Connect the Classroom 2026: What Schools Need to Know About DfE Network Upgrade Funding

What is Connect the Classroom 2026?

Connect the Classroom is a Department for Education programme designed to improve connectivity in schools by upgrading wireless access points and network switches.

The current extension provides £325 million of funding across the 2025 to 2030 financial years and applies to eligible schools in England.

The programme should not simply be viewed as an opportunity to replace old Wi-Fi equipment.

A school’s wireless network now supports far more than internet browsing. It may need to accommodate staff laptops, pupil devices, cloud applications, teaching platforms, safeguarding systems, audiovisual technology, communications and centrally managed digital services, often with hundreds or thousands of connections being made throughout a normal school day.

That means the performance of the wireless network is closely related to the infrastructure underneath it.

A modern wireless access point can still be restricted by an ageing switch, unsuitable cabling, poor network design or inadequate capacity elsewhere in the environment.

For that reason, Connect the Classroom should be approached as a network infrastructure project, rather than simply as a hardware purchase.

How does the £325 million Connect the Classroom funding work?

The £325 million is the total amount being made available across the 2025 to 2030 financial years.

It should not be interpreted as a general fund that every school can access for an amount of its choosing.

Under the currently published Department for Education guidance, schools receiving targeted intervention through the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence programme, usually shortened to RISE, can be eligible for Connect the Classroom.

Eligible schools are contacted directly by the DfE and receive funding where their connectivity falls below the required Wi-Fi standards.

That distinction is important.

Being aware of the programme, or even being involved with RISE, should not automatically be interpreted as confirmation that a particular allocation has been awarded.

Schools should therefore work from their own communication with the Department for Education when determining their position.

Once an eligible school reaches the stage where an infrastructure project needs to be defined, the emphasis moves away from eligibility and towards understanding what should actually be delivered with the funding available.

That is where technical assessment and careful planning become important.

What does RISE have to do with Connect the Classroom?

RISE stands for Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence.

The targeted intervention element of RISE provides support to eligible schools requiring improvement. In July 2026, the DfE reported that 458 schools had engaged nationally with targeted RISE intervention, with schools able to enter or leave eligibility as circumstances and inspection outcomes change.

Connect the Classroom has been aligned with this targeted intervention.

Under the current published criteria, schools receiving targeted RISE intervention may receive Connect the Classroom support where their connectivity falls below the required standards and they are contacted by the Department for Education.

This does not mean that networking infrastructure alone determines educational performance.

It does recognise, however, that dependable digital infrastructure has become an important foundation for teaching, administration, safeguarding and the wider use of technology.

A school can invest heavily in devices and digital learning services, but if teachers and pupils cannot depend on the network underneath them, the value of that technology is restricted.

Do schools need to apply for Connect the Classroom funding?

Under the current DfE guidance, eligible schools are contacted directly by the Department for Education.

Schools should therefore be cautious about assuming that a third party can simply submit an application and secure Connect the Classroom funding on their behalf.

For a school that has already been contacted, a more useful question is:

What should we do next?

Before requesting equipment prices, it is sensible to understand the existing environment.

That can include wireless coverage, the age and support status of access points and switches, network capacity, cabling, high-density areas, expected device numbers, known performance problems and security requirements.

A quote based on a properly understood technical requirement is very different from a list of products selected because they happen to fit within an available budget.

What can Connect the Classroom funding be used for?

The DfE describes Connect the Classroom as a programme for improving connectivity through wireless access points and network switches.

Schools are responsible for procuring their own supplier, while the work delivered through the programme must meet the Department for Education’s specifications.

This means schools should distinguish between what sits within the funded project and other technology improvements they may also wish to make.

A broader infrastructure assessment may identify servers, security appliances, cabling, broadband or other technology that would benefit from improvement, but that does not necessarily mean every identified item belongs within Connect the Classroom funding.

This is where having a clear scope matters.

The objective should be to identify what the funded requirement needs, understand any infrastructure dependencies and separate those from desirable improvements that can be planned through another budget or a longer-term technology roadmap.

Schools reviewing their infrastructure can also explore Qual’s networking equipment capabilities when considering the wider technology required to build and maintain a reliable network.

The important point, however, is that the requirement should determine the equipment — not the other way around.

Does Connect the Classroom mean a school has to replace everything?

No.

