Around 10 years ago I visited a school in which the computers were in a dreadful state. The school’s response was to not bother to renew the equipment on the grounds that it would only get damaged again, so what was the point? I understood their frustration, but in  sense all they did was set in motion a self-fulfilling prophecy. So what should they have done instead?

As is often the case, there were several factors at play. Some could be addressed almost immediately, whereas others required a longer-term approach. In my opinion, the school should have made the following changes.