School Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

By Jade Morrisey. Last Updated 2nd August 2024. Welcome to our guide to school data breach compensation claims with recent school data breach examples. Schools and educational institutions handle a large amount of personal data. Some of this data may relate to staff and some to students, past and present. Some of this information is sensitive, especially when it relates to medical information, for example.

No matter how sensitive the personal data a school collects, stores and processes, it must abide by data protection law. Unfortunately, however, things can go wrong, and if you or your child has fallen victim to a school data breach, you could be eligible to claim compensation. We have created this guide to help you understand when you may be able to make a data breach compensation claim against a school, and how the process works.

This guide also offers insight into how a data breach lawyer from Legal Expert could help you. If you have any questions about a personal data breach claim, or you’re ready to get started and would like a lawyer to help you, please call our team on 0800 073 8804. You can also contact us online using our contact form or our 24/7 live chat service. We will be happy to help you and to advise you on how to claim. We could even check your eligibility to claim, free of charge.

Select A Section

1. How To Make School Data Breach Compensation Claims
2. Examples Of Data Breaches In Schools
3. What Happens If A School Breaches UK GDPR?
4. Do I Need Evidence For School Data Breach Compensation Claims?
5. How Much Could I Claim For A School Data Breach?
6. No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors
7. Start Your School Data Breach Claim

How To Make School Data Breach Compensation Claims

Personal data is any information that can be used to identify someone. Schools have legal responsibilities to protect personal data under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. These legislations outline that data controllers (parties that decide the purpose for processing personal data), and data processors (parties who process the data for the controller) have a responsibility to protect personal data while it is handled, stored, and processed. Schools can be data controllers as well as processors.

Failure to follow the responsibilities set out in data protection legislation is known as wrongful conduct and could potentially lead to a personal data breach.

As such, under Article 4 of the UK GDPR, you must satisfy this criteria to make a school data breach claim:

• The school (the data controller or processor) failed to follow data protection legislation.
• Due to their wrongful conduct, there was a personal data breach.
• Due to the personal data breach, you suffered emotionally and/or financially.

Additionally, the UK Government has put together a toolkit for schools to use when implementing policies and procedures to ensure UK GDPR compliance. This involves raising data protection awareness among all staff and ensuring that those who process personal data are educated on how to do so in accordance with the UK GDPR.

Contact us to find out whether you are eligible for school data breach compensation.

What Is A Data Breach?

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) defines a data breach as a security incident that affects the availability, integrity or confidentiality of personal data. It could involve data being subject to:

• Unauthorised/ unlawful access or destruction.
• Loss of personal data or loss of availability of data.
• The disclosure, transmission or alteration of personal data without permission.
• Data theft.

Examples Of Data Breaches In Schools

Under the UK GDPR, you may be eligible for compensation if you have suffered emotional distress or financial harm after a breach of data protection in schools.

You might be unsure about what a valid data breach claim might entail. However, below you will find examples of data breaches in schools to give you an idea:

• A school could send a letter containing your child’s personal data to the wrong postal address, despite having your correct address on file.
• A teacher might breach your child’s personal data if they fail to safely store your child’s educational records, meaning an unauthorised person can access the information.
• A school may fail to update their computer systems and without having adequate security measures implemented, the systems could be susceptible to attacks from cybercriminals. Subsequently, your child’s personal data could be breached.

Don’t worry if you can’t relate to the UK GDPR breach examples featured above. If a school has caused a data breach in which your personal data was compromised, and you experienced a psychological injury or financial loss, you could make a data breach claim. Get in touch for more information.

What Happens If A School Breaches UK GDPR?

A school should have robust procedures to act when data breaches occur. Under UK GDPR, any breach of personal data that affects the freedoms and rights of individuals should be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This means that any breach that could risk harm to an individual in any of the following ways should be reported:

• Discrimination, including harassment
• Identity theft or fraud
• Financial loss
• Reputational damage
• Loss of confidentiality of personal data under protection by professional secrecy
• They must also ensure that they report any data breaches where sensitive personal information is compromised.

