Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of cyber-security incidents in schools that took place since 23 March 2022 that might have been (a) prevented and (b) mitigated had those schools been following the standards set out in her Department’s guidance entitled Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges, published on 23 March 2022.

The Department recognises that cyber security is a concern for many schools and academy trusts. The Department will continue to develop the support and tools offered to schools and academy trusts to improve their cyber security and resilience (including RPA cyber cover). The Department will also continue to streamline reporting and data capture to improve mutual understanding between the department and schools. Additionally, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides guidance on how to avoid computer security threats. This guidance is available at: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/10-steps.

In order to continue building an evidence base, the Department is running a biennial Technology in Schools survey to capture up to date data which enables the Department to understand the current state, use and spread of technology within primary and secondary schools in England. This will allow the Department to support various strands of current policy commitments and to inform future interventions. This year’s survey includes the proportion of schools that are meeting some specific elements of the cyber security standards. Findings from the first Technology in Schools survey will be published in late 2023.

The Department is also developing a digital service to support senior leadership in schools with planning for technology. The tool will enable them to benchmark their technology against the digital standards, suggest areas of improvement and provide actionable steps and resources to implement these recommendations.

The Department regularly engages with the NCSC on the cyber security issues faced by schools.