Governors’ role in cyber security

Be clear on what you need to know about cyber security, and the questions you can ask your school leaders, so you can be assured your school is as safe as possible from a cyber attack.

Last reviewed on 6 March 2024
See updates
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 39500
Contents
  1. You’re responsible for your school’s cyber security
  2. Get support from your LA or trust
  3. Get training for you and your school's staff
  4. School leaders should have precautions in place
  5. Make sure your school leaders develop, review and test an incident response plan 
  6. Ask your school leaders to organise an annual audit
  7. Questions to ask your school leaders
  8. Free resources for your school

Our thanks to the following experts for their help with this article: Karen Mitchell; Vickie Cieplak and Edward Trimbee from the West Midlands Regional Cyber Crime Unit; and our internal IT experts at The Key and ScholarPack.

Throughout this article, we also refer to:

You’re responsible for your school’s cyber security

It's not just down to your school’s IT department

Cyber security is the responsibility of the whole board, not just 1 person. This is because it’s central to your school’s ability to operate and function.

This is explained on page 12