Childcare Data Protection: Essential Privacy Tips and Guidelines in 2024

How to safeguard your business, employees, children's personal information and their families, from data theft and data breaches.

In today's constantly changing digital world, safeguarding sensitive information is more important than ever before. As a provider of children's activities like wraparound care, before and after school clubs, holiday camps, tutoring, and classes, it is crucial to prioritise the security of personal data. Establishing a company culture that values the protection of children's data and information security is vital. This involves more than just including GDPR statements and generic policies in your terms and conditions. Read this article and discover practical and simple ideas to integrate personal data protection practices into your daily operations.

To effectively run your children's programmes, you probably utilise some or all of the following:

A website
A booking or enrolment system
Paper registration forms or attendance sheets
Online tools like Google Docs, Excel, and Microsoft Excel
Accounting software like Xero
Mobile devices for staff interactions
Online listings detailing your company contact details
Emailed invoices and banking information

These platforms are important to use for the effective management of epic children’s programmes. However, administrators of these tools and resources should be aware that the personal information of their customers and staff is likely to be passed through these systems. Therefore the need for processes and policies to safely manage this data is required.

Firstly understand the various ways in which data can be compromised. Common methods of data breaches include:

Using unsecured networks: Utilising public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks can leave data on mobile phones or laptops vulnerable to interception from hackers.
Phishing attacks: Deceptive emails or text messages designed to coerce individuals into sharing confidential information.
Malware: Refers to harmful programmes that are opened on devices and downloaded to your hardware. These programs are designed to steal or share data or disrupt normal operations.
Weak passwords: Easily hackable passwords that grant unauthorised entry to confidential data.
Personal password use for work: The use of personal passwords for work-related logins. This information may have been used to complete forms, enter giveaways or log in to other apps or websites that are not secure. Sometimes third parties sell this information.
Insider Threats: Instances where employees or contractors abuse their access privileges for malicious intentions.

What the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR Guidelines say:

As a bare minimum of business operation in the UK, all businesses dealing with people's personal data must comply with certain regulations on how this data is handled, stored and protected. Familiarise yourself with the key concepts outlined in The Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR guidelines;

1. Data minimisation: Collect only the data you need and store it only as long as necessary.
2. Consent: Obtain explicit consent from parents or guardians before collecting, using, or sharing children's data.
3. Right to access: Inform parents and guardians about their right to access their children's data and how to request it.
4. Data breach response: Have a clear plan for responding to data breaches, including notifying affected individuals and authorities.

Here are some tips to assist you in implementing data protection and privacy practices into your kids activity programmes.

Website Security Tips

Boost your website security with these essential tips to protect the first point of contact for parents and guardians:

Build your website with compliant web developers or renowned web-building platforms: When looking for a web developer it may be helpful to find out how long this web developer has practised, what compliance certifications they hold and what practices they will put in place to regularly ensure your website is up to scratch with the latest cyber security updates.
Use HTTPS: Ensure your website uses HTTPS. This encrypts the data exchanged between the user's browser and your server.
Stay up-to-date: Shield your website from vulnerabilities by regularly updating software, plugins, and themes.
Strengthen passwords: Ensure your staff are using strong, one-of-a-kind passwords for your admin panel and staff accounts.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Most websites ensure that every login now uses a 2FA process. Ensure your team is utilising this web feature.
Website login management: Make the most of your website platforms' user and permissions feature, to give staff the level of access they will need to complete tasks. Regularly review who has access to your website and remove people as necessary.

Safe Management and Storage of Paper Enrolment and Attendance Forms

Let's not forget the significance of protecting paper forms:

Identify what is confidential and what is not: Ensure your team know what kind of information is confidential, and what type of information will be accessible to staff.
Secure storage: Keep all confidential paper documents in secure cabinets that can only be accessed by authorised individuals.
Proper disposal: Dispose of unnecessary documents by shredding them according to your data retention guidelines.

Security Ideas for Devices

Mobile phones play a crucial role in facilitating communication among staff, especially when it comes to coordinating shifts or interacting with families. To uphold the security and privacy of work-related conversations, consider;

Buying dedicated work phones: Equip employees with dedicated work phones to distinguish between personal and professional communications, ultimately lowering the chances of data breaches stemming from personal device usage
Keeping hardware of applications updated: Ensure all work devices are regularly updated.
Using secure messaging platforms: Opt for encrypted messaging apps such as Signal or WhatsApp for all work-related discussions to safeguard the confidentiality of messages.
Conducting appropriate mobile-for-work training: Ensure that mobile-for-work policies and best practices are added to your staff contracts to set high standards from the get-go. Conduct team training around the use of devices at work and the appropriate use of work phones.

