Schools & MATs

    You are here:  
  1. Home
  2. Schools & MATs
Consultant and school data protection lead discussing compliance during a "making the rounds" audit.
Best Practice Updates

Most organisations will ask us to come and do a data walk at some point, when one of our consultants will visit your site and walk around with your data protection lead.  If you are a DPO Assure customer, it is included as part of your SLA, but it is also possible to purchase a visit from one of our school consultants. 

Understanding "making the rounds" audits, the 12-point compliance framework, and what schools should expect from a report

Professional portrait of Ralph T O'Brien, expert on AI and data protection for schools and multi
Best Practice Updates

We present an article written by our Featured Guest Expert Ralph T O'Brien for our school and multi academy trust customers about using AI in schools and trusts. Ralph O’Brien is a global privacy and data protection professional with over 25 years’ experience helping organisations manage data protection and privacy risk, prevent data harms, and build practical, trustworthy information governance programmes

Artificial Intelligence is shorthand for more automation.  Less humans, more machines.  AI is already in schools, and not because the headteacher has approved an AI strategy. Not because the governors have discussed it.

Digital graphic displaying a cyber security alert, warning schools about sophisticated payroll fraud and online threats.
Best Practice Updates

Schools across the Thames Valley area are being targeted by criminals attempting to access staff payroll accounts, according to a warning issued by the South East Cyber Crime Unit's Cyber Protect team. In several confirmed cases, the attacks have succeeded, leaving affected staff without their pay after criminals diverted their salaries elsewhere.

Digital graphic symbolizing a cyber attack and data breach at the Department for Education (DfE).
Information/Cyber Security

The Department for Education confirmed that hackers have accessed its internal helpdesk and the Turing Scheme portal, taking more than 600,000 records. Contact details belonging to headteachers, senior school leaders, government officials and university staff were among the data taken, and some of it has since appeared on the dark web.

Understandably, this has caused a lot of anxiety across the sector and, predictably, a lot of speculation. Was this preventable? Should the DfE have done more? Who's to blame?

Digital screen interface representing a school Management Information System (MIS) handling pupil records and DfE
Best Practice Updates

A Management Information System (MIS) is the single most important data processing system a school operates. It holds pupil records, including special category data, safeguarding information, and family contact details. So when the Department for Education publishes guidance on choosing one, DPOs and data protection leads should pay attention, even when, as here, the guidance is framed in commercial rather than data protection terms.

Graphic representing new DfE guidance on EdTech procurement for schools, focusing on data protection.
Best Practice Updates

On 9 July 2026, the DfE added a new section to its Data Protection in Schools guidance: Procuring educational technology (EdTech). It sets out what schools should consider before, during and after procuring EdTech tools, and the questions to put to prospective suppliers. Significantly, it is the first DfE guidance to directly reference the ICO's EdTech Examined audit report, telling schools to take the ICO's findings into consideration when procuring EdTech tools.

