CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY
Why connectivity and resilient networks are the foundation for modern education
Education Today hears from MARK CUNNINGHAM, Head of Public Sector at TalkTalk Business.
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n today’s classrooms, connectivity is as critical as electricity or heating. Every lesson, assessment and safeguarding system depends on reliable access to digital platforms. This means when networks falter, learning stalls and valuable teaching time is lost.
HConnectivity is what teachers and pupils experience in the classroom. Behind it sits the network infrastructure – wireless access points, switching, security and full fibre and much more – that makes digital learning possible. In modern education, that infrastructure is no longer simply an IT concern, it underpins teaching continuity, operational efficiency and critically, safeguarding. Reliability ensures systems perform consistently under normal conditions. Resilience goes further. It means having redundancy, automatic failover capability and rapid recovery processes in place so lessons, assessments and safeguarding systems continue operating, even when something goes wrong. For schools and Multi Academy Trusts (MATs), that distinction matters.
Recognising this, the Department for Education (DfE) has placed connectivity, security and network standards at the centre of its digital
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and technology expectations for schools. For trust leaders and headteachers, this is not just guidance; it increasingly shapes funding decisions, compliance expectations and long-term estate planning.
Initiatives such as Connect the Classroom have provided targeted support to upgrade school infrastructure, enabling high-capacity wireless and robust internet access. With additional funding expected for Connect the Classroom in 2026-2027, trusts have a strategic window to modernise their estates and build future-ready foundations.
For MAT leaders, the priority is to build networks that are capable, reliable and resilient, ready to support growing device numbers, cloud adoption and evolving safeguarding requirements across every site.
Why connectivity matters
Technology is firmly embedded in the modern classroom, yet the latest Connect the Classroom report highlights a persistent gap between digital ambition and infrastructure readiness The consequences are tangible. Whole-school logins can fail during morning registration. Cloud- based MIS platforms can slow at peak reporting
March 2026
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