National Cyber Security Centre – Cyber Security Training for Schools

Cyber security is how individuals and organisations reduce the risk of a cyber-attack. Cyber security is important within schools due to their increasing reliance on IT and online systems in all areas of school life. With increasingly complex cyber-attacks targeting schools and their staff, it’s more important than ever to take steps to prevent cyber criminals from obtaining access to school and pupil data, and/or school IT devices.

School Cyber Resilience in Numbers

A survey from 2019 looked at cyber security in over 400 schools. The key responses included:

• 83% of schools had experienced some type of cyber incident or attack
• 69% of schools had suffered a phishing attack. This was the most common form of cyber-attack across the schools surveyed
• 97% of schools said losing access to IT would cause considerable disruption. This is not unusual considering how dependent schools have become on technology
• 65% of schools don’t train non-IT staff on cyber security. When trained, staff play a valuable role in defending against cyber-attacks and incidents.

As a result, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have produced free cyber security training to raise awareness and help school staff manage some of the key cyber threats facing schools. It covers key topics, such as who is behind cyber-attacks, cyber threats from both outside and inside schools and four ways to defend yourself and the schools’ that you work in. In line with this, the Department for Education (DfE) has made annual NSCS training mandatory for all members of school staff. The training can be accessed below via a self-learn video.  Once you have completed the training, please submit the form that will become visible at the end of the video (just under 37 minutes). Upon receipt, justteachers will e mail you your certificate for your records. Please note the form will only become visible once you have watched the video, fast forwarding and dragging the cursor will not work.