Data Protection Services for Schools/Education | The DPO Centre

The GDPR was enacted into UK Law as the Data Protection Act 2018. As for many organisations it imposes legal obligations for education and the ways they must manage and process personal data.

The legislation gives the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) powers to impose significant financial penalties, Ofsted now includes data protection compliance within their inspection criteria and there is a greater chance of reputational damage from bad publicity in education.

This page explains what the new legislation means for schools and the main areas that need to be considered. It is based on the DPO Centre’s experience from working with over 130 schools and colleges.

WHAT DOES NEW DATA PROTECTION LEGISLATION MEAN FOR SCHOOLS?

Like other organisations, all schools must:

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Be transparent in the way they process personal data and accountable for doing so

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Appoint a designated data protection officer if they are a state school or a private school processing personal data on a large scale

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Understand the data they have, where it is stored and who has access to it

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Implement robust processes and procedures to protect personal data

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Allow pupils, staff members, governors, parents, guardians and suppliers to:

have access to their personal data
ensure it is correct and modify it as necessary
have it deleted (unless needed for legitimate reasons)

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Be able to detect, manage, report and respond to data breaches including, if necessary, liaising with the ICO

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SCHOOL ACTIVITIES USING PERSONAL DATA

Schools must protect personal data in a wide range of areas. These include:

Educational Software

SIMS, ScholarPack, Arbor etc.
2Simple, Tapestry early years systems

Communications and consent management

Photography and displaying pictures
Social media, posting images
Parent communications, satchel post, Teachers2Parents, ParentMail etc.

Policies

Privacy, retention and data
protection policies
Staff handbooks

Administration

Network security
Email systems
Staff payroll, pension and other HR records
Paper records
Visitors’ book and access systems
Managing CCTV/Video

Managing Sensitive Information

Special educational needs
Medication and medical data
Safeguarding and family issues
DBS Checks

Teaching and getting the job done

Children’s workbooks
Wall displays and name badges
Pupil premium data
eports and taking data home
School printing facilities

Sharing data with others

School trips, peripatetic learning
Supply teachers
Feeder and transitional schools
References for employers and other institutions

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