Questions and answers

No. School MDM is an independent guide. We don’t sell, set up or run device management, and we aren’t connected with Apple, Google, Microsoft, any MDM vendor or any business with a similar name. We explain how school device management works, using the vendors’ own documentation and DfE guidance, and we link to classroom kit on Amazon.co.uk.

Mobile device management: a service that lets IT support set up, configure, update and secure devices from one central console, and lock or wipe them remotely. See What MDM is, and why schools use it.

The DfE standard for laptops, desktops and tablets says devices should be centrally managed by IT support and that mobile and portable devices “should have mobile device management to minimise safeguarding and security risks”. The DfE standards describe its recommended approach. Separately, Keeping children safe in education is statutory guidance that schools in England must have regard to, and it expects appropriate filtering and monitoring on school devices — which MDM usually helps to deliver. See The DfE standards and KCSIE.

No. Apple describes Apple School Manager as a web portal that works with your external device management service. It handles device enrolment, Managed Apple Accounts and buying apps in volume; the MDM applies the settings. See Apple School Manager and MDM, explained.

Google’s help pages say Chromebooks follow the policies you set in the Google Admin console once they are enrolled, and enrolment uses a ChromeOS Education Upgrade (bundled with the device, or bought separately as a perpetual upgrade). Devices must be enrolled before anyone signs in to them. See Managing Chromebooks with the Google Admin console.

Google’s Auto Update policy says ChromeOS devices receive 10 years of updates from the platform release date, and Google publishes an “automatic updates until” date for each model on its Auto Update policy page. Check it before buying and record it in your asset register.

The DfE filtering and monitoring standard says filtering should be active and applied to all school-managed devices, including those taken off site, and that checks should cover school-owned devices even if they are taken home. See Shared or 1:1 devices?.

Release them from your management services, make sure the data is wiped or destroyed, use a recycler that gives WEEE and data destruction certificates, and update your asset register. Our guide Retiring school devices safely goes through each step, and our sister site Green ITAD lists UK IT recycling and ITAD companies.

We don’t list funding schemes unless we can check them on an official source, because schemes change. Ask your local authority or trust, check GOV.UK, and see Paying for devices and MDM for the DfE’s buying routes.

Prices change constantly and we haven’t tested the products ourselves, so we don’t rate or rank them. Facts on each kit page come from the maker’s own page, with the date we checked. Amazon.co.uk shows the current price and sellers.

Links to Amazon.co.uk say so, for example “Search Amazon for this”. Most open an Amazon search rather than one listing, so you can compare versions and sellers. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases; it doesn’t change the price you pay. See the affiliate disclosure.

School MDM is owned by Steven Smith, who runs a small group of independent UK guide websites. See About School MDM. Spotted a mistake? Email hello@schoolmdm.co.uk.