Over the last 12 months LGfL has been working closely with schools and education leaders to build a new generation of cloud based digital services that provide fantastic value, keep children safe and support innovation in schools.
As a result of this collaboration we are delighted to announce a positive and fundamental refresh of the LGfL subscription. For schools the changes mean that a number of new market leading products are now available at no additional cost and form part of the LGfL subscription. Further products will be added shortly which will help schools save even more money.
The products we’ve added to the LGfL subscription focus on providing additional layers of defence against cybersecurity threats, support GDPR compliance along with innovation within the curriculum. They are also products that schools have asked LGfL to provide as a priority and I’m pleased that we’ve been able to deliver.
If a school makes use of all the market leading products that are being added to the LGfL subscription, we estimate that a secondary school will save around an additional £13,000 per annum and a primary school around a further £5,000 per annum. This saving is over and above the bundle the school already receives (including web filtering, internet access, curriculum content etc.) and reinforces our commitment to ensuring we are providing the safest and most secure environment for teaching and learning. These savings have been delivered by our new LGfL procurement team called “SmartBuy” which has specialist skills to secure the best prices from bulk buying. We estimate that this team has already saved London schools over £5M this year.
LGfL SUBSCRIPTION REFRESH
The products that LGfL has added to the LGfL subscription are:-
- Meraki Mobile Device Management - enables secure management and control of all school devices (including PCs) as well as providing features such as the remote deletion of data (a GDPR requirement). Product details can be found here. Up to 700 free licences can be claimed by secondary schools and 300 by primary schools. To claim your licences please send an email to merakimdm@lgfl.net
- Sophos Intercept X - provides sophisticated protection for private and sensitive data ensuring schools don’t suffer ransomware attacks or lockouts. Product details can be found here. To claim your licence please contact the LGfL Helpdesk on 020 82 555555
- MalwareBytes - finds and removes malware from devices. In some schools, up to 80% of devices have been found to be infected with malware which this software has eradicated. Product details can be found here. To claim your licence please send an email to malwarebytes@lgfl.net
- Sophos Server Advance – delivers added security protection for servers. Product details can be found here. To claim your licence please send an email to SophosAdvance@lgfl.net
- CloudReady /Neverware (from the end of July 2018) - enables old laptops to be used as functioning Chromebooks. Up to 100 subscriptions can be claimed by secondary schools and 30 by primary schools. Schools, will, however, need to purchase an associate Chrome Management Licence for each CloudReady device. Product details can be found here. To claim your licences please send an email to neverware@lgfl.net
- J2E – Access to the latest version of this award-winning curriculum software. This is a site licence for the whole school;From September 2018 the following products will be added to the LGfL subscription:-
- Egress Switch – ensures secure and encrypted messaging and GDPR compliance for schools sending personal and confidential data. Each secondary school will be able to claim up to 15 licences and each primary school 5 licences. Product details can be found here. To claim your licences please send an email to Egress@lgfl.net
- Sophos Anti Phish - enables schools to request tests that will establish whether staff recognise phishing emails. Product details can be found here. To claim your licence please send an email to SophosPhish@lgfl.net
- Busythings Update – Our most popular curriculum software for primary and SEND schools will be updated to the latest version, accessible from all devices.
IMPROVING EXISTING PACKAGES
Alongside new products we are investing and updating the core LGfL services including web filtering (WebScreen), the Support Site (to make it more user friendly) as well as investing to increase the resilience and capacity of our dedicated education network. We have recently provisioned Soft OTP which has made USO easier to use. WebScreen, as part of LGfL’s CyberProtect strategy is being upgraded to make filtering more intuitive as well as allowing schools, MATS, Federations & Faith Schools to develop appropriate bespoke filtering policies. Improvements are planned for Remote Access to make it easier for staff to access date securely across sites and from home and we are upgrading LGfL VoIP interface to make the system more intuitive and improving ease of use.
These are exciting times for education and LGfL is determined to bring you the very best in digital innovation at a great price.
John Jackson CEO LGfL