enjay

That sort of thing is more likely going out over the callout radios than in the SLT WA group, but anything in the WA group would be initials only. Do you think it would be sufficient to say "don't use personal email" (because there's no reason to) and "if using non-school communication methods, please continue to follow the policies and CoC regarding safeguarding and privacy"?

As a cyclist, I don't like saying "cyclist's fault" because that is so often used by ignorant drivers, but it does feel like that is the case here.

A couple of thorny aspects to that. We require 2FA (which most staff do from personal mobiles), we encourage staff to install apps for ClassCharts and TeamSOS on their phones, and many choose to install VOIP and email on their phones for convenience. So it would seem a bit odd to then say don't use WhatsApp. Also, I think the SLT have a WhatsApp group for convenience of rapid communication rather than email, and I don't want the Head to have to tell people "do as I say not as I do".

We've just set the franking machine as a source exception on Smoothwall. My question is more "are franking machines still the right way to pay for postage?".

Not on this junction - there are pedestrian crossings to get over the main road, but the side road just has a traffic island in the middle allowing you to cross one lane at a time when the relevant lights are red. The cyclist was back on the main road by the time of the incident though, they weren't crossing the side road.

Yesterday, Mrs Enjay was driving and came to a light-controlled junction where she was turning right off a main road onto a smaller road. A cyclist was riding along the pavement (normal pavement, not shared use path) towards her on the opposite side of the main road, then dropped onto the road once they'd passed the red light and continued along the road. Mrs Enjay stopped rather than hit them (obviously!) but the cyclist got aggressive towards her for not giving way to them sooner. Does the hierarchy rule apply even for someone who shouldn't legally be there, or was the cyclist being a tool? We have similar near where I live as lots of people cycle along the pavement then obviously cycle across side road entrances - the hierarchy states pedestrians crossing those side roads have priority but obviously doesn't say about people cycling illegally on the pavement. That situation is different though, as it is a horrible road (narrow with lots of lorries and buses, and solid traffic in both directions) so I totally understand people not wanting to cycle on it, and I'm therefore happy to stop for them. In Mrs Enjay's situation, however, the cyclist had used the pavement purely to jump the queue of cars at the lights. Thoughts welcome, as the incident got Mrs Enjay quite upset.

There's a difference between "not actively encouraging" and "actively discouraging" though. That said, if a department group exists, is there an implied expectation that staff join that group?

Our DPO's latest newsletter includes a recommendation not to use end-to-end encrypted messaging because we can't access it in the event of an SAR. They also suggest a school policy discouraging use of personal devices as people are sometimes more indiscreet/inappropriate on those media, so I suspect this is in response to a school getting an SAR for WhatsApp messages (it might even be from us, as we did have one recently!) but my understanding is as long as we don't instruct/encourage use of personal devices or WhatsApp, there's no reason not to allow staff to communicate with colleagues via those platforms. What do you think?

Ours is getting used, so this is a question of replacing it with another machine or a different system. I don't think we post much out, so maybe we should go simple as you have done and just get some letter scales and a big book of stamps.

You misunderstand. It's working fine, but parts are no longer available if anything breaks so we want to replace it.

A hybrid between paper and technology, does anyone have any experience with franking machines or similar? Ours has gone end-of-life, but before we sign up for a newer version of the same thing (Quadient), I wanted to check there wasn't something better out there, including "just buy the postage online" options. Any advice on what you guys do in this area greatly appreciated.

Good point.

Are you sure? We had an SAR which specifically asked for WhatsApp messages and were advised we didn't need to provide them because they're not a school-sanctioned system and weren't sent from school-owned devices.

True, but you then lose control of it and can't guarantee their access to data stops when you disable their M365 account. We tell people M365 mail can be funny in some phone-native mail apps (which in fairness it can, especially where access to the address book is concerned) and they should download the Outlook app.

Can and should are different things! One of our Governors also asked for this, and we refused because: - access would continue after they leave the school - access by family members who shared the devices/accounts couldn't be prevented - not backed up - not subject to our virus and phishing filters - not accessible by other school staff if needed - if the account is compromised, we can't lock it down We set the Outlook app on their phone with the notification for new email, and they were happy (or at least they were accepting). Also, it isn't just one Governor - once you've allowed it for one, you'll be doing it for all of them, then a teacher, then all the teachers.

We saw that here with some online quiz or assessment platform, I forget exactly what it was. When the Wonde came through, it included name, year group, etc but also PP, SEN and Ethnicity. I queried this and was told "some of our customers buy a module which analyses student marks by these categories, so we request it as standard". They did subsequently send a new request just for what we need, but I wonder how many other people just agree without thinking or realising - it certainly goes to show why the only staff with Wonde/Groupcall/etc. admin access, or indeed any IT staff who might install "a little connector app" on the SIMS server, also have solid GDPR training.

I guess I'm not making a distinction in my head between the two routes. Either way, the school is in effect sharing the data, whether directly (by SSO) or indirectly (by telling the child they must share it). I accept the legality of it may be different though.

It isn't really, but since we should be doing DPIAs on every website which a teacher tells a student to sign up with, the main question is still valid.

You didn't fancy getting up at 3am for the 8% eclipse?

I signed up, paid the £4.99 two-year membership and my first saving was £4.50!

Indeed, maybe I've just saved some colleagues a bit of money!

Different schools have different structures, and there is a reason why I included our HR Manager in the discussion.

I think the point they're getting stuck on is "required", my staff aren't required to wear these clothes, I'm offering them for convenience.

These aren't required uniform, but I still think they count as uniform because of the logo so are exempt.

True, but my staff might not want them if they have to pay. I suppose the answer there is I'm not forcing them to wear them, so if they'd rather use their own, they can do so.