The news that Scottish teachers and students will lose desktop access to “essential Microsoft software” like Word and Outlook when they return for the new school year next month has been hitting the headlines since it was first reported by The Herald. So what is changing - and what will the impact be?
Microsoft Office access: what is changing?
Up to now the Microsoft Office licence held by the Scottish schools intranet Glow - known as A1 Plus - has allowed teachers and pupils to download and/or activate the Microsoft Office suite free of charge. This provided access to a range of products such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Publisher, Access and Outlook.
However, from Thursday 1 August - due to licensing changes from Microsoft - Glow users will no longer be able to download the desktop applications through their Glow account, or use previously downloaded and activated Microsoft desktop apps.
It is important to stress that no documents will be deleted and old documents will be able to be viewed and printed - but it will not be possible to edit them or create new content via the desktop apps.
Teachers and pupils will still be able to access these Microsoft tools online (there is a free web version of Microsoft 365) and via Glow.
Microsoft Teams is not affected, says a Glow blog post about the changes last updated in June.
The post also highlights that Microsoft 365 mobile apps used on devices with screen sizes of under 10.9 inches are not affected.
What will the impact be?
Teachers and students will still have access to Microsoft Office tools, like Word and Outlook, online through Glow - it is the desktop version of the Office 365 apps that is being lost.
Teachers and pupils could also continue to have access to offline or desktop versions of the apps if their local authority has the appropriate licence, but that will depend on the individual council.
The Scottish government says “many local authorities” already have alternative licensing arrangements in place.
It is “working to ensure that provision is in place across the country”, but the government stresses that “local authorities are responsible for the provision of education and any additional IT resources required by them are purchased locally to meet local circumstances”.
However, the government is coming under fire, given that the change to licensing arrangements has been in the offing since August last year.
If teachers and pupils will still have access to Microsoft tools, what’s the problem?
The extent of their access will depend on their council - some might retain the ability to access desktop versions of Word and Outlook if their authority has the right licence, but others will not.
Won’t Glow users still have access through the web?
Yes, but students from disadvantaged households, for instance, might not have internet access at home, which (unless their council is paying for a more sophisticated licence) will mean being unable to work on coursework and assignments out of school.
In school, access should be possible but school wi-fi remains notoriously unreliable - and slow.
Teachers at the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association annual conference in Glasgow in May raised this issue, saying their work continued to be undermined in large parts of Scotland by poor connectivity.
Meanwhile, responding to The Herald story about the licensing changes, one primary teacher said on X (formerly known as Twitter) that having to get a class of pupils logged on to a computer, then logged into Glow and then into Word would “take up half a lesson in itself”.
The same teacher added that online versions of Microsoft tools could be “footery” (fiddly) and harder to use; another teacher said the online versions were “cut down so missing functionality”.
For specific secondary subjects, it is thought the consequences of the change could be more significant.
One teacher said: “The desktop version of Excel is required for students studying Higher Applications of Maths, so if the change goes ahead an important part of the course can’t be practised at home.”
Why is this happening?
Microsoft is “retiring” the Office 365 A1 Plus program - a free Office subscription that includes Office desktop apps - on 1 August. An article about the changes on the Microsoft website states: “A1 users will no longer have access to the Office 365 desktop clients when this change occurs (1 August, 2024) and will need to begin using the Office Web applications included with the Office 365 A1 licence.”
What is being done?
Pam Duncan-Glancy, Scottish Labour’s education spokesperson, has written to education secretary Jenny Gilruth, accusing the government of “significant incompetence” and criticising it for failing to consider or communicate ”the scale of the impact that this change will bring”. She wants to know what the government is doing to “fix” the situation.
Meanwhile, Willie Rennie, the Liberal Democrat education spokesperson, has lodged a parliamentary motion urging the Scottish Parliament to “express serious concern” that “teachers and pupils across Scotland may lose offline access to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint from 1 August 2024”.
Mr Rennie said the last thing schools needed as they headed back for the new academic year was “to lose access to crucial tools for learning”.
Education Scotland manages Glow - what is it saying?
A Education Scotland spokesperson said: “In August 2023 Education Scotland and local authorities were made aware of a global change from Microsoft removing the ability to download free desktop applications via Glow for home or personal use.
“From 1 August 2024 Glow users will continue to have access to Microsoft Office applications online.
“Education Scotland continues to engage with local authorities on this change, supporting local response plans where necessary.”
The spokesperson added: “Local authorities are responsible for the provision and management of digital tools and services in education. Where necessary, in response to the Microsoft change, they have taken forward a range of mitigating actions appropriate to their context, including communications to schools.”
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