GDPR Policy for Schools and External DPO Services
GDPR policy for schools came into force on the 25th of May 2018 and replaced the Data Protection Act 1998 governing the use of personal data.
Classroom365 offers the following DPO services to assist our clients with policy compliance and data protection in education:
- GDPR schools checklist and data protection audit.
- General awareness training.
- Data flow mapping.
- GDPR training with school staff and certification. Privacy notices and policies that impact GDPR in schools.
- Data protection impact assessments.
- Business process engineering. Managing consent and communication along with access requests.
- Reporting of data breaches of personal information.
- Data protection laws and regulations.
- Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) registration.
We have an external DPO services consultant, Andy, who can help with data protection in schools compliance and any queries regarding GDPR for schools.
GDPR Policy for Schools - Find Out More
Please complete the contact form to learn how we can help with your school’s GDPR policy compliance.
Data Protection in Schools – Guidance and the GDPR Checklist
You may need to appoint a Data Protection Officer for schools to ensure you comply with UK General Data Protection Regulation.
Our external DPO services for schools include packages to meet all your data protection requirements. Our DPO consultant offers an affordable, transparent and effective DPO service, demystifying your obligations and ensuring you become and remain compliant with your schools GDPR checklist.
The DPO service and benefits include the following:
- Fixed Monthly Cost.
- Choose from 3 service levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.
- Independent and expert advice.
- Access to expert advice five days a week.
Andy, our DPO consultant whom we have known for many years, is an expert in this field. He has consulted with many of our clients and with our own ISO 9001 registration.
Data Protection Officer for Schools
Under GDPR compliance in the UK, you must appoint a DPO if:
- You are a public authority or body (except for courts acting in their judicial capacity).
- Your core activities require large-scale, regular and systematic monitoring of individuals, for example, online behaviour tracking.
- Your core activities consist of processing special categories of data or data relating to criminal convictions and offences.
- This applies to both data protection controllers and processors. You can appoint a DPO for your school if you wish, even if you aren’t required to. If you decide to appoint a one voluntarily, you should be aware that the exact requirements of the position and tasks apply had the appointment been mandatory.
- Regardless of whether the UK GDPR obliges you to appoint a School DPO, you must ensure that your organisation has sufficient staff and resources to discharge your obligations.
- However, data protection officer services can help you operate within the law by advising and enabling you to monitor compliance. In this way, a DPO can be seen to play a vital role in your school’s data protection governance and to help improve accountability.
- Our DPO services for schools consultant will work as an extended member of your organisation and find the right balance between your business objectives and legal obligations.
- Our data protection audits for schools can help you understand the flow of data within your organisation and protect against the risk associated with data misuse.
GDPR Security Breaches in Schools
It is crucial to ensure that school data is safe and secure. Unfortunately, a GDPR security breach can occur, from losing a school laptop to unauthorised access following password sharing. The consequences of such breaches can be severe and may impact not just schools but students and their families. Schools must take data protection compliance seriously and implement measures to prevent security breaches from happening. For example:
- 2FA – 2-factor authentication for email accounts and remote access to files.
- Laptops should be encrypted if they are removed from school premises.
- Training on Cyber Security, phishing scams and school data protection policy.
Security breaches must be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours.
Please get in contact if you need GDPR support for schools or any other ICT services for education from Classroom365.
Mark Friend, BSc (Hons), is a Company Director at Classroom365 and has worked in technology for nearly 30 years. His IT career started with Rothschild Bank in Sydney, Australia, before working as a Global VPN Project Manager for the British Council. Mark has 20 years of experience in the UK education sector, helping schools integrate the latest tech into their curriculum and ICT vision.