This is one of the most important principles when considering how an available technology budget should be used.

The DfE’s current wireless standard says schools should meet the new standard when they need to upgrade an underperforming or unsupported solution.

The same principle applies to network switching.

That is very different from saying that every piece of functioning infrastructure needs replacing simply because newer technology is available.

Assessment should therefore come before replacement.

Some schools may find that much of their current wireless or switching environment has reached the point where an upgrade is appropriate.

Others may discover that some infrastructure remains capable, supported and suitable.

Understanding the difference can prevent unnecessary spending and allow more of the available funding to be directed towards genuine weaknesses in the network.

Does a school now need Wi-Fi 7?

This is particularly important in 2026.

The Department for Education updated its wireless network standard in April 2026 to introduce Wi-Fi 7, technically IEEE 802.11be, as the minimum standard when a wireless upgrade is required.

There is an important distinction here.

The guidance does not mean that every school in England must immediately remove an existing functioning wireless network and replace it with Wi-Fi 7.

The DfE says schools should meet the standard when an existing solution is underperforming or unsupported and an upgrade is required.

When that upgrade takes place, the proposed wireless solution should meet the current Wi-Fi 7 requirement.

For schools now planning a Connect the Classroom project, this makes it particularly important that quotations and technical specifications are based on the current standards rather than requirements that may have applied to projects designed several years earlier.

What does Wi-Fi 7 mean for a school in practice?

Wi-Fi 7 should not simply be viewed as a bigger number on the specification sheet of an access point.

The objective is to create a wireless environment capable of supporting the number of users, devices and applications the school needs to operate concurrently.

The DfE’s wireless guidance covers matters including performance, coverage, central management, security, authentication and network segregation.

That means schools need to think about their environment rather than simply count access points.

A busy secondary-school classroom where every pupil has a connected device creates a very different requirement from an office used by a small number of staff.

Likewise, an older school with thick walls, separate buildings or unusual construction may require a different design from a compact modern building.

Wireless planning should therefore consider where people actually use technology, the number of devices expected in each area, coverage requirements and how the environment itself could affect performance.

The design should follow the school.

If we upgrade Wi-Fi, do the network switches matter?

Very much so.

Upgrading wireless technology can expose limitations elsewhere in an existing network.

The DfE specifically advises schools to consider the network interface speeds of proposed wireless access points and highlights network switches and cabling as dependencies that can affect wireless performance.

Installing capable new wireless equipment while retaining a switching layer that cannot properly support it can simply move the network bottleneck somewhere else.

Current DfE switching standards also cover matters such as performance, central management, security, resilience, Power over Ethernet and continued firmware and security support.

The guidance states that switches should include manufacturer warranty and support arrangements providing at least five years of cover, including relevant software and firmware updates.

It also says equipment that can no longer receive firmware and security updates should be replaced.

For a Connect the Classroom project, wireless and switching should therefore be considered together rather than treated as unrelated purchases.

Could the school’s existing cabling affect the upgrade?

Yes.

Cabling can easily be overlooked because much of it is hidden behind walls, ceilings and cabinets and may have been installed long before the current wireless environment existed.

The DfE recommends Category 6A for new copper cabling installations and highlights the importance of cabling quality and specification to overall network performance.

The guidance also specifically says schools should consider their cabling when upgrading the wireless network.

That does not mean every cable must automatically be replaced during a Connect the Classroom project.

It means the cabling supporting the proposed infrastructure needs to be understood.

If an access point, switch or uplink is capable of substantially more performance than the connection supporting it, money invested in newer equipment may not produce the expected result.

Reviewing these dependencies before finalising equipment quantities and costings can help avoid finding them halfway through an installation.

What security requirements should schools think about?

Better connectivity cannot be separated from network security.

A school network may need to provide access for pupils, teachers, administrative staff, visitors, contractors and IT support personnel.

Those groups do not necessarily require the same level of access to the same systems.

The DfE wireless standard covers controls including secure authentication, network segregation, secure guest access and protection against unauthorised access.

Its technical guidance refers to measures that can include VLANs, access control lists, WPA3, certificate-based authentication and multi-factor authentication for privileged users and technical support personnel.

The network switching standard similarly includes requirements relating to secure management, access control and protection of the infrastructure.

A funded network upgrade can therefore be an opportunity to consider not only whether the network is fast enough, but whether its structure still reflects how the school operates and how different users should be accessing it.

