17 Sep School IT Support Review: Is Your Support Still Right?

Schools review lots of things regularly.

Budgets. Policies. Suppliers. Safeguarding. Staffing. Curriculum.

But when did you last properly review your IT support?

Not just check the price or approve the renewal. Actually stop and ask:

“Is the IT support we have still right for our school?”

If the answer is “I’m not really sure”, it might be time for a school IT support review.

Good IT support shouldn’t only appear when something breaks

Of course, fixing problems is part of IT support.

The printer won’t print. Someone can’t log in. The Wi-Fi has decided that Tuesday morning is an excellent time to misbehave.

These things happen.

But good school IT support should go further than fixing today’s problem.

Your provider should also be helping you prevent tomorrow’s.

That could mean spotting ageing equipment, highlighting security concerns, planning replacements, checking backups, reviewing filtering and helping you understand where your IT budget is likely to be needed next.

In other words, you shouldn’t have to be an IT expert to know what’s going on with your school’s IT.

That’s what your IT provider is there for.

How often are you chasing?

Here’s a simple question for your school IT support review:

Who normally does the chasing?

If a problem is reported, do you know what’s happening with it?

Are updates provided?

Do outstanding issues get followed through?

Or does somebody in school regularly have to send the dreaded:

“Hi, just wondering if there’s any update on this…”

Every organisation will occasionally have an issue that takes longer to resolve. That’s normal.

But constantly chasing for updates shouldn’t be.

Does your IT provider actually know your school?

Schools aren’t ordinary businesses.

You have teaching staff, pupils, safeguarding responsibilities, filtering, shared devices, classroom technology and very little patience for something deciding to update five minutes before a lesson.

Having someone who understands your school makes a difference.

Your IT provider should understand how you work, which systems matter most and which problems need dealing with urgently.

You shouldn’t have to explain your entire setup every time you ask for help.

Are you planning ahead or reacting?

This is one of the biggest things we’d look at during a school IT support review.

Think back over the last year.

How many IT purchases were planned?

And how many started with:

“We’ve got a problem…”

Technology has a habit of becoming expensive when everything is urgent.

Knowing that computers, Wi-Fi equipment or other systems are approaching replacement gives you time to budget and make sensible decisions.

A good IT relationship should make your technology more predictable, not less.

Do you understand what you’re paying for?

You don’t need to understand all the technical details.

But you should understand the service you’re buying.

What support is included?

When can staff contact the helpdesk?

What happens if something serious goes wrong?

Is onsite support included?

Who is looking at security?

Who helps with planning?

And are there additional services you’re paying for separately?

If nobody can explain your IT support in plain English, that’s a problem in itself.

Don’t forget your renewal date

There’s another practical reason why September can be a good time for a school IT support review.

If your IT support agreement renews in January, check the notice period now.

Some contracts require several months’ notice, which means discovering in December that you wanted to explore other options may be too late.

That doesn’t mean you need to change provider.

It simply means you should have the opportunity to make that decision rather than letting a date make it for you.

One final question

If your school IT support contract wasn’t already in place and you were choosing a provider today…

Would you choose the same service again?

If the answer is yes, brilliant.

If the answer is “I’m not sure”, that may be worth exploring.

At Simply IT, we support schools across Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas with friendly, straightforward IT support.

No unnecessary jargon. No making technology more complicated than it needs to be.

If you’re considering a school IT support review, we’re always happy to have an informal conversation about what you currently have, what’s working and what could perhaps work better.

Sometimes a second opinion is all you need.

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