  1. DfE Cyber Security Standards for Schools: June 2026 Update | DPE
  2. ICO EdTech Audit 2025: Key Findings for Schools | DPE
  3. DfE updates Data Protection in Schools guidance: what schools need to know
  4. The DSL’s Guide to Filtering and Monitoring
  5. Cyber Attack : LockBit 5.0 Targets a Primary School
  6. Human Error and High Stakes: What the Horizon Academy Trust Incident Teaches Us About School Data Breaches
  7. We’re Bringing It Back: Our Data Protection Conference Returns
  8. When Cyber Risk Becomes Reality: Lessons from the Powys School Attack
  9. What the Data (Use and Access) Act Means for Schools
  10. Can you use AI safely in schools?
  11. Guardians of Privacy: Social Media, Privacy, Children and the AI Threat
  12. What School Leaders Need to Know About the DfE's New Cyber Security Hub
  13. The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 - Key Advice for Schools
  14. The 2026 Mandate: Navigating the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act.
  15. Visitor Management: A Guide for Schools
  16. Update to the DfE Digital Cyber Security Standards for Schools and Colleges
  17. Wireless Network Standards for Schools & Colleges: What's New?
  18. How were schools and pupils affected by the C2K cyber attack?
  19. School Cyber Attack: St Anne's Catholic School
  20. Volunteer Acceptable Use Policy & Agreement
  21. Handling Subject Access Requests (SARs) - at the end of term
  22. Holiday Cheer or Cyber Fear? : Essential Pre-holiday Checks
  23. How should schools manage paper archives?
  24. Navigating the Redaction Divide: SAR or PEX?
  25. What type of request have you received? SAR? Educational Record? Or FOI?
  26. Leavers' Memorabilia
  27. Sharing photos on World Book Day: Privacy considerations
  28. The Danger of the 'Data Dump': Why more information isn't always better!
  29. Cyber Alert: Surrey and Sussex Schools Targeted by Phishing and Ransomware Attacks
  30. Parents and students covertly recording conversations
  31. New DfE AI Standards
  32. Is your IT Support Provider Compliant?
  33. The Government Cyber Action Plan
  34. School Cyber Attack: Higham Lane School Hit by Major Cyber Attack: Campus Remains Closed
  35. What does the technology in schools survey tell us?
  36. IT Support Standards for Schools and Colleges Guidance (DfE Digital Standards)
  37. Sharing information to safeguard children and young people in the education sector in the UK
  38. We've teamed up on a podcast with the Small Business Cyber Security Guy
  39. Time's Ticking: Windows 10 support ends in October 2025!
  40. Nursery Cyber attack
  41. Fraud awareness from the DfE
  42. The Classroom's Dark Side: Cyber crime from the Classroom
  43. Data Breach: School sends out names and contact details in a spreadsheet.
  44. KCSIE 2025: Data Protection, AI, and Cyber Security
  45. The Online SCR Data Breach: What You Need to Know
  46. Back to School Basics for Data Protection and Cyber Security Compliance
  47. The Latest Cyber Threat: The "Murky Panda"
  48. Building a Secure School: Using the ICO Accountability Framework to Meet DfE Digital Standards
  49. Why Physical and Data Security Must Go Hand-In-Hand
  50. Digital Safeguarding: DfE announces statutory DfE Digital Standards
  51. School closes for two days after cyber incident
  52. Social Media Day 2025
  53. How Ofsted looks at AI during inspection and regulation
  54. Data Breaches 2025 Report Highlights
  55. Not everyone needs access: The Key to Protecting Sensitive Data
  56. School cyber attack: Outwood Academy, Middlesbrough
  57. Alert: Schools receiving Microsoft File Sharing Phishing Emails
  58. School cyber attack: Framlingham College, Suffolk
  59. West Lothian Schools in Cyber Attack
  60. A Wake-Up Call for Cyber Vigilance - Danger in the Threat Landscape for Everyone
  61. New Governor Resources
  62. Are teachers using AI? 83% say its a time-saver
  63. DfE Digital Standards - narrowing the digital divide
  64. Arbor AI - On By Default
  65. DfE Guidance: Choosing a new MIS
  66. Short Guide to AI Video
  67. Safer Internet Day, Cyber Security & Data Protection
  68. The Cyber Resilience Championship
  69. The Multiple Dimensions of Supplier Due Diligence
  70. School shares sensitive pupil information as part of an FOI response
  71. Blacon High School Cyber Attack
  72. WhatsApp and FOI's: ICO Warnings
  73. New AI Guidance from the DfE
  74. What the proposed Government legislative proposal around cyber crime means
  75. DfE update to record keeping and management
  76. Update to data sharing for school immunisation programmes
  77. SLT Digital Lead Profile
  78. The role of governors in cyber security and data protection
  79. Navigating Privacy at the End of Term , Special Occasions and End of Year
  80. South East Technological University has experienced a cyber incident
  81. Safeguarding Identity in Microsoft 365: Protecting the UK Education Sector Against Cyber Threats
  82. Cyber Attack on a Special School
  83. Stealing children's data
  84. Ofqual highlights the value of cyber security training in schools
  85. Fylde Coast Academy Trust Cyber Attack This Week