What should a school review before asking suppliers for quotes?

A useful starting point is an accurate picture of the current network.

Schools should understand what access points and switches they already have, their age and support status, known coverage problems, device numbers, high-density locations, cabling and fibre infrastructure, network management arrangements and any recurring performance or security issues.

It is also sensible to think beyond today’s requirement.

Are pupil device numbers expected to increase? Is the school moving more services to the cloud? Are new teaching spaces being created? Is more audiovisual technology being deployed? Are there planned building works? Does a multi-academy trust want to introduce greater consistency between its schools?

An infrastructure project that only considers the minimum requirement today may create another constraint surprisingly quickly.

Schools carrying out a broader technology review may also find our education IT checklist useful for identifying other areas of the environment that should be considered as part of longer-term planning.

How should schools decide where to spend the available funding?

Start with the requirement, not the size of the allocation.

Rather than asking:

“We have this amount available — what can we buy?”

the better question is:

“What does the school actually need to deliver the required network outcome?”

That change in thinking matters.

Department for Education design work published in June 2026 looked at the information and quotation process surrounding Connect the Classroom.

During its discovery work, the DfE found that 70% of cost matrices received were incorrect, with an average acceptance time of 108 days.

The research identified issues including incorrect information, requirements being omitted, items being quoted outside the required scope and communication difficulties between the different parties involved.

The DfE was subsequently exploring whether a more structured digital information exchange between schools and suppliers could reduce errors and delays.

For schools, the underlying lesson is straightforward.

Accurate scoping matters.

An infrastructure supplier should be able to help a school understand what is required, identify technical dependencies, establish appropriate quantities and produce a clear proposal that can be understood and checked.

The aim should not be to consume a budget.

It should be to use the available funding to deliver the right outcome.

Can a supplier help with the Connect the Classroom process?

Yes, but the roles should remain clear.

The school remains responsible for its procurement and its relationship with the Department for Education.

A technology partner can, however, help with much of the technical work involved in turning the requirement into something practical.

That can include reviewing the existing environment, identifying gaps, helping interpret the relevant technical standards, designing the proposed infrastructure, confirming equipment requirements, identifying dependencies and producing accurate cost information.

For schools without specialist networking expertise internally, having that support can make a complex process easier to manage.

A good technology partner should make the project easier for the school to understand.

It should not make the school less involved in the decisions.

Do schools have to use a particular networking manufacturer?

The published Connect the Classroom guidance does not require schools to use one specific networking manufacturer.

The DfE states that schools are responsible for procuring their own supplier and that the work must meet its specifications.

The technical requirement should therefore come first.

Schools should be able to understand why a particular solution has been proposed, how it satisfies the relevant standards, how it fits with existing infrastructure and what support will be available once the project is complete.

That is why equipment should be selected to meet the school’s requirement rather than the requirement being changed to suit a particular product.

What should schools expect from a network proposal?

A credible network proposal should provide more information than a list of part numbers and a final price.

The school should be able to see what is being proposed, which existing equipment is being replaced, what is remaining in place, how the design addresses performance and coverage, and whether there are dependencies involving switching, cabling or other infrastructure.

It should also explain relevant management, security, licensing, warranty and support requirements.

Where something has been identified as important but is outside the funded scope, that should be made clear as well.

Discovering an additional requirement at planning stage is generally much easier to manage than discovering it during installation.

The same applies to ongoing costs.

Schools should understand whether licences, subscriptions, support contracts or management platforms form part of the proposed solution and what happens when those initial arrangements expire.

What if the available funding does not cover everything the school wants to improve?

This is where prioritisation and longer-term planning become useful.

A network assessment may identify several improvements that would benefit the school, but not everything necessarily belongs within the funded Connect the Classroom project.

The first task is to identify what is required for the project itself and which infrastructure dependencies need to be addressed for it to work correctly.

Other desirable improvements can then be separated into a future technology roadmap rather than being allowed to complicate the immediate funded requirement.

For a multi-academy trust, this can be particularly useful.

Even if only certain schools are currently receiving support, the work can help establish standards and design principles that the trust may choose to adopt more widely over time.

The important thing is to make those decisions deliberately.

How should schools plan the installation?

A technically sound network design can still create unnecessary disruption if the deployment is poorly planned.

