Thank you for this post and the conversation is has created.

Back in 1993 the IT department I worked in, in the world HQ of a multinational company in the financial sector, took a good look at itself. There followed a year of transition where we totally re-evaluated our position and transformed ourselves from the deliverer and protector of all things IT to a customer focussed support service. The very notion that we all worked for the same company yet could position ourselves as customers and service providers was totally alien to us. By the end of an intense year our whole ethos had evolved from “We can’t do that” to “Is that what the customer asked for?” It was a huge change for our customers too of course, often forcing them to balance quality with timescales and choose between the two.

But we realised it was not viable to continue under the delusion that our position was sacrosanct, the company could outsource the delivery of services any-damn-where it liked. If school food, school cleaning and school maintenance can be put out to tender then I guess IT can too?

I once interviewed for a job in a council’s education IT department. I walked out after 5 minutes. It took me that long to figure out it was not an environment I would be happy working in. It was like stepping through a warp in time back to the 80s.

What’s needed is someone at LA level who has the power to bring education and IT together and who understands how at least one the two works. At the moment it strikes me there’s a left hand, a right hand and a blindfold, two reporting chains that don’t cross paths until it’s too late.