Limbrick Consultancy · Technology and AI · Plain-English writing on IT, cyber security, data and AI for school leaders.
On 5 November 2026 Microsoft announced a new set of licences for schools. Nothing changes overnight, and Microsoft has not yet published any prices. But some schools will lose free licences they rely on, every school's shared storage will be worked out differently, and the timing depends on your own renewal date. Now is a good time to find out where you stand, while you still have a full renewal cycle to plan.
A bad workman blames his tools, and the proverb is seven hundred years old. It has never been more useful. Whoever sends the letter owns the letter, whether AI helped or not, and that is where a school AI policy starts.
Many schools assume that once their data is in Microsoft 365, it is fully protected. In reality, Microsoft provides availability, not complete backup. This misunderstanding can leave schools exposed in ways that only become clear when something goes wrong.
IT Managers are often said to “own the risk”. But when things go wrong, it's rarely them who feel the consequences. This piece explores why risk in IT isn't just a technical responsibility—and why communicating it clearly is a fundamental part of the role.
For years, we've focused on producing polished outputs—reports, summaries, and finished documents. But as AI reshapes how information is consumed, those outputs are increasingly becoming raw material. This piece explores the shift towards sharing structured inputs instead—and what that means for how we communicate in schools.
Government funding for school network upgrades is a rare opportunity — but the choices made now will shape reliability, costs and capability for years to come. Here is what leaders need to consider before treating Connect the Classroom as a routine technical project.
Apollo 11's near-miss offers a surprisingly useful lesson for schools: the new DfE IT Support Standards are all about keeping the critical systems steady, prioritised and ready for lift-off.
When an employee was caught spending £188,000 on printer cartridges to sell on eBay, it looked like an old-fashioned case of workplace fraud. But the story says far more about today's digital risks — and how AI is quietly changing the way deception hides in plain sight.
You don't need to be an IT expert to lead IT well — but you do need the confidence to own it. Find out why emus became Australia's most unlikely military opponent — and what that fiasco can teach you about leadership.
