New guidance issued to school staff on privacy for young people
The Children's Privacy Project aims to ensure students' information is safely gathered, stored and shared by education settings
New education sector-specific guidance has been made available by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as part of its Children’s Privacy Project.
The new guidance, launched this week, is designed to help school staff and others in the education sector to better understand how to appropriately collect, use and share personal information about young people.
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Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster said that the new materials would give staff practical advice.
“Privacy, especially when it relates to children and young people, can be a complex area.”
“Our new guidance focuses on the specific needs of those working within the education sector and uses a range of real-world scenarios to help them make good privacy decisions with confidence.”
Topics include the rights of children and young people, education technology, and health and learning support information. Other areas covered are managing information requests, keeping learner information safe, unique identifiers, and managing privacy incidents.
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The use of digital technologies is one key area explored, including the use of online learning platforms, virtual classrooms, and parent communication tools. There is also a checklist providing a list of questions to ask when undertaking due diligence on these digital tools.
Special topic chapters focus on the relevant areas of the Privacy Act and the applicable privacy principles, including how these can be applied across the lifecycle of information, from collection through to deletion.
There is also information about the laws and policies that inform how children’s privacy is safeguarded, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, of which New Zealand is a signatory.
“One of our aims is to raise awareness of the various privacy risks children face.”
“Protecting children is also a major area of interest for the public, with our most recent privacy survey recording the highest level of concern (67 percent) for children’s privacy,” Mr Webster said.
“Whether you’re a teacher, a principal, an administrator, a member of a school board, a speech language therapist, a guidance counsellor, a music teacher, operate an ECE service, or are a service provider with services for learners, this guidance has been created for you.”
Previously, the Privacy Commissioner has released guidance to schools on other relevant privacy topics in education, including information sharing, photographing and filming of children and young people, best practice when responding to requests for a child or young person’s personal information, and how to help children, young people and their parents protect their privacy while exploring the online world.