  86. Calling all IT leads in schools and mult academy trusts!
  87. Ransomware cyber attack on a school in Bromley
  88. School hit by Cyber Attack
  89. DfE Digital Standards for Schools and Colleges Tracker
  90. Schools and Trusts Best Practice Area
  91. ESFA Cyber Essentials Requirement for Colleges from 2024/2025
  92. ICO Reprimands a School
  93. Out of date technology
  94. Data Retention and the Pupil File
  95. Have you assigned your SLT Digital Lead yet?
  96. Getting Started with AI (Artificial Intelligence)
  97. Cyber attack on a school during half term
  98. The rise of cyber attacks in schools are causing pupils to miss classes
  99. Cyber attack on a Trust; the aftermath
  100. School Focus: The Vale Federation | Aylesbury
  101. DfE Dealing with Subject Access Requests (SARs) Guidance
  102. Update to the Guidance on Information Sharing from the DfE
  103. Product Focus on Checklists : End of Term Checklist
  104. Product Focus on Checklists : Social Media
  105. Product Focus on Checklists : Lettings
  106. Milk Island: The secret location that allows children to view restricted content on Google Maps
  107. Free Cyber help, advice and training with the Cyber Resilience Centres
  108. The Perils of Paper: The Printing Vulnerability
  109. Product Focus on Checklists : Governors and Data
  110. Product Focus on Checklists : Site Moves
  111. Cyber attack on a University
  112. Product Focus on Checklists : Bring your own device
  113. Product Focus on Checklists : Working out of school/offsite
  114. Cyber Attack on a School
  115. Major cyber-criminal gang Lockbit brought down by UK Law Enforcement
  116. Product Focus on Checklists : Photos and video
  117. Safer Internet Day 2024
  118. Kent Councils Data Breach
  119. Free cyber training for staff
  120. DfE Digital Standards Update
  121. ClassCharts Possible Data Breach
  122. School Focus: St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School | Brighton
  123. Guardians of Privacy: 16. Social Media Checklist
  124. Guardians of Privacy: 15. Navigating Social Media in Educational Settings Summary
  125. Guardians of Privacy: 14. Social Media and Cyber Bullying
  126. Guardians of Privacy: 13. Social Media, Copyright and Intellectual Property
  127. Guardians of Privacy: 12. Social Media and Going Viral
  128. Guardians of Privacy: 11. Staff Social Media Accounts
  129. Guardians of Privacy: 9. Social Media and Morality
  130. New Resources for Schools from the ICO
  131. Guardians of Privacy: 8. Social Media Policies
  132. Guardians of Privacy: 7. Social Media Data Retention
  133. Guardians of Privacy: 6. Posting Safely
  134. Guardians of Privacy: 5. Social Media and Consent
  135. Guardians of Privacy: 4. Social Media Access Control
  136. Guardians of Privacy: 3. Social Media Channels
  137. Guardians of Privacy: 2. Law and Regulations
  138. Phishing attacks targeting schools - alert from City of London Police
  139. The ICO reprimands a Multi Academy Trust
  140. Guidance for the use of school email and applying email retention in schools
  141. Data Protection Tips for Early Years Settings
  142. Update on Advisory for Rhysida Ransomware
  143. Google for Education Resources: Helping IT Admins meet DfE digital and technology standards
  144. Lettings Best Practice and Guidance
  145. The UK Online Safety Bill becomes an Act (Law)
  146. Considerations when migrating to a new MIS
  147. The importance of software updates (PaperCut vulnerability and Rhysida ransomware)
  148. Public bodies and sensitive data
  149. ICO: 10 Step guide to sharing information to safeguard children
  150. Email and Security: ICO recent guidance
  151. Social Media Policy
  152. Data Protection and Cyber Security (Inset Day) Training Ideas
  153. Changes to Microsoft Free Licensing for Schools
  154. What to do in the event of a Cyber Attack
  155. How KCSIE is linked to Cyber Strategy
  156. VICE SOCIETY - Ransomware attacks on schools
  157. Using Tags if you are a group of organisations in the DPE Knowledge Bank
  158. Cyber Insurance in the Public Sector
  159. Cyber Attack: Leytonstone School
  160. The ICO Reprimands a school
  161. Cyber Attack: Dorchester School
  162. Knowledge Bank Role Types: Admin, Staff and Trustee
  163. Cyber Attack: Wiltshire School
  164. Types of Cyber Attacks: The Insider Threat
  165. Why your data is profitable to cyber criminals
  166. Striking Data Breach
  167. January Cyber update - How Can Schools Help Prevent Cyber Attacks?
  168. FOI: Vaccination Justifications
  169. The Education sector now at highest risk of cyber attacks
  170. Schools Blocked from Using Facial Recognition Systems
  171. The Children's Code
  172. Cyber Attacks
  173. Protocol for Setting Up and Delivery of Online Teaching and Learning
  174. Class Dojo International Data Sharing
  175. Secure file transfer of files using Royal Mail
  176. Emergency contacts and consent
  177. Best Practice for Managing Photos and Video
  178. Headteacher fined for breach of data protection legislation

General news

Information/Cyber Security

Knowledge Bank Updates

Best Practice Updates

Legal

Events & Podcasts

©2026 Data Protection Education Ltd.

Search