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ARTICLE · 16 JANUARY 2025

Data Protection Commissioner Publishes Toolkit For Schools

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The much-anticipated Data Protection Toolkit for Schools (the "toolkit") was published by the Data Protection Commissioner (the "DPC") on 19 December 2024.

IrelandPrivacy
Jennifer Noctor
Jennifer Noctor
Lisa Mannion
Lisa Mannion
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Overview

The much-anticipated Data Protection Toolkit for Schools (the "toolkit") was published by the Data Protection Commissioner (the "DPC") on 19 December 2024. The toolkit has been developed to assist schools in understanding the nature of their obligations as data controllers and to help them to comply with their obligations under both the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR") and the Data Protection Act 2018 (the "Act"). The toolkit was developed after consultation with a number of organisations in the education sector and provides detailed guidance on various areas of data protection law that have been identified as posing the most challenging for schools.

In publishing this toolkit, the DPC has recognised the specific obstacles faced by schools given the sensitive nature of the data they often process and the challenges that often arise when processing children's personal data, which is afforded additional protections under the GDPR. The

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