The training should be relevant, accurate and up to date. Training and awareness makes sure that all employees receive appropriate training about your privacy programme, including what its goals are, what it requires people to do and what responsibilities they have.
Remember that data protection training should be part of your staff onboarding process. All staff should receive refresher training, regardless of how long they will be working for your organisations, their contractual status or grade. Staff should complete refresher training at appropriate intervals.
The ICO advises:
Further guidance about training: ICO: Training and Awareness which is part of the Accountability Framework.
We would recommend that staff are aware of your own data protection policies and procedures, their own responsibilities regards data protection and cyber security/cyber awareness training.
We've put together a list of free resources for training:
Data Protection Education Resources
The News Pages of the Data Protection Education Website - this gives up to date data protection and cyber security awareness.
If you are a school, review our Schools Best Practice Area, the Examples and Advice tab will give school related examples of data breaches, cyber attacks and reprimands that some school staff may relate to.
Review our Training Courses, as videos can be played in a meeting for staff that may not have regular access to a computer.
Where's Harry the Hacker worksheet is a good interactive training resources to spot data breaches and create discussion.
Review the DPE Drip Feeds - posters section of our website, for posters to print and create awareness as part of your training programme.
Regularly check in with your Data Protection Education consultant as part of our commitment to compliance for more guidance about training.
If you are a school, we recommend also reviewing how cyber training now links to Keeping Children Safe in Education for September:
If you are a Data Protection Education customer then all staff can be added to our Knowledge Bank and assigned training courses, including your governors and trustees: Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 (Education Institutions)
ICO Data Protection Training
The ICO provides a series of short training videos:
- An introduction to data protection for small businesses and sole traders
- Data protection for direct marketing: a two-minute guide
- Data protection explained in three minutes
- Top tips for small businesses in the land and property sector
- Data protection in small schools
- Data protection for small healthcare organisations
- Cyber security guidance for small businesses
- Training resources for small businesses
- How to make your next subject access request easier to handle
- Two minutes on privacy notices
- Two minutes on records management
- Data Sharing Series - Safeguarding Children
- Soft opt-in for email and text marketing: a two-minute guide
- Data protection and telephone marketing: a two-minute guide
Cyber Security Training
NCSC Top Tips for Staff Interactive Video
Cyber Security Training for School Staff