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Domain Names

The DfES has allocated every school in the country a domain name of the form of:

www.schoolname.county.sch.uk

In Hertfordshire this equates to domain names which have the form:

www.schoolname.herts.sch.uk

Where many schools share the same name, they are often differentiated by adding their LEA school number after the school name e.g. schoolname123.

Why does this matter?

On a regional level and at a national level, LEAs and the DfES are increasing the use of electronic communication with schools as well as about them. In the case of the DfES the standard form of a school domain name as illustrated above means that it is relatively easy to refer to a school's domain name (and hence the school's web site) in electronic communication. The DfES will therefore assume that official information concerning the school is located at the web site which exists on the domain name given above.

What domain names mean

Some schools choose to register a domain name which does not adhere to the DfEE standard. The .sch domain type refers specifically to schools and is intended to provide easy identification on the type of information a web site carries. In the UK domain names are administered by Nominet. The other main types of domain are as follows:

Top Level Domain	Signifies
.com	companies and businesses - primarily US-based or with a global scope
.org	internet service providers, networking providers, technical support groups
.net	exists as a parent to subdomains that do not clearly fall within the other top-level domains. This may include technical-support groups, professional societies, or similar organizations.

Second Level Domain	Signifies
[these second level domains are all part of the .uk Top Level Domain]
.co.uk	commercial enterprises in the UK
.sch.uk	reserved for UK schools
.net.uk	UK-based internet service related
.ltd.uk	relates to a Limited Company of that precise name
.plc.uk	relates to a PLC of that precise name
.org.uk	'not for profit' organisations which fall outside of the above categories

If as a school you choose to register a .co.uk, .org.uk, .com or .org domain as your school's 'official' web presence then by doing so you are effectively supplying misleading information about the nature of your organisation. Nominet's rules for the top level .uk and second level domains state that:

NOMINET UK may cancel a registration or suspend delegation of a name ... if it is drawn to NOMINET UK's attention that the name is being used in a manner likely to cause confusion to internet users.
[General rules for .uk Top Level and Second Level Domains, paragraph 3.5]

As the DfES think they know what your school's domain name is and therefore where your school's web site is, by choosing another domain name you will be effectively disenfranchising your school in the future. You may want to consider the implications of this before proceeding with purchasing and using an alternative domain.

Other issues

Being left out of the wider world of Hertfordshire Schools

On a more practical level, having all Hertfordshire schools within the .herts.sch.uk 'third level domain' enables users of the internet to perform inclusive searches. For example, if you are looking for all the information on Comic Relief activities which are taking place in Hertfordshire schools then you could perform a search on a search engine which looks for the words comic relief on any web pages which have the address .herts.sch.uk.

Try this search on the Google search engine

If your school has a domain name of the order of www.myschool-name.co.uk then there is no way that it can be included in such a search.

Future cost for retaining the domain

When you 'buy' a domain you do not own it, you merely lease it for an initial period of two years. After two years you need to renew your 'ownership' of that domain, at a price which does not necessarily reflect the original price you paid for it. Many web hosting companies offer domains for tiny amounts of money, less than a few pounds or even pence per month, but the renewal charges in two years' time are where they will make their money, by taking an initial 'loss-leader' they are guaranteeing themselves an income in two years' time from the renewals which will arise. Domains hosted by the National Grid for Learning will not expire - i.e. they are allocated to your school in perpetuity as Nominet recognises the .sch.uk second level domain as a special case.

Support through the National Grid for Learning

The Hertfordshire Grid for Learning web editors provide support, advice and training for Hertfordshire schools connected through the National Grid for Learning, however they are unable to do so for schools who use domains other than .herts.sch.uk for their school web site. This may mean a cost implication for your school, as commercial support often starts at around thirty to forty pounds per hour. The HGfL web editors can provide support for your school's web site on its .herts.sch.uk domain without charge, but their main aim is to enable staff within the school to acquire the skills to update the school's web site without having to rely on third parties.