Digital Maturity Assessment
Digital maturity report for an example secondary school
Overall stage: Embedded
- 1Emerging
- 2Developing
- 3Embedded
- 4Leading
Strongest on strategy, infrastructure and evaluation, and thinnest on AI, teaching and staff development.
The school has a strategy that was reviewed this year, a leader with a budget and a device plan checked against how devices are used, yet every answer about teaching and learning sits at B. The investment has not yet changed what happens in most lessons. AI shows the gap most clearly, because pupils already use it for homework while the school has only an interim statement and parents have not been told its position.
From your answers
- What does your school's digital strategy look like?D Leading
- Who leads digital strategy?D Leading
- How are devices provided and managed?D Leading
- How do teachers decide when to use technology in lessons?B Developing
- How consistent is pupils' experience of technology from class to class?B Developing
- What is your school's written position on AI?B Developing
- How well do parents understand the school's approach to AI?A Emerging
- Your note on AI
The seven areas
A school at the Embedded stage
A written strategy that leaders and governors own, planned training, agreed core tools, safety reviewed each year, and a yearly look at what is working and what is coming next.
- Strategy and governanceEmbedded
A reviewed strategy with its own budget and a costed replacement plan, although the work still leans on a few people.
- Safety, security and dataEmbedded
Filtering and online safety teaching are in place, but new tools reach classrooms without a clear route for checking them, and staff have not been briefed on AI risks.
- Infrastructure and accessEmbedded
Reliable systems and a well reviewed device plan, with staff still working around the learning platform for marks and homework.
- StaffDeveloping
Coaching is a regular part of the year and most staff use the core tools, while training comes in occasional sessions and AI knowledge depends on interest.
- Teaching and learningDeveloping
Technology use is left to each teacher, so pupils meet different routines and different reasons for using devices from class to class.
- AIDeveloping
An interim statement and informal advice, with nothing yet for parents, while pupils are already using AI at home.
- EvaluationEmbedded
Pupils' views, value for money and findings are reviewed and shared, though judging whether technology helps learning still rests on impressions.
Where your answers disagree
The answers describe a small set of agreed platforms used across the school, yet your note says staff keep their own spreadsheets because the learning platform is slow to set up. The agreed platforms may be agreed more on paper than in practice.
From your answers
- Do the main platforms do what staff and pupils need?C Embedded
- Your note on Infrastructure and access
Most staff use the core tools routinely, but pupils' experience still depends on the teacher. Leaders have set an expectation of use without yet agreeing what that use is for.
From your answers
- How routinely do staff use the school's core tools?C Embedded
- How consistent is pupils' experience of technology from class to class?B Developing
- How do teachers decide when to use technology in lessons?B Developing
Two priorities
Turn the interim AI statement into a policy
Pupils already use AI for homework, staff advice varies by department and parents have not been told where the school stands. New tools also reach classrooms without a clear route for checking them, so the gap carries a data protection risk as well as a teaching one.
From your answers
- What is your school's written position on AI?B Developing
- What guidance do staff have on using AI in their own work, such as planning or reports?B Developing
- How well do parents understand the school's approach to AI?A Emerging
- How are new apps and online tools, including AI tools, checked before staff or pupils use them?B Developing
- Your note on AI
What the next level looks like
What is your school's written position on AI?
Where you are, B Developing
An interim statement or staff briefing.
The next level, C Embedded
A full policy for staff and pupils, including what data may go into AI tools.
What you can do
Give the AI working group a deadline of the end of next term and ask it to bring a draft policy to the senior team, covering pupils' homework, staff use and what data must never go into an AI tool. Ask the data protection lead to set one route for approving new tools before the policy is signed off. Decide who will write to parents once it is agreed.
Agree when and why technology is used in lessons
Every teaching and learning answer sits at B, so whether technology helps a lesson depends on the teacher. Training arrives in occasional sessions, which leaves little time to build a shared view of what good use looks like.
From your answers
- How do teachers decide when to use technology in lessons?B Developing
- How consistent is pupils' experience of technology from class to class?B Developing
- How deliberately does the school decide what devices are used for, and when not to use them?B Developing
- How is training in technology planned?B Developing
What the next level looks like
How do teachers decide when to use technology in lessons?
Where you are, B Developing
It varies. Some choose it for a clear purpose, others don't.
The next level, C Embedded
Most teachers can say how a tool helps pupils learn, because leaders have made that the expectation.
What you can do
Ask heads of department to bring one example each of technology that clearly helps pupils learn, and one that does not, to a single meeting this half term. Use what they bring to agree two or three expectations for the whole school. Plan next year's training around those expectations, with time set aside each term instead of occasional sessions.
The first 90 days
- 1
Set the AI working group's deadline and terms of reference, including pupils' homework and staff use.
- Owner
- The deputy head
- A sign it worked
- The group has a date to bring a draft policy to the senior team.
- 2
Agree one route for checking new apps and AI tools before staff or pupils use them.
- Owner
- The data protection lead, with the IT lead
- A sign it worked
- Every tool requested after half term has gone through the same checks.
- 3
Brief all staff on AI safeguarding risks, such as fake images of pupils.
- Owner
- The designated safeguarding lead
- A sign it worked
- The briefing is in the training record and staff know who to tell.
- 4
Hold the heads of department meeting on technology that helps learning.
- Owner
- The deputy head
- A sign it worked
- Two or three written expectations exist that every department has agreed.
- 5
Write to parents setting out the school's position on AI and how to help at home.
- Owner
- The head
- A sign it worked
- The letter has gone out and parents' questions are being collected.
One risk to watch
Too much rests on a few people
A few people carry the digital work informally, and the priorities add to their load. If one of them left during the policy work or the review of lessons, both would stall, so naming a second person for each key system and project is worth doing now.
From your answers
- How much does the work depend on one or two people?B Developing
What this report couldn't see
Who protects the school's systems from cyber attacks, and how often do leaders hear from them?
Safety, security and data. Who could answer: the network manager or business manager.
Taking it further
For your report to governors
- Our self-assessment places the school at the Embedded stage, with strategy and infrastructure strong and AI, teaching and staff development a stage behind.
- This term we will replace the interim AI statement with a full policy for staff and pupils, set one route for approving new tools, and write to parents about our position.
- Governors may wish to ask, at the next meeting, when the AI policy will be ready and how the school will know whether technology is helping pupils learn.
See where your own school stands.
Take the assessment