Getting ready for GDPR

You’ve probably heard of the GDPR by now - either you’ll have taken part in training or awareness, or maybe you’re responsible for that yourself in school. The General Data Protection Regulation comes into force on May 25th, and brings a whole raft of changes to existing data protection laws. Like you, we’re preparing for the new era, and I’d like to share what we’re doing, and how we’ll communicate this all with you.

Our commitment to data security

Our work with schools involves many different kinds of data - the data you share with us concerning pupils, staff data when attending conferences or training events, or survey data to improve our service. We are committed to treating it all with the highest integrity, and we place great importance in the trust schools place in us as a provider of data services.
 
As an organisation that is experienced in data handling, we’re already in a good position to meet the requirements of GDPR. Our Support Team - in fact, our whole organisation - is being prepared to answer your questions and make sure everything is in place.
 
Of course, many of the requirements of the GDPR are not new, particularly those relating to data security. Data recorded in Incerts is transported over encrypted channels to server centres that are already fully GDPR compliant, and thereafter we apply the appropriate industry-standard protocols to protect it from unauthorised access.

Our privacy commitment

Within the Assessment Foundation, I'm reviewing all of our suppliers and making sure that tools we use to hold our data meet the requirements of the GDPR, so when a school calls to ask about our details as a supplier, I understand the process they’re going through! Most of the people who have contacted us already about the GDPR are looking to fulfil the same requirements, and this is where you can find our current information:

Our security advice: https://help.incerts.org/wales/#.keeping_pupil_data_secure
Data Protection Register Entry: https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Entry/Z1050946
Data Protection Principles: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/data-protection-principles/

… but keep your eye out!

Our current Privacy Notice complies with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, but we’re updating it to meet with the requirements of the GDPR. When it’s ready, we’ll need all schools to subscribe to the new Privacy Notice to ensure that we have your consent to use the data the way we do, and that you are fully informed of the purposes of the data we collect from you.