Schools must also inform individuals whose data has been breached about the incident.

How Long Do I Have To Claim For A School Data Breach?

When claiming due to a breach of data protection in schools, the time limit can differ depending on the status of the school in general.

Typically, you have 6 years to claim if you are claiming against a public body. However, if you are claiming against a private body then the time limit is just 1 year.

It is important to know the status of your school when making a claim against them, as this could affect your time limit. There are other factors that could affect the time you have to claim as well. If you’d like to find out whether you are still within your time limit, get in touch with our advisors today.

Do I Need Evidence For School Data Breach Compensation Claims?

When making any compensation claim, having evidence is vital for proving not only liability but the harm suffered either by you or your child. Evidence that could be useful in a data breach claim includes: 

• Confirmation of the breach from the ICO. As stated above, the ICO must be informed of reportable breaches. The organisation has 72 hours from awareness of the breach of personal data to alert the ICO. 
• The letter of notification. An organisation must inform you if your personal data has been breached without undue delay if the breach presents a risk to your rights and freedoms. They could do this by letter or by email.
• A copy of your credit report or bank statements if you are claiming for material damage. 
• Your medical records could help prove any psychological harm you or your child suffered as a result of the breach. 

Get in touch with an advisor from our team to discuss data protection in schools and what evidence you could submit if your or your child’s personal data has been breached. 

How Much Could I Claim For A School Data Breach?

If you make a successful school data breach claim, then you may receive compensation for material and non-material damage. Non-material damage covers any psychological injuries you’ve suffered because of the breach of your personal data.

Those who value the psychological harm caused by a data breach may consult the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document includes compensation guidelines for numerous physical and psychological injuries that may be covered by compensation claims. You can view some of the figures that may be relevant when claiming for a school data breach below. The first bullet point is not based on the JCG.

• Compensation for multiple types of severe mental harm,  plus material damage, could be worth up to £250,000 and above. 
• Compensation for severe psychiatric damage, which affects the claimant’s ability to cope with work or relationships with family and friends, could be worth £66,920 to £141,240.
• Additionally, compensation for moderate psychiatric damage, where the prognosis is optimistic but the claimant still suffers with getting through aspects of their life, could be worth £7,150 to £23,270.
• Compensation for severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which prevents the claimant from functioning near the pre-trauma level, could be worth £73,050 to £122,850.
• Additionally, compensation for moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, where any continuing effects will not be grossly disabling, could be worth £9,980 to £28,250.

Material damage could potentially be claimed to cover any financial losses you have suffered because of a data breach in a school. For example, if you’ve suffered psychological harm because of the breach and you took unpaid time off work to recover from this, then those loss of earnings in that period may be covered under material damage.

To claim material damage, you will need to provide certain documents as evidence, such as wage slips, bank statements or invoices.

Contact our advisors for free today if you have any questions about how much you could claim for a data breach in a school.

No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors

You may be concerned about the financial risks associated with using data breach solicitors. However, hiring No Win No Fee data breach solicitors, could potentially benefit you.

Under this type of arrangement, you only pay a success fee if they help you win your claim. The success fee you do pay is legally limited as outlined in the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013. If you don’t receive compensation, you won’t pay their fees.

Get in touch if you would like to work with our No Win No Fee solicitors. Our advisors are available 24/7 and can check your eligibility free of charge.

Start Your School Data Breach Claim

Whether you’d like us to offer you a free eligibility check on your case, or you’re ready to talk to a data breach solicitor about your claim, we could help. Our expert advisors can answer your questions and check your eligibility to claim. We could then provide you with a No Win No Fee data breach lawyer who could help you fight for the maximum payout for your claim. To get in touch about a school data breach, all you need to do is:

• Call 0800 073 8804
• Use Live Chat Messenger
• E-mail info@legalexpert.co.uk
• Complete our contact form

We hope these examples of data breaches in schools have been helpful, but if you have any more questions, get in touch with our team.