School CCTV & Data Protection
What you should be aware of
CCTV is frequently used in key areas such as the school gates, access points, the playground, corridors, cloakrooms and the perimeter of the school in order to protect children, staff, the school and its belongings. This allows schools to monitor negative behaviours and to monitor who is accessing the grounds and so act quickly if an intruder is detected. CCTV also help to prevent truancy and pupils leaving the grounds without permission. Some schools invest in a few cameras and others have over 160 cameras installed, but have you thought about data protection?
What about GDPR?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new set of EU guidelines governing how organisations like schools handle personal data. The new regulations have replaced the current Data Protection Act (DPA) and were implemented on the 25 May 2018. This piece of legislation helps strengthen data protection across the continent and places high expectations on any organisation that holds data including those operating in the education sector. Educational institutions are some of the biggest data collectors in the world storing data on pupils and staff both past and present. All staff need to be aware of how GDPR works and their responsibility for personal data protection in the data ecosystem.
Personal data is defined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as “any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier” Personal data could range from emails, paper files, pupils’ grades, attendance records, information systems to more sensitive information, such as medical information, audio recordings, images and CCTV. Schools also handle ‘special category data’, which is subject to tighter controls such as details relating to race, ethnic origin, biometric data or membership of a trade union. For more information read our full guide click here, or get in touch with us.
We’d love to talk to you about your requirements, call us on 0845 519 3990 for a chat or to arrange a demonstration.