Data Protection through Email

Sending and receiving information via email is an easy way for hackers to retrieve information. Some of this information between families can be sensitive; discussing the health and safety or updates of children, communicating over invoices, payments, vouchers or other financial information. Firstly take a look at these two tips https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/home from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre to protect your emails. See more cyber-secure ideas below:

Secure File Sharing: Instead of attaching sensitive files to emails, use secure file-sharing platforms like Dropbox or Google Drive to ensure that only authorised individuals can access them.
Phishing Awareness: Educate employees about phishing scams and how to recognise suspicious emails to avoid falling victim to fraud.
Set up email domains for staff: Ensure your teams use work email addresses with your company domain. This will give you ownership of the email domains and future-proof emails and access to sensitive historical email history.

Safe Use of External Online Programmes

Unlock the potential of external online tools like Google, Excel, and Microsoft spreadsheets to effectively manage your data. However, it is crucial to prioritize data security by implementing the following best practices:

Access controls: Restrict access to spreadsheets and documents to only essential staff members. Utilise permission settings to control who can view, edit, or share files.
Strong passwords and 2FA: Strengthen security measures by enforcing strong password policies and implementing multi-factor authentication for all accounts accessing these platforms.
Export and/or sharing policies: Create policies around when staff should and should not share files, or export files.

Create Staff Policies and Implement Training

From the get-go, include data protection policies as part of your contracts. Consider policies and practices like;

Device security and usage agreements: Provide staff with the devices they need to effectively do their job well, and train staff to create strong passwords and activate biometric authentication on their work mobile phones and laptops. Be sure to establish usage restrictions for personal devices used for work, and clearly outline what is considered appropriate use of company devices to reduce potential risks.
Secure connection agreement: Make it a requirement to use secure Wi-Fi connections and VPNs when accessing work information remotely to prevent data from being intercepted.
Device auditing, training and updates: Document all work devices and who has them. Advise staff to regularly update their devices' operating systems and software to safeguard against potential vulnerabilities. Train staff on what to do if they feel their device has been hacked.
Lost or stolen device policy and procedures: Put a plan in place for reporting any lost or stolen devices. Make sure to enable remote wiping to keep your data safe from unauthorised access.

Privacy Protection Tips for Popular Tools and Resources Used to Administrate Kids Activities

There are other common tools and resources that kids activity providers often use within their businesses. Here's a list of those mediums and tips to help you safeguard privacy information on those platforms:

Photos and/or video use of children: Include media consent forms as part of your booking and enrolment process to give families the ability to opt out of media being taken of their children. This is an opportunity for you to explain how you use media, what platforms you share this information on, who may see this media and for what reasons you would use this media. Potentially create media permissions with multiple options for parents to choose from.
Communicate what your publication and communication platforms are: Some businesses are active on Facebook, and LinkedIn. Some may use closed Facebook groups to share updates on child group activities, personal development or discounts and promotions. Other businesses use apps specifically designed for parent communication. Whatever option your business chooses, communicate this with your customer database and give them the opportunity to opt in or opt-out.
Marketing and advertising: Be clear about what and how you market your programmes. Make sure to remove any identifying details of children or families from all promotional resources.
Email Campaigns: Regularly update parents about your data protection policies and practices. Share tips and policies to demonstrate your commitment to safeguarding their information. Stick to emailing parents about what you said you would.

Take action by putting these measures in place to safeguard your organisation and establish trust with the families you support. Showing a dedicated attitude towards data protection boosts your credibility and establishes a precedent for privacy and security within your field. Keep a watchful eye, stay educated, and guarantee that every aspect of your organisation complies with top-notch data protection protocols.

Checkout these credible data protection and GDPR sites for more advice: (also referenced in this article)

Note: By no means is this professional or lawful advice on data privacy management practices and this should not override the seeking out of professional or legal data privacy services.

If the implementation of data protection practices is overwhelming for you, consider embracing the use of compliant kids’ activity management software such as Enrolmy. Where the management of general data protection and privacy compliance is largely dealt with. Enrolmy is developed with strong data protection features and is consistently updated to meet the latest legal and digital requirements. For instance, Enrolmy offers top-notch web security and data protection that adheres to UK GDPR standards, guaranteeing the secure management of personal information. By staying ahead of policy and technology changes, these platforms help reduce the chances of data breaches and ensure that your organisation complies with ever-changing regulations. This not only brings peace of mind to you, but also to the families that you cater to.

Enrolmy goes beyond basic booking functions too. It manages many areas of your business all in one place, and the compliance that comes with that, such as:

Enrolment data management: Enrolmy’s features enable children’s activity providers the ability to collect and store enrolment details to safeguard sensitive information effectively.
Media permissions management: Enrolmy takes care of gathering and storing who has opted in or out of your media permissions agreement.
Efficient invoicing system and secure parent portal login: Enrolmy streamlines the invoicing processes and payment tracking to minimise mistakes and uphold the security of financial records. As well as hosting a secure parent portal for families to oversee their family information, bookings and payments.
Protected Payment Gateways: Enrolmy partners with secure payment gateways for safe and trackable transactions.

Complete the form below to get in touch with the Enrolmy team and chat about your business today!

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