21 Sep Why schools are switching to pfSense for network security
Why schools are switching to pfSense for network security
Learn how schools and Multi-Academy Trusts are adopting pfSense to improve security, meet DfE standards, and make budgets go further, with IT & General guiding a smooth, disruption-free rollout.
At glance
- Stay DfE compliant
- Scale up without breaking budgets
- Peace-of-mind maintenance
- Trust-wide rollout made simple
The reality for school IT teams
It’s 7:45 on a Monday. Before you’ve even had your first coffee, the head is on the phone, the admin team can’t get into the MIS, and several classrooms are offline. You are already juggling DfE cybersecurity compliance, tight budgets, and the pressure to keep hundreds of devices secure and connected.
On top of that, your current firewall is reaching end of life and the renewal costs for its licence are astronomical. Do you pay the vendor and lock yourself in for another cycle, or look for a smarter way forward?
That’s why more schools and Multi Academy Trusts are switching to pfSense, a flexible, enterprise grade firewall platform that can be rolled out gradually, tailored to existing hardware, and scaled across a trust without costly licence lock ins.
How pfSense usually starts in education
Adoption often begins with a single motivated network manager. Maybe a campus needs a reliable VPN for remote staff, or a firewall is reaching end of life. pfSense can be rolled out quickly on existing hardware, giving IT teams direct control without being tied into vendor licence restrictions.
The impact is immediate: stronger stability, advanced features, and fewer support tickets. Word spreads across the trust, and soon the question becomes: “How do we standardise this across every site?”
Start fast
Deploy pilots in days using existing hardware or a small appliance.
Harden security
Firewall, VPN, IDS/IPS and web filtering reduce risk and downtime.
Scale trust-wide
Move to pfSense Plus for multi-site performance and support SLAs.
Why it resonates with school IT leaders
Strong security
No costly licence lock-ins. Full control over policy and updates.
Flexible deployment
Run on existing hardware or dedicated Netgate appliances.
Enterprise features
Advanced VPN, VLANs, traffic shaping, IDS/IPS, HA and more.
Cost effective
Start small at one site and scale when budgets allow.
What you get with IT & General
Discovery and design
We map your current setup, risks, and DfE-aligned controls, then plan phased rollouts to avoid lesson disruption. Pilot and Proof of Value
Pilot and proof of value
Start on one site to demonstrate stability, filtering, VPN, and ticket reduction before scaling.
Trust-wide standardisation
Templates, central policies, and monitoring to make operations predictable and cost effective across campuses.
Support and training
Knowledge transfer for your team plus escalation paths and incident response playbooks.
Results schools typically see
Fewer tickets
Stability and better filtering reduce classroom disruptions.
Compliance ready
Controls that support DfE and GDPR requirements
Higher performance
Traffic shaping and HA keep teaching tools responsive
Better value
Avoid proprietary lock-in and scale when budgets allow
FAQs
We plan phased cutovers outside teaching hours and test traffic, content filtering, and VPN access ahead of go live to avoid lesson downtime.
pfSense provides technical controls such as network segmentation, audit logging, and access policies. With pfSense Plus SLAs and our documentation, you can evidence controls more easily.
No. Start with one or two campuses, then standardise across the trust when budgets and resources allow.
Next Steps
1. Free Assessment
Share your current setup and goals. We identify quick wins and risks.
2. Pilot Rollout
Prove stability and filtering at one site with minimal disruption.
3. Trust-wide Plan
Standardise policies, monitoring, and support across all campuses.