Photo of glasses, the letters 'FOIA' in red, Freedom of information black text on white background.  BBC News Reporter request, DAta Protection Education DPO badge

This article shares advice we have given to several customers who have received an FOI request from the BBC News about conducting research into the challenges of handling harmful sexual behaviour in schools.

Ludo pieces on a board on white background. Blue text: New Governor resources, Governors: data protection & cyber security course, governance frameworks: data protection, cyber governance code of practice. Data Protection Education logo and DPO services badge

📢🏛️ We've published some new resources for governing bodies about data protection and cyber security.  Governors can be added to our Knowledge Bank platform as part of your subscription with us at no extra charge.

Image of circles with people in and finger pushing one on a world map in blue.  World backup Day 2025 in Blue. Data Protection Education logo

🔄☁️ Having a robust backup is being prepared against data loss and data theft.  March 31st is World Backup day to remind everyone of the importance of having a robust and accessible backup.

Transparent image of a teacher at the front of a class teaching children.  Robot holding AI in blue letters. Text in blue and black: 83% teacher say AI is a time saver. Data Protection Education logo

🤖🕒 Most meetings we are having with schools at the moment feature conversations and questions around the use of AI by staff in  organisations.  It's clear the landscape is rapidly evolving and education may not be moving as fast, however, it does help to be prepared.

Robot hand pointing to opt out check box. Arbor AI in orange text, On by default in white text. Data Protection Education logo. Blue background

💻 ⚠️ Arbor recently announced that it was including some AI as part of it's default configuration - some customers have raised questions about this with us.

Background photo of digital folders around a shield in blue and white. A bag of money in a trolley. Text says procuring a new MIS. Data Protection Education logo

✅📃 An MIS (management information system) is a critical part of the school's day to day operations and digital infrastructure.  They can be on premise or in the cloud, which means contract terms can differ.  We highlight the latest guidance alongside what is already data protection law - you should follow this, even if you are procuring your MIS through your local authority or third party IT provider.

photo of a girl sitting on a stack of books, a camera lens in the background. Navy text: Sharing photos on World Book Day privacy considerations. Data Protection Education logo

📸✅ It's World Book Day on the 6th March when most schools will be celebrating reading and capturing photos of staff and students in their costumes.   Given this is one of many significant photographic events in the calendar, we thought it was a good opportunity to remind everyone of photo and video best practice.

Text: HCRG Data Breach. Photo of a hand coming out of a laptop holding a red key

Some of our customers have been affected by the data breach reported by the HCRG Care Group.  The group is currently investigating claims by a ransomware group that more than two terabytes of sensitive information has been breached.

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✅🔍 We visit a lot of schools and have a lot of conversations about documentation we are asked to provide as new and returning visitors to organisations. Sometimes we don't agree with what the organisation is asking for, so we thought we'd give some clarification about regulatory requirements.

blue text a quick guide to: AI in black text. Blue robot dog. Data Protection education logo

🎥🤖  Some of the organisations we are talking to are a little confused about AI, whether they should use it and if their staff already are using it or not.  We've put together a short video explaining the different types of AI, the risks and how you should start documenting your use.

Safer Internet Day official art work, coloured orange and blue text: Safer Internet Day, Cyber Security, Data Protection. Data Protection Education logo

🛡️🔒We couldn't get through today without mentioning it's Safer Internet Day today (11th February).  And while we don't need a special day to talk about being safe online, cyber security and data protection, we welcome any chance to highlight how important they all are.

