Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue; it’s essential for safeguarding students and keeping schools running smoothly. In fact, the 2024 Government Cyber Survey revealed that 71% of secondary schools and 52% of primary schools identified a breach or attack within the last year, considerably higher than the average UK business (50%) or charity (32%). With threats like ransomware, extortion, and insider breaches on the rise, schools must take a proactive approach to security.(Lloyd Passingham, Arbor Senior DevSecOps Engineer).

Measure Hope School have in place, we have...

• adopted a secure, cloud based MIS.
• regular security training.
• implemented strict access controls.
• regular software updates. 

Resources for pupils and parents

KS1

Smartie the Penguin – an engaging storytelling collection of six stories exploring life online for 3-7 year olds. Teaching children the foundations of security culture behaviour, notably speaking up if something doesn’t seem right and seeking help from a trusted adult; you might incorporate these stories as a whole class exercise during circle time. The song can be a real earworm!

KS2

NCSC CyberSprinters – Award-winning gamified online security resources for 7-11 year olds. These resources include a game that can be played on mobile, tablet or desktop. Mini-games focus on essential topics such as identifying phishing emails, creating strong and memorable passwords, and understanding the importance of regularly updating their devices. Personally I am a fan of the practitioner-led exercises – in particular lesson 2 “Protecting your devices”. The security mapping exercise has 105 combinations allowing plenty of room for novel and open discussions as well as opportunities to correct misconceptions.

KS3

Another excellent resource from the NCSC is their CyberFirst Navigators series. Highlighting to students common cyber scams and malicious activity that they might come across online. Many students this age may have their own personal mobile devices and begin exploring the internet on their own. Communicating with friends and others online presents new risks where protections like strong passwords, multi-factor authentication and general Cyber Hygiene are vital to staying safe. You might look to incorporate authentication lessons such as choosing a strong password during new year intakes where students are first set up on your school’s IT systems.

Parents & Guardians

Providing parents and guardians with a clear and easy way to report security concerns or suggestions is essential; this could be a dedicated email inbox or submission form. Additionally, internetmatters.org Parental Controls Guides give guardians quick access to simple guides on how to implement parental controls on a huge number of different platforms. From Roblox and Fortnite to WiFi routers and mobile devices.