Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust Network Infrastructure Upgrade

Dartmoor Multi-Academy Trust strategic aim is to improve its services across 17 educational institutions, to achieve the guidelines set by the Department for Education (DfE). The initiative was prompted by the critical need for a resilient, secure, and high-performing digital infrastructure to support the Trust’s educational objectives.

NGC Networks, in collaboration with Transformative were commissioned to undertake an audit of the Switch Level Network for each school and propose an action plan to deliver the improvements needed to deliver the project outcomes.

Whilst the Trust’s aim is to deliver the improvements at all schools, this is likely to take a number of years over a phased approach due to the costs involved.

Therefore, the Trust have initially prioritised works to be completed at the following two sites, with the tender being published by the end of the Spring Term 2025, with the works to be delivered during the summer holidays 2025.

Contractors are referred to the following that provides the DfE guidance that was used in the audit of IT infrastructure at each school site to identify the required standards and improvements: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges

A programme of AD surveys is being undertaken at all schools during the Easter holidays, with any required asbestos removal works being programmed in for the first two weeks of the summer holidays. Until these surveys are available, the impact of these works won’t be fully known.

The current plan is to schedule in the IT infrastructure works for the remaining four weeks of the summer holidays. This timescale may be able to be extended if the IT infrastructure can be organised around the asbestos removal, for example, Okehampton has separate buildings on site. Or, if minimal or no asbestos removal is needed.

The programme can be extended into future holiday periods to complete the works, but the Schools must be left fully operational in the interim.

The current plan also needs to factor in the need to keep both colleges operational during the summer holidays due to central staff working, lettings and the management of exam results.

There is a virtual Q&A on the 22nd April at 11am

There are site visits, on Wednesday 16th April at Okehampton College and Thursday 17th April at Holsworthy College.

Tenderers who wish to participate are requested to register for the virtual Q&A and/or the site visits via the tendering portal.