Schools

Reports of data breach on Class Charts platform

ICO launches probe amid reports parents 'saw data of children from other schools'

ICO launches probe amid reports parents 'saw data of children from other schools'

Exclusive

The information watchdog is investigating reports of a data breach on the Class Charts behaviour management platform, which is used by tens of thousands of teachers.

Some parents logging on to Class Charts last week were reportedly shown data relating to other children.

The Information Commissioner’s Office told Schools Week it had “received a data breach report in relation to Class Charts and are assessing the information provided.

“Anyone who is concerned about how their data has been handled can get in touch with the ICO or check our website for advice and support,” said an ICO spokesperson.

Class Charts is used by more than 180,000 teachers, its website states. The company says it can “save teachers time and reduce workload with our data rich seating plans” and “improve pupil behaviour with our fast and effective behaviour management”.

Class Charts, owned by Tes Global Limited, did not respond to requests for comment.

Posts on school IT professionals forum Edugeek claimed some parents logging on to the system were shown information relating to other people’s children. A thread on the issue has more than 100 posts.

One post stated that “we had a parent report seeing totally different pupils from totally different schools”.

Another said they had “two other schools ring us to say their parents had seen data of our students/pupils as they recognised the school logo and contacted us to make us aware”.

A banner on the Class Charts platform, shared on Edugeek, initially stated that “we regret to inform you that a data breach has occurred on Class Charts”.

Firm launches probe following ‘data breach’

“Rest assured, we are actively addressing the issue, you do not need to take any actions but we will be in contact with affected users to ensure their data security.”

However, forum users reported the banner was subsequently taken down. And in a reply to one school shared on Edugeek, the company reportedly tried to play down reports of a data breach.

“We took immediate action to resolve the issue, but there was a very short period yesterday morning when a small number of parent or teacher users could be served up with the incorrect information.

“Once resolved, we started investigations to understand how this could happen, who had been affected, and safeguard against anything similar in the future. There is no evidence of a malicious attack or data breach.”

According to ICO guidance, personal data breaches can include “sending personal data to an incorrect recipient”.

One forum user said they “asked for explicit confirmation that they were not treating the issue as a data breach”.

They said Class Charts told them that “despite very early actions to notify all our customers through in-product messaging, we removed that message as our investigations revealed it was inaccurate”.

“The issue was caused by a product update, which was then swiftly removed.”

Latest education roles from

IT Technician

IT Technician

Harris Academy Morden

Teacher of Geography

Teacher of Geography

Harris Academy Orpington

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Exams Assistant

Exams Assistant

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult & Community College

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Solihull College and University Centre

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

It’s Education’s Time to Shine: Celebrate your Education Community in 2025!

The deadline is approaching to nominate a colleague, team, whole school or college for the 2025 Pearson National Teaching...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Navigating NPQ Funding Cuts: An Apprenticeship Success Story

Last year’s NPQ funding cuts meant that half of England’s teachers faced costs of up to £4,000 to complete...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Embedding Formative Assessment: not just a box-ticking exercise but something long-term and meaningful for all

Our EFA programme has been proven to help schools achieve better GCSE results, as evidenced by the EEF. Find...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Building capacity in family support to tackle low school attendance 

Persistent and severe school absence impacts children, families, and communities—especially in disadvantaged areas. School-Home Support’s Attendance Support and Development Programme...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Schools

Free school gets £500k government bailout after wage increase

Private school-turned-academy hit with budget problems after increasing support staff pay to national rates

Jack Dyson
Schools

Coroner concern over school swimming lessons after boy’s death

Coroner warns some primaries are not providing swimming lessons despite it being curriculum requirement

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Schools

Cease and desist: Trust supports staff to sue online trolls

Provision for staff sickness cover will be broadened to cover defamation

Jack Dyson
Schools

Head scores victory as Google agrees to delete school reviews

Tech giant says all school reviews will now be deleted because of ‘consistent off-topic and harmful’ comments

Rhi Storer

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *