From strategy to impact: Building better access totechnology

How long-term strategic planning helped pupils get better access to digital learning at Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT)

Ormiston Academies Trust is one of the oldest, largest and most established multi academy trusts in England, educating over 35,000 pupils across 44 academies. Their vision is simple but powerful: a school system where every child can thrive. Working to deliver excellent learning opportunities, both inside and outside the classroom - that enrich lives and open doors to future choice and opportunity.

Laying the foundations 

As the Trust grows and welcomes new schools, a challenge it faces is the disparity of ICT environments and management providers. The Trust’s leadership recognised the need for a flexible ICT solution that could be easily adopted and scaled to improve student learning experiences. In 2018, our partnership with the Trust began. We provided an ICT framework that offered every school the opportunity to procure hardware, software, managed services, and project support to meet their local needs and budgets. By collaborating with the Trust, we were able to provide extra technical support and guidance when needed – allowing the teachers to focus on innovation within the classroom and improve student learning outcomes.

Expanding connectivity 

While the framework provided the schools with a structured procurement process, large-scale infrastructure updates such as network upgrades required more funding. In 2023, we were brought in to support upgrades across 20 of the Trust’s academies, helping transform their wireless and network infrastructure as part of the Department for Education’s (DfE) Connect the Classroom initiative. To access funding, the project needed to be implemented, approved and invoiced within a short timeframe. To stay on schedule, upgrades at some academies had to be completed outside of school hours – including weekends and school holidays – to avoid disruptions to day-to-day activities. 

We worked closely with the Trust’s leadership to identify what upgrades each academy needed, installing Wi-Fi connectivity as well as new core and edge switches where required – in compliance with the DfE’s requirements.

Transforming digital learning

Our partnership with OAT has ensured long-term impact by: 

• Putting a scalable ICT framework in place, so each school can make faster, more confident technology decisions that suit their specific needs and budget.
• Helping leadership bring the Trust’s ICT vision to life, with a solution they know works and can be relied on.
• Freeing up teachers and support staff to focus on what they do best – teaching- instead of dealing with slow systems and technology issues.
• Making day-to-day learning more interactive by placing fast and reliable technology in the hands of students.
• Lowering operational costs with cloud services and better connectivity allowing schools to go paperless and phase out old hardware.

Conclusion 

Our partnership with Ormiston Academies Trust is not just about upgrading Wi-Fi or improving procurement – it is about helping the Trust’s academies plan smarter, invest more confidently, build better digital environments, and improve student learning outcomes. By putting a clear framework in place and supporting the Trust through the Connect the Classroom initiative: 

• Pupils now have better access to the digital tools they need.
• Teachers are benefitting from more reliable systems.

• Leadership teams are more equipped to make better informed decisions.

   

Are you looking to build impactful digital learning experiences? We can help. Contact us by emailing information@entrust-ed.co.uk