  1. The Multiple Dimensions of Supplier Due Diligence
  2. New Data Protection Fees
  3. School shares sensitive pupil information as part of an FOI response
  4. AI (Artificial Intelligence) Best Practice Area & Policy
  5. Blacon High School Cyber Attack
  6. WhatsApp and FOI's: ICO Warnings
  7. New AI Guidance from the DfE
  8. The role of Passkeys in Cyber Resilience and Cyber Security
  9. What the proposed Government legislative proposal around cyber crime means
  10. DPE Webinar Schedule
  11. ICO report on AI tools in recruitment
  12. DfE update to record keeping and management
  13. Update to data sharing for school immunisation programmes
  14. Early Years Settings and Cyber Security
  15. SLT Digital Lead Profile
  16. Ransomware-Resistant Backups
  17. The role of governors in cyber security and data protection
  18. DfE Digital Standards Webinars 2025
  19. Navigating Privacy at the End of Term , Special Occasions and End of Year
  20. Effectively communicating during a cyber incident
  21. Contracts Register
  22. South East Technological University has experienced a cyber incident
  23. Safeguarding Identity in Microsoft 365: Protecting the UK Education Sector Against Cyber Threats
  24. DfE Digital Standards Autumn Update
  25. The importance of knowing how to access your CCTV footage!
  26. Cyber Attack on a Special School
  27. Stealing children's data
  28. What is dark data? (and why does it matter?)
  29. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 31. On the road to cyber essentials
  30. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 24. Backups
  31. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 30. Support
  32. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 29. Admin controls
  33. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 28. Phishing
  34. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 27. Passwords
  35. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 26. Physical Security
  36. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 25. Server Security
  37. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 23. Filtering and Monitoring
  38. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 22. Hardware: Printers
  39. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 21. Hardware: Asset Control
  40. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 20. Hardware: Safe disposal
  41. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 19. Anti-virus/anti-malware
  42. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 18. Regular Updates
  43. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 17. Access Control (Users)
  44. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 16. Access Control (Wi-Fi/Network access)
  45. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 15. Access Control (working from home/off site)
  46. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 14. Access Control (MFA)
  47. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 13. Awareness
  48. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 12. Training
  49. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 11. Policies and Procedures
  50. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 10. Assess where you are with cyber security
  51. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 9. A guide for education providers
  52. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 8. How can your organisation prevent Ransomware attacks?
  53. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 7. What does a Ransomware attack on a school look like?
  54. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 6. Cyber Action Plan
  55. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 5. Responsibilities
  56. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 4. What to do in a cyber attack
  57. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 3. Data Security
  58. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 2. Privacy Protection
  59. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 1. Why is cyber security important?
  60. Ofqual highlights the value of cyber security training in schools
  61. Searching for data when you receive a Subject Access Request
  62. Fylde Coast Academy Trust Cyber Attack This Week
  63. Calling all IT leads in schools and mult academy trusts!
  64. Ransomware cyber attack on a school in Bromley
  65. Join Our Social Media Family!
  66. School hit by Cyber Attack
  67. New Academic Year Kick-Off!
  68. New e-learning for 2024
  69. Cyber Security Best Practice Area
  70. DfE Digital Standards for Schools and Colleges Tracker
  71. New Policies, Documents, Letters and Posters page
  72. Schools and Trusts Best Practice Area
  73. The DPE Retention Schedule
  74. Making the Rounds Update (now includes reporting)
  75. ESFA Cyber Essentials Requirement for Colleges from 2024/2025
  76. ICO Reprimands a School
  77. How does the recent global IT outage affect me?
  78. King's speech introduces new bills in relation to cyber security, smart data and digital information
  79. Navigating Privacy at the End of Term , Special Occasions and End of Year
  80. Out of date technology
  81. Data Retention and the Pupil File
  82. Have you assigned your SLT Digital Lead yet?
