Cybersecurity, cloud, connectivity, and workplace technology for UK schools, multi-academy trusts, colleges and universities. Term-time delivery, with experience of government-funded programmes including DfE Connect the Classroom.
Highgate provides managed IT services to UK education organisations. Our clients include primary and secondary schools, multi-academy trusts, sixth-form colleges and further education colleges, organisations where reliable technology underpins teaching, learning, safeguarding, and the operational running of every site.
We deliver cybersecurity, cloud and infrastructure, connectivity, and workplace technology under a single account director and a 24/7 UK-based service desk. Microsoft 365 for Education licensing is managed on a predictable annual basis. Network and connectivity work is delivered to term-time, with demonstrated experience of government-funded programmes including the DfE Connect the Classroom initiative. Security posture is aligned to DfE digital standards, GDPR, NCSC guidance for the education sector, and the safeguarding and Prevent duty obligations every UK educational organisation operates under.
Most of our education projects begin during a supplier review, ahead of a major refresh cycle, or when a government-funded programme deadline is approaching. The first phase is a structured assessment of your current IT setup, network capacity and safeguarding controls, followed by phased delivery scheduled around term-time and exam periods.
UK education organisations carry duties around pupil data protection, safeguarding, the Prevent duty, and increasingly the DfE’s digital standards. Auditors and inspectors expect demonstrable controls. We align your security posture to Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001 controls, NCSC guidance for the education sector, and DfE expectations, with documentation suitable for inspection and audit.
Many UK education organisations operate across multiple sites, with multi-academy trusts spanning several schools and colleges covering multiple campuses. We run multi-site environments as a single service: one account director, one service desk, consistent device and network standards across every site, regardless of governance model or working pattern.
In an education setting, downtime during teaching costs you in disruption, lost learning, and credibility with parents and staff. We deliver upgrades and refreshes to term-time and half-term windows, design networks to support thousands of devices in simultaneous use, and provide proactive management that catches issues before they reach the classroom.
Most of our education clients moved to Highgate from a previous IT provider. The common pattern is a relationship that has become transactional, with poor responsiveness, opaque invoicing, and quotes expiring before they can be acted on (a particular problem when government funding deadlines are in the picture). We replace that with a single named account director, predictable annual licensing, lease-based hardware refresh, and a single consolidated invoice across all services.
Below is how each pillar applies to a school, multi-academy trust, college or university.
Proactive defence against the threats that target your data, pupils, and staff. Cyber Essentials, SOC-as-a-Service, human risk management, incident response, aligned to DfE digital standards, NCSC guidance, and safeguarding obligations.
Ensuring your school or college can continue teaching when systems, sites, or staff are disrupted. Disaster recovery planning, backup-as-a-service, cyber incident exercising, business continuity assessment.
Modern, scalable infrastructure that reduces cost and complexity. Cloud assessment, migration, cost optimisation, multi-site consolidation, datacentre and server refresh, virtualisation.
Proactive, always-on management that keeps your IT running smoothly. 24/7 UK-based service desk, platform management, single-supplier accountability, cover for in-house IT teams during term-time and exam periods.
Fast, reliable, secure connections between every site, classroom, office, and remote user. Network design, DfE Connect the Classroom delivery, WiFi for thousands of simultaneous devices, secure remote access, SD-WAN.
Modern devices, platforms, and AI tools that empower your staff and students to do their best work. Microsoft 365 for Education, Microsoft Modern Management, device deployment for staff and pupils, Copilot.
Industry: Education/multi-academy trust
Size: 254 employees
Location: 5 sites across Blackburn & Acrington
Client since: 2020
LET Education Trust is a cross-phase multi-academy trust bringing together four schools across Blackburn and Accrington. In a sector where tight budgets, government funding deadlines and the safeguarding of pupil data demand reliable technology, the trust needed an IT partner capable of delivering at pace and being there when it mattered.
– DfE Connect the Classroom programme delivered on time and within the government funding window
– Server refresh across four sites, moving from physical to VMware virtual environments, including own-datacentre build with switches, routers, backup hardware, patch panels and fibre links
– Network overhaul at the secondary school site: 20+ switches, three core switches, 100Gbps backbone, Cat6 cabling, 10Gbps feeds to every WiFi 6 access point
– Ongoing procurement of hardware, software and systems across the trust
110 classrooms and 40 offices connected across five sites, delivered on time and within the government funding window. Network uptime now runs at 99.6% across the year. The server and network refresh proceeded without disruption to the trust’s schools. Highgate also introduced LET to iQuila for secure remote access, a solution that has since gone on to win industry recognition. The trust continues to work with Highgate across ongoing procurement and infrastructure.
'These projects would not have been possible without the support of Mike and Highgate. I couldn’t do my job without them.'
David Hazari
Director of IT & Operations at LET Education Trust
'Highgate have a proven track record of supplying the college with vendor agnostic solutions. Whichever solution we require or when we specify a particular vendor, Highgate facilitate this for us. It is this personal touch that makes Highgate stand out as a supplier and reassures us they have the college’s best interests at heart.’
ICT Network Manager
Cardinal Newman College
A 30-minute call to understand your current IT setup, term-time delivery windows, and any government-funded programmes already in motion. We will come back with a quote and some initial ideas on where we can help
