News
01/09/08 Becta: Keeping data secure, safe and legal
Managing data in schools is a real challenge. Pupil information is personal, sensitive and must be protected. Yet keeping access open is vital for teachers and school managers to do their job. As Learning Platforms and their role in reporting to parents gathers momentum, we now have some guidance as to how that access has to be managed.
http://schools.becta.org.uk/upload-dir/downloads/information_handling.pdf
It’s important to remember that this initiative is not confined to education. The Becta guidance comes in response to an initiative covering all arms of government, starting with a report produced by Robert Hannigan last year. But the environment of the school produces a unique challenge and we must be careful to remember that the purpose of the school is to educate the child. What’s needed is practical advice that protects the data and supports the operation of the school.
Without seeing the content of the four detailed reports to follow we are all speculating at this stage. But some clear conclusions already present themselves.
First of all, we all need to take this seriously. Legislation makes public employees accountable for the loss of sensitive data. No need to panic, but look carefully and implement the steps to minimise risk. Secondly, schools should talk to their systems supplier. RM has been raising the issue of securing pupil data for some time now and our MIS is hosted centrally so we take much of the responsibility (at the risk of sounding like an advert, the school should be about learning). Finally when it comes to securing data locally, for example on a teacher’s laptop, make sure any solution is practical in a school context.
Practicality is the key point, the solutions applied to schools have to be suitable for schools. Large data encryption solutions designed for businesses with a 24 hour IT help desk have little place in the typical primary or secondary school, for example. Like the rest of the industry, RM will await the detailed guidance in due course but will always look to provide solutions that have been designed to meet the specific needs of schools.