Standard Network Design

Over the last few months, the NEN has been considering what standards are most appropriate for a modern school network. As technology changes so rapidly these standards need to evolve over time. The expectation is that the NEN will revisit these standards every six months to ensure that they continue to reflect the current state of technology.

As this Guidance needs to work for a wide variety of school networks there are three versions: one each for Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, and Multi-Academy Trusts. These are not hard and fast divisions as, for example, the Secondary guidance may be a better fit for a large Primary. Each document is written for guidance only – they are not prescriptive.

These documents focus on the technical aspects of implementing ICT. Each includes an Executive Summary designed for school leaders to introduce the concept of what is required. This is followed by the technical detail referencing DfE standards documents where they exist.

NEN-MAT-Standard-Network-Design as pdf

NEN-Secondary-Standard-Network-Design as pdf

NEN-Primary-Standard-Network-Design as pdf