Education & GDPR: Protecting learners, staff and institutions
In education, data protection goes beyond enrolment forms and gradebooks. Schools, universities and EdTech platforms process large volumes of personal data, often about children and young people, including: attendance and behaviour records, learning outcomes, safeguarding information, health notes, online activity and use of third-party learning tools.
That means:
- Stricter expectations around transparency and consent, especially for minors
- Complex data sharing between schools, local authorities, exam boards and service providers
- Reputational risk if parents, students or staff lose trust in how their data is handled
GDPR Register helps schools, colleges, universities and EdTech providers turn dispersed privacy documents into a structured, manageable data protection programme.
Typical challenges for education organisations
Education organisations we work with often struggle with:
- Scattered records – RoPAs, DPIAs, vendor lists and policies kept in separate Excel files or Word documents
- Minors and consent – managing parental consent, pupil rights and age-appropriate transparency across many systems
- Rapid digitalisation – a growing list of EdTech tools, cloud platforms and apps, each processing learner data
- Complicated data sharing – with local authorities, exam boards, research partners and external service providers
- Limited resources – data protection work falling to DPOs, IT leads or administrators on top of their day job
How GDPR Register supports compliance in education
1. Clear overview of pupil, student and staff data
Map all processing activities in one place, including:
- Student information systems and learning management systems
- Classroom apps, assessment tools and online proctoring solutions
- HR and payroll systems for staff
- Safeguarding, SEN and pastoral support records
Our RoPA module lets you document purposes, lawful bases (including consent and public task), categories of data (including special category and child data), recipients, transfers, retention rules and security measures in a structured way. You can import existing Excel registers and refine them inside the platform.
2. DPIAs and risk management for high-risk tools and projects
New digital tools and data-intensive projects often trigger DPIA obligations in education. GDPR Register helps you:
- Run DPIA workflows for new platforms (e.g. online learning, AI tools, monitoring software, proctoring, research projects)
- Use a visual risk matrix to assess likelihood and impact, and link risks to specific systems and processing activities
- Define mitigation measures, responsible owners and deadlines, and track progress over time
- Produce clear DPIA reports that can be shared with senior leadership, governors or regulators
3. Managing vendors, EdTech tools and data sharing
Modern education relies on a wide range of external providers. GDPR Register allows you to:
- Maintain a central register of processors and partners (EdTech vendors, cloud services, exam platforms, communication tools, etc.)
- Track Data Processing Agreements, technical and organisational measures, data locations and international transfers
- Link each vendor to the processing activities, year groups or departments they support
- Assess and monitor vendor risks as part of your overall data protection posture
4. Handling rights of pupils, parents, students and staff
Learners and parents are increasingly aware of their rights, and institutions must respond consistently. With GDPR Register you can:
- Log and manage data subject requests (access, rectification, restriction, objection, portability) from pupils, parents, students and staff
- Track deadlines, status and responsible owners so requests do not slip through the cracks
- Link each request to the relevant systems and processing activities for faster, more accurate responses
- Maintain a breach and incident register, documenting impact, notifications and remedial actions
5. Ongoing accountability and transparency
GDPR Register gives education DPOs and data protection leads a single source of truth for privacy:
- Dashboards for quick oversight of records, DPIAs, risks, incidents and outstanding tasks
- Document templates and checklists aligned with day-to-day privacy operations
- An AI assistant to help draft and update processing descriptions, DPIAs, policies and communications more quickly
Instead of juggling multiple spreadsheets and ad hoc documents, you have one platform showing what learner and staff data you process, why you process it, where it flows, how it is protected, and what you are doing about the risks – helping you build trust with parents, students, staff and regulators alike.