Teach Secondary Issue 14.8

48% of pupils want support from their teachers in helping to identify trustworthy AI content Source: Opinium survey of 2,000 students aged 13 to 18 commissioned by Oxford University Press When you’ve worked in school technology for as long as I have, you start to see patterns. Every few years there’s a newwave of tools promising to ‘transform teaching and learning’ – and every few years, a fresh set of risks come along for the ride. Reading this year’s ‘State of School Cybersecurity 2025’ report (see secureschools.com/ tsosc25), what struck me most wasn’t the statistics themselves – sobering though some of those were – but how clearly they reflect what I see every day across the schools in our trust. Only half of the schools surveyed stated that they have a password policy. Fewer than one in five have someone formally responsible for cybersecurity. Less than 40%have an incident response plan in place. On the face of it, those numbers are worrying, but dig a little deeper and you find that the real story is one about capacity, confidence and culture. RECOGNISABLE PROGRESS In schools, ‘IT’ is timetables, attendance, safeguarding, payroll. When that stops, the learning stops. I’ve seen what happens when a simple mistake is made – an unexpected attachment opened here, a link clicked in haste there. It can result in teachers and pupils being locked out of the systems they rely on. Lessons grind to a halt, staff scramble to find paper registers and the day becomes focused on survival, rather than learning. There are some positive trends too, however. In our trust, we’ve seen teachers become more open to conversations around multi- factor authentication and phishing simulations. They understand that making small security improvements can really matter. The cultural shift that’s seen cybersecurity increasingly become an everyday part of school life is the biggest improvement I’ve seen in the last five years – but cultural changes alone aren’t enough. FALLING SHORT Too often, responsibility for cybersecurity lands on one or two overstretched IT staff. The report found that just 14% of schools have a named individual accountable for their cyber strategy. Compare that with finance, and the gap becomes impossible to ignore. Cybersecurity has to be included in curriculum planning and wellbeing. That means seeing backups not as optional extras, but a safety net that will keep children learning when things go seriously wrong. At Astrea, we’ve learned to focus on small, repeatable habits. We test backups every term, review staff account access every half term and audit admin accounts monthly. These aren’t glamorous tasks, but together, they form the layers of defence that make us resilient. The State of School Cybersecurity report highlights five priorities that align with what’s worked for us: keep systems patched; enable MFA everywhere; test incident plans regularly; assess third-party suppliers carefully; and assign senior-level accountability. If every school did just those five things consistently, we’d cut our collective risk dramatically. THE REASONSWHY... JAMES GARNETT IS IT DIRECTOR AT ASTREA ACADEMY TRUST; FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT ASTREAACADEMYTRUST.ORG ALevels and T Levels will soon be joined by an entirely new post-16 qualification –V-Levels. According to the DfE, the introduction of V Levels is intended to replace some 900 existing vocational qualifications, simplify the post-16 educational landscape and see to it that students can access clearly designated pathways suited to their needs and talents, be they academic, technical or vocational. V Levels have been conceived as a new Level 3 qualification that will provide vocational learning for those students keen to explore different sectors prior to choosing where they wish to specialise. The more technically-oriented T Levels will continue to include an industry placement. The unveiling of V Levels forms part of a broader set of changes to post-16 education, including two new Level 2 pathways for 16- to 18-year-olds – a 2-year, employment-focused ‘Occupational Pathway’ aimed at getting students work-ready, and a ‘Further Study’ pathway pitched as a transitional option for those students wanting to pursue Level 3 studies but needing more time to prepare. The DfE is also set to unveil new English and maths qualifications for 16- to 19-year-olds designed to, as the DfE puts it, “ Act as a positive step towards achieving a GCSE grade 4 or above. ” To further support those users struggling to secure said grades, centres will receive funding to deliver at least a hundred hours of dedicated, in-person teaching per subject each academic year. Further details of the reforms can be found in the govnerment’s recently published ‘Post-16 Education and Skills’ White Paper, available via tinyurl.com/ts148-LL6 CYBERSECURITY IS EVERYONE’S JOB 91 teachwire.net/secondary L E A R N I N G L A B