  83. What's a Cyber Incident and what should we do?
  84. Getting Started with AI (Artificial Intelligence)
  85. Cyber attack on a school during half term
  86. Free short cyber training for staff
  87. UPDATE: The Upcoming Election and The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
  88. Update to the DfE Digital Cyber Security Standards for Schools and Colleges (May 2024)
  89. The rise of cyber attacks in schools are causing pupils to miss classes
  90. ICO: Learning from the mistakes of others report
  91. Children's mental health data leaked after a cyber attack
  92. Cyber attack on a Trust; the aftermath
  93. School Focus: The Vale Federation | Aylesbury
  94. DfE Dealing with Subject Access Requests (SARs) Guidance
  95. Update to the Guidance on Information Sharing from the DfE
  96. Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 (Education Institutions)
  97. Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 (Businesses and Charities)
  98. FOI Requests generated by Artificial Intelligence
  99. Social Media Best Practice Area
  100. Lettings Best Practice Area
  101. Appropriate filtering and monitoring definitions
  102. MFA Bombing - What is it?
  103. Protecting your Social Media Accounts
  104. Why we recommend using checklists
  105. Product Focus on Checklists : Initial Trust Plan
  106. Product Focus on Checklists : End of Term Checklist
  107. Product Focus on Checklists : Information and Cyber Security
  108. Product Focus on Checklists : Social Media
  109. Cyber Incident Review: The Benefits
  110. Product Focus on Checklists : Lettings
  111. Product Focus on Checklists : Record of Processing
  112. Milk Island: The secret location that allows children to view restricted content on Google Maps
  113. Why Data Should Stay Put: Benefits of Keeping Data in Its Original System
  114. Product Focus on Checklists : Data Retention and Destruction
  115. Product Focus on Checklists : Data Migration
  116. Product Focus on Checklists : Biometrics
  117. Product Focus on Checklists : Supplier Due Diligence
  118. Free Cyber help, advice and training with the Cyber Resilience Centres
  119. The Perils of Paper: The Printing Vulnerability
  120. Product Focus on Checklists : FOI
  121. Product Focus on Checklists : Governors and Data
  122. Product Focus on Checklists : DPIA
  123. Product Focus on Checklists : Site Moves
  124. Product Focus on Checklists : Data Breaches
  125. Product Focus on Checklists : Subject Access Requests
  126. Cyber attack on a University
  127. Product Focus on Checklists : Bring your own device
  128. Product Focus on Checklists : Working out of school/offsite
  129. Cyber Attack on a School
  130. Product Focus on Checklists : Redaction
  131. Major cyber-criminal gang Lockbit brought down by UK Law Enforcement
  132. Why Due Diligence is Important: Fake apps
  133. Product Focus on Checklists : CCTV
  134. Product Focus on Checklists : Clear desk
  135. Product Focus on Checklists : Commitment to compliance
  136. Product Focus on Checklists : Photos and video
  137. Product Focus on Checklists : Passwords
  138. Product Focus on Checklists : Information Classification
  139. Safer Internet Day 2024
  140. Kent Councils Data Breach
  141. Free cyber training for staff
  142. DfE Digital Standards Update
  143. The Mother of all Breaches
  144. ClassCharts Possible Data Breach
  145. Where is your data stored?
  146. IAPP looks at AI privacy risks
  147. If you suspect a financial scam .....
  148. Guardians of Privacy: 16. Social Media Checklist
  149. Guardians of Privacy: 15. Navigating Social Media in Educational Settings Summary
  150. Guardians of Privacy: 14. Social Media and Cyber Bullying
  151. Guardians of Privacy: 13. Social Media, Copyright and Intellectual Property
  152. Guardians of Privacy: 12. Social Media and Going Viral
  153. Guardians of Privacy: 11. Staff Social Media Accounts
  154. Guardians of Privacy: 10. Social Media and Cookies
  155. Guardians of Privacy: 9. Social Media and Morality
  156. New Resources for Schools from the ICO
  157. Guardians of Privacy: 8. Social Media Policies
  158. Guardians of Privacy: 7. Social Media Data Retention
  159. Guardians of Privacy: 6. Posting Safely
  160. Guardians of Privacy: 5. Social Media and Consent
  161. Guardians of Privacy: 4. Social Media Access Control
  162. Guardians of Privacy: 3. Social Media Channels
  163. Guardians of Privacy: 2. Law and Regulations
  164. Guardians of Privacy: 1. Social media, privacy and children
  165. Latest ICO Reprimand. Mr. S. Claus, Chief Executive Officer, North Pole Enterprises
  166. Phishing attacks targeting schools - alert from City of London Police
  167. The Data Protection And Digital Information Bill (DPADI)
  168. The ICO reprimands a Multi Academy Trust
  169. KCSIE: Filtering, Monitoring and Privacy
  170. Guidance for the use of school email and applying email retention in schools
  171. CISA and UK NCSC Announce Joint Guidelines for Secure AI System Development
  172. Data Protection Tips for Early Years Settings
  173. Children's Privacy around the world is a puzzle
  174. Trust Initial Plan Checklist Update
  175. Update on Advisory for Rhysida Ransomware
  176. Records Management Best Practice Update
  177. Governors and Data Best Practice Area Update
