Data protection in schools is crucial. Schools need to collect, store, and use personal data fairly, safely and legally. This blog explores why schools need to have a strong data protection culture, the challenges schools face and the benefits of having a Data Protection Officer (DPO).
Why is data protection important?
Data protection in schools is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, schools manage a significant amount of sensitive personal data, from students’ addresses to staff employment details, making them potential targets for cyber attacks. Data breaches often occur because of human error. Providing training for school staff is essential to ensure that all data is being collected, handled and stored in a safe way.
What does a school Data Protection Officer (DPO) do?
A DPO adds an additional layer of accountability and support for your school. Your DPO ensures that the handling of personal data meets legal and ethical standards while playing a key role in advising on and monitoring compliance with data protection laws.
A Data Protection Officer can help with various tasks, including reporting issues to and working with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), advice on responding to Subject Access Requests (SAR) and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, review of your Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) and more.
What are some of the challenges schools face regarding data protection?
We work with hundreds of schools to support their data protection. One challenge schools face is limited time and resources to document data safely. This could be due to staff being over capacity with demanding workloads and a lack of clarity regarding their data protection responsibilities. protection responsibilities.
High staff turnover can also present missed opportunities for training or data being compromised. Staff members leaving could do so with sensitive student or colleague data unsecured. Alternatively, new starters joining the school may not be adequately trained in data protection. Establishing a strong data protection culture throughout the onboarding process and beyond means that no data is compromised through gaps in the process.
Cyber attacks in schools have become increasingly prevalent, posing serious threats to the vast amount of sensitive personal data. Phishing in schools often targets teachers and administrative staff with deceptive emails, aiming to steal sensitive information or gain unauthorised access to school systems. This deceptive activity makes having a non-judgmental environment key for staff to highlight potential risks or breaches.
Establishing a unified school culture in data protection
Creating a cohesive culture within schools regarding the data protection process removes a potential ‘us and them’ environment between leadership and staff. Data Protection isn’t top-down. It is important that the entire school feel like part of the solution. Our DPO’s aim for every stakeholder to feel confident and empowered to act safely regarding data.
Interestingly, we’ve found that the best engagement in data protection has been where mistakes have previously happened, and those involved are leading the solution. This harbours a trusting environment where more data breaches will likely be discussed and resolved, knowing support is in place.
Data protection and cyber awareness training in schools is imperative. Along with our GDPR and DPO service, we also offer training to equip staff with the knowledge to identify and prevent cybersecurity threats.
Schools have many options for handling their data protection with the support of a DPO, managed IT service and GDPR platform. If you’re interested in learning more about data protection in schools, episode four of The Cantium Podcast looks at how schools can follow the rules and create a safe learning environment for everyone.
