Many Independent schools started the new year with a spirit of optimism. It seems the pandemics' constantly changing economic effects are drawing to an end and some schools have found they are seeing higher demand than ever, with a lot of new interest from affluent “first-time buyers”. With this said, it’s too early to say that independent schools are ‘in the clear'. As one of our primary sectors, we’ve had the chance to partner with multiple independent schools, working with them to, consult, plan, and execute overhauls to their IT infrastructure. Doing so has given us the opportunity to learn first-hand what challenges independent schools are facing.
If independent schools don’t embrace change, they could be left behind technologically, allowing other schools to scale up and become a more attractive prospect for parents with offers of online learning environments and productivity tools. Many independent schools are already reaping the benefits by investing heavily in their IT infrastructure. Putting the right IT solutions in place for your school would allow you to streamline processes and offer the best learning environment for your students.
We believe if the challenges lying ahead are overcome and independent schools manage to navigate themselves through the rapidly changing educational landscape, 2022 could be an exciting year. To give an insight into some of the challenges independent schools will face this year, we’ve put together the 5 main challenges independent schools have told us they’re facing.
Cyber-Security
As highlighted by our recent ‘Worst Passwords of 2021’ blog, cyber security remains an increasingly significant point of weakness that many schools unfortunately overlook. With cyber-criminals becoming increasingly sophisticated and most businesses have a much larger online presence due to the pandemic, the need to be in control of your school’s cyber-security is more important than ever.
Being able to successfully reinforce Cyber-security isn’t just the use of virtual or physical safeguards it’s the ability to confidently educate staff on how to identify and mitigate cyber-security risks. Unfortunately for independent schools, this is an even greater challenge due to the scale their systems are being used. For schools it’s not only staff that need to be educated, it’s hundreds of individual students who have most likely never had to put much, if any, thought into cyber-security and the devastating effects it could have on the school if breached.
Because of schools' unique, and somewhat tedious requirements many independent schools choose to partner with a reliable MSP such as the entrust IT group that deals with the majority of security in house. Some of the things the entrust IT have already done to help defend our partnered schools include the following:
- Enforcing Password Rules – with a study conducted by IBM finding 95% of data breaches are caused by human error we understand how detrimental human error can be to your business. That’s why we enforce regular mandatory password updates and implement password rules such as character minimums and symbol inclusions which help to keep hackers out.
- Managing and keeping software up to date - Having your businesses software up to date should be a top priority, the methods hackers use to access company data will frequently change so updates are needed to counter these new methods
- Implementing Multifactor Authentication – This will reduce the chance of an unauthorised individual being able to access your network
- Implementing Antivirus and Internet Security Software – Investing in antivirus software for your employees can be massively beneficial for keeping data safe
- Implementing VPN’s – Now that the use of public Wi-Fi for work is becoming more common having a virtual private network (VPN) is almost a necessity, if an employee or student uses public Wi-Fi this can allow cyber-criminals to intercept the connection which grants them access to the victim’s data.
General Running Costs increasing
Since the start of the pandemic, and even more so now due to ‘economic changes’ correlated to Russia’s recent invasion, we’ve seen the cost of almost everything, personal and professional increase. Below are some other cost increases independent schools are reporting in 2022.
Hardware – Almost all industries have had to increase their online workforce over the last two years, this paired with a large spike in crypto mining, has caused a shortage in computer components, which in turn means parts are either impossible to get a hold of or are costing up to double their pre-pandemic price.
Energy price hikes – With Europe experiencing an extremely cold winter and many energy companies going bust it’s no surprise a report conducted by Trade Body Energy has forecast that gas and electricity bills could rise by up to 50% by spring 2022.
Materials and building work – With the UK currently facing a material shortage the cost to physically expand schools is at an all-time high which is causing investments in e-learning to be a lot more cost-efficient, by keeping students in the same physical facilities but with more online tools it can be the perfect compromise.
