The Defence School of Communications and Information Systems (DSCIS) is a Defence Training Establishment of the British

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. It was formed on 1 April 2004 and comprises a headquarters and The Royal Signals School at

Blandford Camp Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and it ...

, and No.1 Radio School at

RAF Cosford Royal Air Force Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford) is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton, Bridgnorth, Albrighton. History Origins RA ...

, including the Aerial Erectors School at

RAF Digby Royal Air Force Digby otherwise known as RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force station located near Scopwick and south east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, in Lincolnshire, England. The station is home to the tri-service Joint Service Signals Organi ...

History

The school was formed on 1 April 2004 as the Defence College of Communications and Information Systems to deliver coherent and cost effective training across defence. In 2012, it joined three other technical training colleges under a combined organisation, the Defence College of Technical Training, and reverted in title to being a Defence School.

Constituent elements

The establishment comprises several affiliated schools.

Headquarters

The DSCIS headquarters is at the British Army's

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. The school reports to the Defence College of Technical Training (DCTT) which, in turn, is part of the Royal Air Force's

No. 22 Group No. 22 Group is one of five groups currently active in the Royal Air Force, falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Personnel) in Air Command. Its previous title up until 2018 was No. 22 (Training) Group. It is responsible ...

. DSCIS administers Blandford Camp, a site home to ten other organisations, mostly CIS related, with a total staff of over 1,000. The camp includes 500 service family houses, accommodation for a further 2,000 single or unaccompanied personnel, and a wide range of social amenities.

11th (The Royal School of Signals) Signals Regiment

The training element of the Royal Corps of Signals is the 11th (The Royal School of Signals) Signals Regiment. It is located at Blandford Camp alongside the school headquarters.

No. 1 Radio School

The Royal Air Force's

No. 1 Radio School No. 1 Radio School is based at RAF Cosford and forms part of the Defence School of Communications and Information Systems. Its motto is ''Thorough'', which was the motto of the Royal Air Force Electrical and Wireless School. Mission "To trai ...

is based at

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. A satellite of the Radio School is the Aerial Erector School at

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

Role and operations

DSCIS's mission is: ''to train and educate information and communications engineers, technicians and operators in order to meet the requirements of Defence and needs of trainees now and into the future.'' The school deliver a wide range of initial and advanced technical training in communications and information systems, and leadership training, to British servicemen and women and international defence students. Overall the School offers 180 different course types, from short equipment-specific courses to

Bachelor degrees A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

. It offers a key contribution to modern apprenticeships for the Royal Corps of Signals and the Royal Air Force's Trade Group 4, as well as delivering the academic foundation needed for registration with professional institutes. DSCIS staff are a mix of military, civil service and contractors covering instructional, management and support functions. It delivers approximately 200,000 training days per year, to an average student population of 1,100.

External links

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The Royal School of SignalsRAF DigbyAerial Erector School
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 2004 Information schools Military academies of the United Kingdom Military communications units and formations of the United Kingdom Military training establishments of the United Kingdom Telecommunication education 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom