Schools run on technology that has to work at 8:45am, protect children, and survive an inspection. Safeguarding records, pupil data, filtering logs and a mixed estate of laptops, tablets and interactive panels all sit on budgets set a year in advance. Cloud Agile supports schools, academies and multi-academy trusts with support that respects term dates, security aligned to Keeping Children Safe in Education and the DfE digital and technology standards, and Microsoft 365 Education licensing used for everything it already includes.
These are the issues that come up again and again when we audit organisations in this sector. If more than two look familiar, a conversation is probably worth having.
KCSIE expects governors and senior leaders to know what is filtered, what is monitored and who reviews alerts. Many schools have the tools in place but no reporting that shows the standard is met.
One person covering classrooms, cabling, MIS, safeguarding platforms and the whole estate, with no cover during illness, holidays or a major incident.
MIS, safeguarding platform, SEND records and spreadsheets on staff laptops, with access rarely reviewed and leavers not always removed promptly.
Schools and trusts remain a favoured target, and an attack in term time takes out registration, safeguarding records and communication with parents at the same time.
Capital-funded devices reaching end of life together, and Microsoft 365 Education entitlements the school already pays for but has never deployed.
Each school joining with its own domain, its own supplier and its own standards, and no central view of security, identity or spend.
One senior team covering support, infrastructure, security, governance and AI, so nothing falls between suppliers.
Fully managed support where there is no on-site technician, or co-managed cover alongside your network manager. Priority handling for anything that stops a lesson, registration or safeguarding record from working. Explore our business IT support services.
Web filtering and device monitoring configured to the UK Safer Internet Centre standards KCSIE points to, with alert routing to your DSL and reporting governors can read without a technical translation. Explore our managed cyber security services.
A1, A3 and A5 entitlements applied rather than left dormant: Teams for classes, OneDrive and SharePoint for staff and pupil work, Intune for device management, and identity built around staff, pupil and governor roles. Explore our cloud and infrastructure services.
Immutable, tested backups of Microsoft 365, MIS exports and file data, with a recovery plan you can rehearse so a term-time incident does not become a closure day. Explore our backup and disaster recovery services.
Mapping to the DfE digital and technology standards, Cyber Essentials certification, data protection support and an evidence pack ready for governors, trustees, auditors and inspection. Explore our governance, risk and compliance services.
Education carries statutory safeguarding duties on top of ordinary data protection. These are the requirements that most often shape the technical work.
Appropriate filtering and monitoring, an identified senior leader responsible for it, and regular review by governors with evidence to support it.
Broadband, network, cyber security, cloud and device standards used as the benchmark for planning and investment decisions.
Multi-factor authentication for staff, separated administrator accounts, patching and anti-malware, evidenced rather than assumed. Cyber Essentials is a condition of some funding and insurance arrangements.
Lawful basis, least-privilege access to safeguarding and SEND records, defensible retention and a clear process for subject access requests from parents and former pupils.
Monitoring and alerting that supports the school's Prevent responsibilities, with alerts reaching a named person rather than an unread mailbox.
A tested plan covering ICO notification, DfE and trust reporting, parental communication and the return of teaching as quickly as possible.
Immutable, encrypted backup of Microsoft 365, MIS data and safeguarding records, with retention configured to the school's own records-management schedule and restores tested each year.
Education records have some of the longest retention periods of any sector, and several run until well after a pupil reaches adulthood. This is how we typically configure backup retention for a school or trust.
| Record type | Typical retention | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Safeguarding and child protection records | Until the pupil's 25th birthday, often longerBeyond 7 years | Safeguarding files are retained far beyond leaving date and may be required by an inquiry or a former pupil years later. |
| Pupil educational records | Until age 25, or transferred to the next schoolBeyond 7 years | The record follows the pupil, and the retaining school must be able to produce it on request. |
| SEND and EHCP records | Typically 25 to 35 years from date of birthBeyond 7 years | Statutory assessment records carry extended retention because of the potential for later claims and reviews. |
| Staff and safer recruitment records | 6 years after leaving, longer for DBS-related decisions | Employment and vetting decisions must remain evidenceable for employment claims and safeguarding audits. |
| Microsoft 365 email, files and Teams | 7 years, longer where linked to safeguarding | Staff correspondence is held in immutable, encrypted backup on the same clock as the records it relates to. |
Retention is set to your own records-management schedule, typically based on the IRMS toolkit for schools, and restores are tested rather than assumed. Periods above reflect typical UK guidance for the sector, not legal advice, and your own retention policy always governs. Talk to us about your retention requirements.
Phase, pupil and staff numbers, MIS and safeguarding platforms, existing technician arrangements, and any inspection or trust deadlines coming up.
A review of network, devices, Microsoft 365, filtering and monitoring, backups and identity, benchmarked against KCSIE and the DfE digital and technology standards.
Safeguarding and cyber risks first, classroom reliability second, with per-user pricing and capital projects costed separately so they can align with the budget cycle.
Scheduled in inset days and school holidays wherever possible, with MIS and safeguarding suppliers coordinated by us so teaching time is protected.
Ongoing support with termly reviews covering incidents, filtering and monitoring reporting, device refresh planning and the evidence pack for governors.
Both models are priced the same way per user. The difference is how much you keep in-house.
Typical for primaries and single secondaries with no on-site technician, or where the technician role has become vacant.
For secondaries and multi-academy trusts with a network manager or central IT team who need depth and cover rather than headcount.
AI is already in the staffroom, with or without a policy. We help schools adopt it in a way that protects pupil data and reduces workload.
Copilot working inside the school's own tenant to speed up lesson resources, differentiation and reporting drafts, without pupil-identifiable material leaving your control.
Automation of routine letters, parental communication drafts, timetable admin and data-entry steps that currently absorb leadership and office time.
Tenant configuration that keeps pupil records out of public AI tools, with staff, pupil and governor access set separately.
Clear rules on pupil data, approved tools only, academic integrity, and human review before anything reaches a pupil, parent or governing body.
More detail on how we approach this is on our AI consultancy and automation services page.
Managed support is priced per user per month: Agile Core at £45 per user and Agile Fortify at £75 per user. Most schools and trusts choose Agile Fortify, because the managed detection, response and identity controls it includes are what governors and insurers now ask about after a sector ransomware incident.
Servers are £100 each per month and network devices £10 each per month. Project work, migrations, Cyber Essentials preparation and consultancy are quoted separately at £120 per hour, and can be scheduled to fall in the right financial year.
We work remotely as standard and onsite where it genuinely helps. Choose a region to see how our support, security and consultancy work locally.
Book a 20-minute discovery call and we will tell you plainly what we would fix first, what it would cost and whether we are the right fit.