IT for new school builds and CF25 projects
First time UAT pass, every time.
ICT design, specification, installation and handover for new school builds under the DfE Construction Framework 2025. We work inside the main contractor’s supply chain, engaged from stage two, so the technology is designed into the building rather than added at the end.
Why ICT packages fail at UAT.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is the line-by-line check every system has to pass before a new building is signed off. Bring the ICT partner in too late and the details catch you out. By then the cabling routes are set, the comms room is the wrong size, and the specification doesn’t match what will actually be tested.
01
Delay costs money
A handover that slips means financial penalties, a difficult conversation with the DfE, and in the worst case a school’s worth of children with nowhere to go in September.
02
UAT is line by line
Every item is tested, not just the headlines. Full networking, cabling, Wi-Fi, teaching walls, hall AV, drama studio systems. One line failing is a failure.
03
Not every spec is deliverable
Some designs are written in ways that don’t work, or that leave a different provider unable to deliver profitably. We write designs that are correct from day one.
How we work within CF25.
CF25 is the DfE’s construction framework for education buildings, running from January 2026. It’s a construction framework rather than an IT framework, so the ICT provider sits within the main contractor’s supply chain. That’s where we operate, and it’s why we ask to be in from stage two.
The detail, not the headline
CF25 covers technical performance and functional requirements in far more depth than the previous framework. Providers who aren’t immersed in it miss the nuances, and the nuances are what UAT tests.
Design decisions made without ICT in the room
Small power and data drawings, room data sheets and cable runs all need reviewing against the standards before they’re built, not after. We go through every drawing.
Coordination with everything else
The ICT package has to work with what the M&E teams and the main contractor are installing. Getting that alignment late means rework, and rework means delay.
Six delivery stages.
How the ICT package runs, from first drawings to the day the school opens.
Design and consultancy
Advice, guidance and specification from stage two, with the technical design mapped against DfE standards before anything is built.
Infrastructure and cabling
Structured cabling, fibre backbone, comms and server rooms, network cabinets and cable runs that meet DfE requirements.
Systems and technology
Switching, Wi-Fi design and access point placement, firewalls, network architecture, telephony, CCTV and access control interfaces.
Integration and coordination
Working alongside the main contractor and the wider design team so the ICT package fits everything else going into the building.
Delivery and installation
Specialist teams installing what was designed, with testing and certification as it goes rather than at the end.
Handover & operational readiness
Commissioning, UAT, handover documentation, staff training, and ongoing managed support once the school opens.
Accreditations and qualifications.
Builders find ICT partners through the frameworks and check the credentials before an order is placed. We hold what you need us to hold.
- Constructionline Gold
- CHAS Elite
- ECS and SSSTS qualified engineers, including black hat site supervisors
- Training certification for delivery workshops on site
- Fixed pricing held across long project timelines, so an order placed months before delivery still stands
Talk to us before
the drawings are signed off.
The earlier we’re in, the fewer surprises there are at UAT. Tell us about the project and we’ll tell you
what the ICT package needs to cover.