The UK Department for Education (DfE) has recently updated its guidance on “Meeting Digital and Technology Standards in Schools and Colleges.” The “Digital leadership and governance standards” now emphasise the importance of maintaining up to date registers for IT assets, contracts and information.

Digital leadership and governance standards registers

The UK Department for Education has highlighted the need for schools and colleges to keep registers relating to their hardware and systems. This standard is a crucial step in developing a comprehensive digital technology strategy. In fact, the DfE states that schools and colleges should meet the Digital leadership and governance standards, including implementation and maintaining asset and contract registers, before creating their digital technology strategy.

To meet this standard, schools and colleges need to keep details relating to digital technology within three registers:

• Asset Register: This is a log of all physical digital technology and tools within the school or college, detailing what equipment you have, asset and serial numbers, who it’s assigned to, its location, purchase date, age, review date for potential replacement or upgrade, and disposal date.
• Contracts Register: This register should include details of purchases and contracts related to software licences, subscriptions, broadband, and technology service providers. It can also serve as a list of approved apps.
• Information Asset Register: This register details what digital data the school or college possesses and how it is used, shared, stored, backed up and any potential risks or issues relating to the data.

How do schools get and keep compliant with DfE standards?

To meet these standards and remain compliant, the senior leadership team (SLT) digital lead needs to collaborate across the trust including IT support staff, data protection officer and procurement / finance teams. The SLT digital lead should own responsibility for implementing asset, contract and information registers and establish processes to ensure they are kept up to date.

DfE Asset, Contract, Information Register Templates

The Department for Education provides basic spreadsheet templates for contracts and asset registers. While these templates provide a starting point, they require schools to manually update with new asset details and student device allocations. VIZOR for Schools offers a comprehensive solution that goes beyond a basic spreadsheet, automating many of the tasks required to meet DfE standards. For example, automatically updating the asset registry based on new Chromebook devices directly from Google, and maintaining student device allocation based on logins or barcode check-out.

Furthermore, VIZOR offers import and export features that work with the DfE asset and contracts register templates. This significantly streamlines the process for schools and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) looking to comply with the UK Department for Education’s digital leadership and governance standards.

How VIZOR Can Help Schools Meet and Automate Standard Compliance

VIZOR is specifically designed for school IT asset management and can significantly enhance your ability to meet the DfE’s digital leadership and governance standards relating to implementing and maintaining an asset, contract and information registry.

• Centralised IT Asset Inventory: VIZOR provides Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) a centralised view of IT assets across academies. Schools can easily track who has what asset, where it’s located, and maintain an accurate stock inventory. This directly addresses the requirements of the DfE asset register and aids the (SLT) digital lead with cross department collaboration.
• Detailed Asset Tracking: VIZOR allows schools to manage all ICT assets and devices, tracking the lifecycle of laptops, Chromebooks, iPads, projectors, network equipment, TVs, and more. VIZOR holds crucial details like asset numbers, serial numbers, purchase dates, and locations, aligning perfectly with the data fields in the DfE asset register template.
• Efficient 1:1 Programme Management: For schools running 1:1 device initiatives, VIZOR streamlines mass device allocation to students using barcode readers or analysing login data. VIZOR keeps track of which academies have which laptops and who is using each device, simplifying asset assignment requirements of the asset register.
• Repair Tracking and Cost Management: VIZOR allows you to track and diagnose each asset repair and its associated cost in conjunction with your asset register. This not only helps in managing budgets but also in identifying trends in repairs, providing valuable data for future procurement decisions.
• Google Admin Console and MIS Integration: VIZOR’s bi-directional integration with the Google Admin Console ensures your Chromebook inventory is always accurate. It also synchronises student, teacher, staff, and parent information directly from your Management Information System (MIS), eliminating the need for cross-referencing spreadsheets. These integrations help maintain up-to-date records of device allocation as required by DfE standards while also simplifying device allocation and contact information retrieval for IT staff.
• Software License Management: While the DfE guidance mentions contracts and subscriptions, VIZOR offers full software license management capabilities. This helps you keep track of your software inventory, ensuring you have the necessary licenses and avoiding accidental renewal of unneeded software, directly addressing school budget pressures.
• Academy and Role-Specific Logins: VIZOR allows users from a specific academy (e.g., Head Teachers, Teachers, Librarians) to only view and assign devices allocated to their academy, providing data transparency and collaboration while ensuring security.
• Automated Notifications and Accountability: VIZOR can send email notifications to students, parents, and teachers when a device is due for return or ready for collection. This helps keep everyone accountable for their devices and reduces lost learning time in accordance with the desired outcomes of Digital leadership and governance register standards.

Move Beyond Spreadsheets and Basic Templates

While the DfE spreadsheet templates provide a basic framework, VIZOR offers a robust, integrated solution that automates and simplifies the process of maintaining accurate IT asset registers. Moving beyond spreadsheets ultimately saves time, reduces costs, enhances security, and improves the management of your school’s digital technology resources.

Ready to streamline your IT asset management and ensure compliance with the latest DfE standards? Schedule a short demo of VIZOR today to see how it can help your school or trust!