Talented Staff Harder to Find and Retain
We are now in a post-pandemic stage but general costs are still increasing, and worryingly so has the cost of hiring talented Staff (especially IT staff). Many businesses have found that the cost of hiring someone with the same skill set as they had pre-pandemic is costing approximately £3000 -£4000 more annually according to a study conducted by the office for national statistics. Large businesses are sweeping up these talented employees with offers of pay that independent schools just can’t match, making hiring new and reliable staff a very difficult challenge.
So, with an increase in wages but a drought in talented employees the pool of viable yet reasonably priced staff is at an all-time low. With all this said it’s no surprise many independent schools are starting to partner with a trusted MSP which is taking the stress concerning their IT Off their minds.
The Cost of Living for Parents
Despite popular belief, most of the parents who send their children to independent schools aren’t rich billionaires with little to no money concerns but “normal people”, who will undoubtedly have their own financial difficulties.
Tax rises, inflation, a drastic increase over the last month in energy, travel costs, and for those that own their own businesses, a distinct increase in staff costs will all play a crucial part in their decision to send their children to your school.
With so much uncertainty and costs only going up, many parents may feel financially squeezed and therefore bursars will be understandably unwilling to increase fees. Unfortunately for independent schools if parents are struggling financially because of economic reasons, it’s more than likely your school is struggling too, and with many schools coming off the back of two years of frozen tuition fees the pressure to increase costs will be great.
Staying Technologically Ahead of Competitors
Technology now plays a crucial part in the success of any independent school. With parents ‘pickier’ than ever, being able to offer their child industry-leading educational IT solutions could be the difference between them choosing your school or another. If you allowed rivaling schools to get technologically ahead and scale up, they could become a more attractive prospect for parents with offers of online learning environments and productivity tools.
Investing in your school's IT now would not only make you a more attractive prospect but would also completely overhaul the way your school's operations run internally, giving you the edge over your competitors. Additionally investing now could save your school money long term as the price of IT components and support only increase.
entrust IT the MSP Schools Trust
IT now plays a crucial role in the success and streamlining of an independent school’s operations. Poor IT can now act as a barrier to a school reaching its maximum potential and with larger companies sweeping up talented workers, energy prices and material costs at significant heights, the unsettling chance of a cyber-breach due to the number of younger users, and the need to stay technologically ahead of your competitors with offers of state-of-the-art learning environments, it can all start to feel overwhelming.
If these areas are addressed and the right tools are put in place your school will have the edge, not only over cautious parents but also on how your operations run internally. Overhauling a school's IT infrastructure can be a daunting challenge and could become costly in the long run, this is why many businesses choose to partner with a reliable and trusted MSP.
“The changes that Serval made completely revolutionised the IT at Brambletye.”, recalls Nick Hollamby, Bursar at Brambletye school. Brambletye School is a respected co-educational boarding school that faced a problem. The majority of their IT was managed by one man, who unfortunately for Brambletye choose to retire, this left Brambletye with an IT problem that needed a solution. Nick Hollamby understood the importance of IT within their school with a quote from him stating “We knew how important IT is for our pupils in this ever-connected and digital world and providing them with the best IT infrastructure is of vital importance”. With this in mind and after “careful consideration” Brambeltye choose to partner with the entrust IT group. entrust IT worked with Brambletye to consult, plan, and then execute a complete overhaul of their IT infrastructure that completely revolutionised their school.
To learn more about what we did to help Brambletye and to give an insight into how we could help your school, please feel free to view the full Brambletye case study here.
Get in Touch
Worried your school is falling behind technologically or feel overwhelmed with the need to make so many sudden changes? If so, it could be time to put the burden on entrust IT. With over 15 years of IT experience working with multiple independent schools, we could be the partner your school needs to smoothly transition to a hybrid learning environment, ensuring your school is always up to date and stays connected.
Please feel free to contact us directly by getting in touch on 0330 002 0045 or emailing enquiries@entrustit.co.uk to be put in contact with one of our experienced consultants.
