Does your school use encrypted email?

[Council]

Either for sending emails with anything personal about your children internally or for communication with outside agencies.

We don't. I think we should but am meeting resistance on cost grounds.(c. £5000 pa, so I do understand that)

[noblegiraffe]

Anything really confidential is sent as password protected attachments at my school. Don’t know what we do about external agencies.

[Council]

Yes, that's what we do noblegiraffe for the really confidential stuff that goes to other agencies, although often that just means sending the password in a separate email, not it's not really secure at all.

What's concerning me at the moment is the very confidential stuff that's being sent internally, people don't seem to recognise the need there in the same way but also the fact that the vast majority of school emails will have something that's a little bit confidential, even if it's just names.

[Appuskidu]

We use Switch Egress for emails now which is secure.

[Council]

Yes that's what I'm trying to get in place, but it is expensive in a world where schools have no cash.

[exLtEveDallas]

We use Switch or the Secure Portal for outside agencies. Internally we only ever use initials of children and all e-docs are password protected.

[Appuskidu]

We have less than no cash but we have it! I didn’t realise the school had paid for it?!

[Council]

They've quoted £5200 pa for us Appuskidu

[Appuskidu]

I’m not sure how we are using it then! I was ‘invited’ to sign up in order to read a message from a paediatrician and have used it ever since. Maybe I will get a big bill?!

[Council]

Oh that's different Appuskidu, if someone else is using it to send stuff to you, you can sign up to read what they've sent you, but it doesn't make what you're sending secure.

[Appuskidu]

When I send emails using it, the box I click to send them, says ‘send secure’ though?

I will have to investigate then. It’s how we are now expected to be contacted/reply to health, LEA etc

[vlooby]

We've been using it for about a year. Didn't realise it had a cost at all!

[Appuskidu]

I have just done a bit of googling, and have found this.

I think my LEA has bought into it though (rather than the school) so all the external agencies I need to contact in my role already have it? Maybe that’s why I’m not paying?!