Many schools are still running on ageing on-premises email servers or a patchwork of disconnected tools that don’t talk to each other properly. Staff send files by email, calendars don’t sync, and accessing anything from home involves a VPN that only works half the time. Sound familiar?
Microsoft 365 Education brings email, file storage, video calls, and shared documents into one place that works from any device. Teams for Education gives staff a proper hub for communication. SharePoint and OneDrive replace the old shared drive on the server. Staff can work from the classroom, the staffroom, or the kitchen table.
Microsoft offers free or heavily discounted licences for eligible UK schools through the Microsoft 365 Education programme, making it a sensible choice financially as well as practically. The shift to cloud-based working over recent years has made this less of a nice-to-have and more of a straightforward operational decision for most schools.
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What a Microsoft 365 Migration Actually Involves
A Microsoft 365 migration means moving your school’s existing emails, files, and user accounts into Microsoft’s cloud platform. Think of it as a carefully managed house move for your data, nothing gets thrown away. It all gets packed up, transported, and put in the right place.
The process typically covers:
- Assessment: Your migration partner reviews your current setup before touching anything.
- Planning: They map out what needs to move, when, and in what order.
- Licence setup: The right Microsoft 365 Education licences are configured for staff and students.
- Mailbox migration: Emails, calendar entries, and contacts move across intact.
- File and document transfer: Existing files move to SharePoint or OneDrive.
- Teams and SharePoint configuration: Channels, shared drives, and permissions are set up properly.
- Testing and go-live: Everything is checked before staff switch over.
When planned properly, most migrations can be done with minimal disruption to the school day. Staff often notice very little change on the day itself.
One practical note: schools typically schedule the cutover during a half-term or holiday window to give the migration team breathing room. Any partner worth working with will plan around your term calendar, not their own convenience.
What to Look for in a Microsoft 365 Migration Partner for UK Schools
Here’s a practical checklist of what actually matters:
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- Education sector experience: Schools have specific requirements around safeguarding, GDPR, and multi-user setups that a generalist provider may not fully understand. Ask directly whether they’ve migrated schools before.
- A named contact for your project: You should know who you’re dealing with. If you’ll be passed to a different person every time you call, that’s a warning sign.
- Plain English communication: If you leave a conversation more confused than when you started, find someone else. A good partner explains things clearly without making you feel out of your depth.
- Post-migration support: Ask what happens after go-live. Do they offer staff training, ongoing IT support, and a proper handover? Or do they disappear once the project is signed off?
- Awareness of school-specific logistics: Term dates, MIS system compatibility, pupil account management at scale. These aren’t generic IT considerations, and your partner should understand them.
- Local presence: Some issues are much easier to sort in person. A partner who can visit your site when needed is worth considering over a purely remote operation.
- Microsoft partner status: Working with a recognised Microsoft partner gives you confidence they’re trained and accredited to deliver Microsoft 365 Education deployments properly.
A good starting point when comparing providers: ask each one to walk you through a school migration they’ve completed recently. Their answer will tell you a lot.
| Criteria | Specialist UK Education Partner | Generic IT Provider / DIY |
|---|---|---|
| Risk of data loss | Low — full backup before migration | Higher — backup may be missed |
| GDPR compliance | Handled as part of the process | Left to the school to verify |
| Staff training | Included or clearly offered | Rarely included |
| Term date planning | Built into the project plan | Not considered |
| Post-migration support | Ongoing, named contact | Project ends at go-live |
Microsoft 365 Licences for UK Schools
Microsoft offers Microsoft 365 Education licences free to eligible UK schools for core features. There are three main tiers: A1 (free, covers the essentials), A3, and A5, with each tier adding more advanced features like enhanced security tools and audio conferencing.
Most schools start with A1, which covers Teams, Exchange email, SharePoint, OneDrive, and the core Office applications. Your migration partner should help you confirm your school’s eligibility and set up the right licence type from the start. If you end up on the wrong tenant type, moving later adds a significant layer of complexity to the project.
A good partner will help you decide what you actually need rather than pushing you toward paid tiers you won’t use.
After the Migration: Training and Ongoing Support
The migration itself is only half the job. Getting staff comfortable with the new platform takes time and proper support. Teachers and admin staff who’ve been using the same system for years won’t automatically know how to use Teams effectively or find their files in SharePoint.
A good partner will offer staff training, either in person or remotely, covering the basics of Teams, OneDrive, and Outlook. Training that’s tailored to how your school actually works is worth far more than a generic walkthrough.
Ongoing IT support after migration means there’s someone to call when something doesn’t work as expected. And something always does. Ask your partner what their support looks like after go-live: response times, how to get in touch, and whether you’ll speak to someone who knows your setup or a generic helpdesk.
How Ava Tech Helps UK Schools with Microsoft 365 Migration
Ava Tech works with schools across London, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, and West Sussex to plan and carry out Microsoft 365 migrations properly. No data loss, minimal disruption to the school day, and plain-English communication throughout.
We assign a named person to your project so you always know who to call. We plan around your term calendar, handle the licence setup, the data migration, and the staff training, and we don’t disappear once the migration is done.
If you’re thinking about moving to Microsoft 365 and want a straightforward conversation about what it would involve for your school, give us a call. We’ll tell you honestly what’s involved, how long it’s likely to take, and whether we’re the right fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Microsoft 365 migration take for a school?
Most school migrations take between two and six weeks from initial assessment to go-live, depending on the size of the school and the complexity of the existing setup. The actual cutover, when staff switch to the new system, typically happens over a weekend or during a holiday period to avoid disruption.
Do we need to migrate during the school holidays?
It’s not always required, but it’s strongly recommended. Scheduling the cutover during a half-term or summer holiday gives the migration team time to resolve any issues without affecting teaching. A partner who understands schools will build this into the plan from the start.
What happens to our existing emails during migration?
Your emails, calendar entries, and contacts all move across to Microsoft 365 intact. Nothing is deleted. A good migration partner will back everything up before starting, so there’s a safety net if anything unexpected comes up during the process.
Does Microsoft 365 Education cost anything for UK schools?
Eligible UK schools can access Microsoft 365 Education A1 licences at no cost. This covers Teams, email, SharePoint, OneDrive, and the core Office applications. Paid tiers (A3 and A5) are available for schools that need additional features, but most schools find A1 covers what they need.
What should I ask a Microsoft 365 migration partner before hiring them?
Ask whether they’ve migrated schools before, who your named contact will be, how they handle data security during the process, what post-migration support looks like, and whether they can plan around your term dates. If any of those questions get a vague answer, keep looking.
What is MIS integration and does it affect migration?
Your MIS (Management Information System) is the software your school uses to manage pupil data, timetables, and records. Some schools need their MIS to connect with Microsoft 365 for features like automatic account provisioning. A migration partner with school experience will flag this early and help you get it set up correctly.
Let’s Talk About Your School’s Migration
Keeping Your Data Safe During the Move
Data loss is the concern schools raise most often. You’re responsible for pupil records, staff information, and sensitive communications. GDPR obligations don’t pause because you’re in the middle of a migration.
A reputable migration partner will always back up your existing data before starting, so there’s a safety net if anything unexpected happens. Emails, calendar entries, contacts, and files should all migrate intact. Nothing should disappear.
One complexity worth knowing about: if your school currently runs on a commercial Microsoft tenant rather than an education tenant, moving to the correct education tenant involves an extra layer of planning. A partner who’s done this before will know how to handle it. One who hasn’t may not even flag it as an issue until something goes wrong.
Your partner should be able to explain clearly how they handle your data during the process and confirm it meets UK data protection requirements. A straight answer to that question is a reasonable thing to expect.