Sharing information to safeguard children and young people in the education sector in the UK
The ICO has published some updated guidance for people and organisations who work in the education sector with children and young people under 18. The idea of the guidance is to help organisations feel confident to share personal information for safeguarding purposes.
The purpose of the guidance is to assure organisations that data protection is not a barrier to sharing personal information for safeguarding purposes; rather it provides a framework for doing it correctly.
The guidance complements the ICO's overarching guidance: A 10 step guide to sharing information to safeguard children.
- The UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 do not prevent sharing information to keep children safe.
- In an emergency, don't hesitate to share information to safeguard a child or young person.
- Follow the guidance, training and procedures given to you by your organisation.
- If you aren't sure, then ask your safeguarding lead, data protection officer, manager or organisational head for help.
Remember you still should put formal data sharing arrangements in place when sharing happens on a regular basis with local partnerships.
Regular refresher training is essential to maintain confidence and competence.
The full guidance can be reviewed: External guidance and resources about safeguarding for the education sector in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Review our previous article: Stealing Children's Data
Data Walks
During our data walks we can discuss with you the balance between good safeguarding and data protection best practice. Usually this is relation to where you might hold and share dietary, medical and allergy advice.
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