The new school term is upon us, which only means one thing… the holidays are over and the children will be going back to school this week. Now you may be thinking, what has the start of the new school term got to do with document storage? Quite a lot! Over a year on from the introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), schools in particular need to be very careful when it comes to storing student data.
What is GDPR?
GDPR is a new legislation introduced on 25 May 2018, to replace the old 1998 Data Protection Act. It requires any personal information about an individual (staff and students alike) to be processed securely and confidentially. All data should be stored in compliance with the following 7 principles of GDPR:
1. Fair, lawful and transparent processing
2. Purpose limitation – consent is required
3. Data minimisation – collect the minimum amount of data required
4. Data must be accurate
5. Data must not be stored for longer than necessary
6. Data must be stored securely
7. You need to take responsibility for what you do with the personal data
Data Security
If any organisation, including schools, does not keep data safe and secure, the ICO will issue fines of up to £17 million, or 4% of the annual turnover of the organisation. Whether you are storing financial, legal or business documents, you need to ensure the data is held securely. Some methods of data protection include: secure destruction of confidential waste, using strong passwords within computer systems, encrypting personal information and using a professional document management company.
Subject Access Requests
As well as securely storing personal data within schools, both students and parents are able to make requests to see what personal data the school holds about them. Therefore, school record systems also need to be easily accessible, which is where our retrieval & collections service really comes into play. Rather than having to wade through filing cabinets, we make school record retrievals simple with our fast and flexible service to make sure you’ve the documents you need, when you need them.
We understand the importance of being able to access files quickly and easily, which is why we provide a digital retrieval service, scan on demand. We’ll retrieve the hard copy file, scan it and upload it to our secure online client portal, which allows you to view, email or print your document at your leisure.
Retaining Personal Data
Schools need to monitor the data they have on their staff, students and any other persons linked with the school. Data should be kept accurate and relevant at all times. As stated by @Global Policing, schools need to have an annual audit of data protection under the new GDPR. This should include asking parents and students to check their details, ensuring live files are up to date and the safe destruction of outdated data. A record of this document disposal should also be kept in order to ensure compliance with the GDPR.
With the new school term just around the corner, have you got everything in place to ensure you are compliant with the GDPR? If you require any further advice on how to implement secure document storage, contact the team at Archive-Vault today.
