E2BN Blog

School leaders will face action if they abuse their position of trust. Headteacher unlawfully took pupils’ personal data from his previous schools.

The Information Commissioner’s Office issued the strong warning after a headteacher in south London, was fined after admitting two offences of unlawfully obtaining personal data in breach of section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Ealing Magistrates Court heard how Darren Harrison, uploaded data about pupils from his previous to school to his then current school’s server.

The ICO said he had “no lawful reason” to process the personal data and was therefore in breach of data protection laws.

Following Harrison’s suspension from school a subsequent investigation found “large volumes of sensitive personal data present on the school server from his previous schools”, the ICO said.

Harrison was unable to provide a  valid explanation as to how the information had appeared on his system. It had been uploaded from his USB stick, although Harrison stated that he had deleted the personal data from it.

He was fined £700, ordered to pay £364.08 costs and a victim surcharge of £35.

Mike Shaw, the ICO’s criminal investigation group manager, said children and their parents or guardians “have the right to expect that their personal data is treated with respect and that their legal right to privacy is adhered to”.

“A headteacher holds a position of standing in the community and with that position comes the added responsibility to carry out their role beyond reproach.

“The ICO will continue to take action against those who we find have abused their position of trust.”

E2BN and its partner Data Protection Education offers schools advice, guidance, training and DPO services. Contact the E2BN office for more information This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This online CyberFirst Girls competition for Year 8 girls aims to provide a fun but challenging environment to encourage and inspire the next generation of young women to consider computer science as an option with a view to a future career in cybersecurity. 

Teachers of any subject can enter teams of 4 girls aged 13-14. No knowledge IT required!!!

Prizes include £1000 for your school - (Last year the winning team was invited to Buckingham Palace for tea!!)

Find out more

New £84million National Centre to improve the teaching of computing and drive participation in computer science. 

A consortium made up of STEM Learning, the British Computing Society and the Raspberry Pi Foundation, has been chosen as the provider for the project, which is backed by £84million of government investment.

The Centre will work with the University of Cambridge, while Google will also support the project with a further £1million.

Read more here

This is a programme of subject knowledge training for those who are teaching or aspire to teach, computer science and includes a plan for 40 school/college-based hubs.

This programme represents a step change in investment in our teachers and our subject and Computing At School (CAS).

For several years CAS has been asking the government for serious support to train and equip existing computing teachers, at all key stages, to turn the aspirational goals of the national curriculum into a vibrant reality in every classroom. And make no mistake: the NCCE does not replace CAS. For more information and to sign up – go to the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE). Also look here for a statement from both Simon Peyton-Jones Chair of the CAS board and the CEO of BCS, Paul Fletcher.

Next week is Anti-Bullying Week (12-16 November) This year's theme is 'Choose Respect'. 

Parent Zone has free resources designed to equip children with essential empathy skills needed to respect other people online.

The Dove Self-Esteem project also has classroom resources that focus on building a positive body image and self-confidence