  178. The Crime in a Cyber Attack and a Data Breach
  179. What do I need to redact?
  180. NCSC Annual Review is published for 2023
  181. Learning from Data Breaches
  182. Windows 11 security ineffective against attacks on old devices
  183. Trust Initial Plan for Data Protection Compliance (for Multi Academy Trusts)
  184. International Counter Ransomware Initiative 2023 Joint Statement
  185. Google for Education Resources: Helping IT Admins meet DfE digital and technology standards
  186. Resistant Cloud Backups
  187. Top Ten Cyber Security Misconfigurations
  188. Lettings Best Practice and Guidance
  189. ICO Reprimand: company suffered a ransomware attack
  190. The UK Online Safety Bill becomes an Act (Law)
  191. Considerations when migrating to a new MIS
  192. The importance of software updates (PaperCut vulnerability and Rhysida ransomware)
  193. Public bodies and sensitive data
  194. Adding offline bulk training using the Certificates function
  195. Ransomware, extortion and the cyber crime ecosystem
  196. Get a DPE Badge for your website!
  197. ICO: 10 Step guide to sharing information to safeguard children
  198. Schools under Cyber Attack: September 2023
  199. Cyber Resource: The Cyber Resilience Centre Group
  200. Email and Security: ICO recent guidance
  201. Help after a Cyber Attack/Incident
  202. Social Media Policy
  203. Data Protection and Cyber Security (Inset Day) Training Ideas
  204. Changes to Microsoft Free Licensing for Schools
  205. What to do in the event of a Cyber Attack
  206. Cyber Crime: AI Generated Phishing Attacks
  207. Handling Freedom of Information Requests the right way
  208. Cyber Attack: Exam Boards
  209. VICE SOCIETY - Ransomware attacks on schools
  210. Using Tags if you are a group of organisations in the DPE Knowledge Bank
  211. Where's Harry the Hacker?
  212. Be Cyber Aware: USB Sticks
  213. Cyber Insurance in the Public Sector
  214. Types of Cyber Attacks: DDos Attack (Microsoft DDoS Attack in June)
  215. Cyber Attack: Manchester University
  216. Cyber Attack: Leytonstone School
  217. The ICO Reprimands a school
  218. Be Cyber Aware: Firewalls
  219. Subject Access Requests (SARs)
  220. Be Cyber Aware: Cyber attacks and transparency. A no blame culture
  221. Cyber Attack: Dorchester School
  222. Knowledge Bank Role Types: Admin, Staff and Trustee
  223. Types of Cyber Attacks: Password Attacks
  224. Be Cyber Aware: Why regular software updates are important
  225. Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2023
  226. Cyber Attack: Wiltshire School
  227. Keeping your IT systems safe and secure
  228. Types of Cyber Attacks: DDoS Attacks
  229. Types of Cyber Attacks: Phishing
  230. Types of Cyber Attacks: The Insider Threat
  231. Why your data is profitable to cyber criminals
  232. Using WhatsApp in Schools
  233. The Changes to Data Protection in the UK
  234. Knowledge Bank Updates
  235. Types of malware and how they are linked to data protection
  236. Striking Data Breach
  237. Windows Server 2012 & 2012 R2 Retirement
  238. How to contact us for support, subject access requests, data breaches and FOI's
  239. YouTube breached child protection laws
  240. How a school fought back after a cyberattack
  241. Types of Cyber Attacks - Credential Stuffing
  242. January Cyber update - How Can Schools Help Prevent Cyber Attacks?
  243. End of Windows 8.1 Support
  244. Assigning courses to staff using to-dos
  245. How the Record of Processing Can Help You
  246. Information Security Basics: What are VPN's?
  247. What does a Data Protection Officer Do?
  248. Are you ready for a Data Breach?
  249. Blog: Best Practice on the Retention of Child Protection Information
  250. Carrying out Supplier Due Diligence
  251. Email and retention periods
  252. How Long Should You Keep Personal Data For?
  253. The Education sector now at highest risk of cyber attacks
  254. How to Assess your Data Security
  255. Schools Blocked from Using Facial Recognition Systems
  256. Sharing this year’s Nativity play online
  257. A quick introduction to the Phishing Simulation tool
  258. The Children's Code
  259. Recording vaccination of staff
  260. B&H FoI: Racist/religious incidents/bullying
  261. Cyber Attacks
  262. Protocol for Setting Up and Delivery of Online Teaching and Learning
  263. Class Dojo International Data Sharing
  264. Model Publication Scheme: Amendments, Improvements and Updates
  265. Child friendly privacy notices
  266. Transparency
  267. Parents and students covertly recording conversations
  268. SAR? ER? FOI?
  269. Secure file transfer of files using Royal Mail
  270. Emergency contacts and consent
  271. Key elements of a successful DPIA
  272. FOI Publication Schemes
  273. SHARE: Avoid disinformation online
  274. Best Practice for Managing Photos and Video
  275. New Drip Feeds: Recognise and Respond to Subject Access Request
  276. When to contact the Data Protection Officer?
  277. National child measurement programme
  278. Make sure DPE is your registered DPO with the ICO
  279. Compliance Manager released
  280. Headteacher fined for breach of data protection legislation
  281. Emails – good practice and minimising the risk of a data breach

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