrementally. A ‘single point of truth’ is important so make sure that the responsibility for this is unequivocally allocated to the business support team or the IT support team. A good Managed Service contract will have the responsibility clearly delineated.

A Novatia consultant would always want to ensure that a Digital Strategy fits the operational mode of other school/MAT strategies - the 'house style’, but it is important that the Strategy should be fit enough to serve as foundation for a SMART Action Plan. One way of doing this is by including outline deliverable activities in the strategy, e.g.

There are many reasons why your school or Trust might not have a Digital Strategy. Leadership bandwidth, expertise gaps or competing priorities might all have played a part (you could even be in the midst of an unseemly and debilitating turf war between those of opposing opinions.

At Novatia, we’re proud of our work providing schools and MATs with ICT audits and successful digital strategies. Our services target all aspects of your digital life - technical, operational and educational - to ensure your school thrives with a cohesive, bespoke ICT approach. We’ve also blogged about this subject before: Novatia's ultimate guide to forming a robust digital strategy

With over 22 years of ICT experience and 250 clients within the education sector, we can help you achieve your educational aims - get in touch with us today to discover how we can help your school achieve excellence.

*For my understanding of this phrase, I thank my Latin teachers who were always keen to justify study of their subject!