Schools rely on connectivity for teaching, administration, communications, safeguarding and access to cloud systems.

Simply taking the network offline without considering those dependencies is rarely practical.

The Department for Education’s evaluation of the previous phase of Connect the Classroom found that 76% of participating schools surveyed were satisfied with the process. Installation was often arranged outside teaching or normal working hours to minimise disruption.

The same research also found that some schools encountered challenges involving installation time, logistical delays, communication and staff capacity.

That means deployment planning deserves attention alongside technical design.

Schools and suppliers should understand installation dates, access to buildings, equipment availability, configuration work, testing requirements and who needs to be available from the school or trust during the change.

Larger and more complex sites may require a phased approach rather than attempting everything at once.

Does better school connectivity actually make a difference?

Evidence from the earlier Connect the Classroom programme suggests that it can.

In the DfE’s 2026 evaluation, satisfaction with internet connection speed among matched respondents increased from 61% before the intervention to 91% afterwards.

Satisfaction with reliability increased from 60% to 91%.

The evaluation also found improvements in connectivity across school estates and reductions in internet blackspots.

For teachers and pupils, those improvements may not always feel like a major technology project once the work has been completed — and that is arguably the point.

A dependable network should become something people can rely upon without continually thinking about it.

Teachers should not need to know which corner of a classroom has the strongest signal. Pupils should not regularly lose access to digital learning resources because of wireless blackspots. IT teams should be able to manage and monitor the environment effectively.

The network becomes the foundation that allows other technology to work properly.

What should a school do if the DfE has already contacted them?

Avoid beginning with a product catalogue.

Start by understanding the communication from the Department for Education and what the school needs to achieve.

Then establish the condition of the existing network.

Identify the areas that are underperforming, unsupported or unable to meet the current standards. Review switching, cabling and other dependencies. Understand device numbers and coverage requirements. Establish what can remain and what genuinely needs replacing.

From there, a technical specification can be created and meaningful procurement can begin.

For schools without specialist internal networking expertise, bringing an experienced technology partner into this stage can be valuable.

The partner can help translate technical standards into a practical design, identify issues that might otherwise be missed, provide appropriate costings and plan the deployment around the needs of the school.

Qual’s IT solutions for education are designed to support schools and trusts with the technology, infrastructure and expertise required to build secure and dependable IT environments.

What if our school has not been contacted?

Not receiving Connect the Classroom funding does not mean a school should ignore the condition of its network.

The Department for Education says schools and colleges should be working towards meeting six core digital and technology standards by 2030.

These cover broadband internet, wireless networking, network switching, digital leadership and governance, filtering and monitoring, and cyber security.

The DfE also provides its Plan technology for your school service, which allows schools and trusts to complete self-assessments, receive recommendations and track their progress against the standards.

For multi-academy trusts, the service can also be used to complete and submit self-assessments for more than one school.

Understanding the condition of the network now can help a school identify ageing infrastructure, budget more effectively and develop a technology roadmap before equipment becomes unsupported or starts to fail.

Planned investment is usually easier to manage than an emergency replacement.

Turning Connect the Classroom funding into the right network outcome

The £325 million headline understandably attracts attention to Connect the Classroom 2026.

For an individual school, however, the most important part begins when there is a real requirement and decisions need to be made.

A successful network upgrade involves more than purchasing compliant hardware.

It requires an understanding of the existing environment, the current DfE standards, what actually needs replacing, accurate quantities and costs, appropriate infrastructure, realistic installation planning and ongoing support once the new environment is operational.

This is where a technology partner can add value without taking decision-making away from the school.

Qual Limited can help schools review existing wireless and switching infrastructure, understand technical requirements, scope appropriate improvements, prepare quotations, support the procurement process, plan deployment and provide ongoing technical support after implementation.

The objective is not to spend funding simply because it is available.

It is to help the school use the opportunity to create a secure, reliable and manageable network that continues to support teaching and technology after the funded project has finished.

Has your school been contacted about Connect the Classroom?

If your school has received Connect the Classroom correspondence and you need help understanding what your existing infrastructure requires, Qual Limited can help you work through the technical side of the project.

From reviewing wireless and switching infrastructure through to scoping, quotation, deployment planning and ongoing support, we can help turn the requirement into a practical network project.

Speak to Qual about your school’s Connect the Classroom network requirements.