TES Exclusive: More than 700 school data breaches in a year

The number of data breaches reported by schools increased by almost a quarter in just two years, new research shows.

Schools in the UK reported 703 data breaches to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in 2016-17, compared with 571 in 2014-15.

A freedom of information request by accountancy network UHY Hacker Young showed that 674 were reported in 2015-16.

The news comes after a school business managers’ leader last year warned that funding pressures on schools were making them more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

And earlier this year, the Charity Commission warned private schools that fraudsters were trying to intercept fee payments from parents using emails.  

Read more via TES

Herts for Learning Blog: Greater depth maths: change the rules

One of the most frequently asked questions the Herts for Learning maths team gets asked in schools relate to where teachers can get their hands on more ‘greater depth’ materials.

The vast majority of the schools we work in regularly have moved away from the ‘three boxes’ approach to differentiation, whereby every lesson different groups are working on completely separate skills or tasks.

However, some teachers report they are still spending a long time searching the internet for the elusive ‘greater depth’ materials - the needle in the haystack.

This blog shares a useful strategy which teachers in any year group, teaching any domain, can apply to add extra depth and challenge to age-related questions. 

Read the full blog post via Herts for Learning

St Albans pupils celebrate being awarded Green Flag for environmental work

A St Albans primary and nursery school has been awarded a Green Flag for its environmental work.

Camp School pupils are celebrating being one of 1,000 schools to be given a Eco-Schools Green Flag.

Headteacher Sharon Barton said: “The pupils are delighted. This is a real accolade which recognises a whole-school initiative aiming to change children’s habits by saving energy and resources and protecting our planet.”

Members of the school’s Eco Committee, led by assistant head Ruth Rose, carried out an audit which showed fuel use was one of the areas needing to be tackled.

Read more via Herts Advertiser