Schools go through IT equipment fast. Laptops for pupils, staff devices, tablets in classrooms, old servers in a cupboard nobody has looked at in years. At some point, all of it needs replacing. The question schools often get wrong is what happens to the old equipment once it leaves the building.
It is not just old hardware. Devices used in a school can hold pupil records, safeguarding notes, staff HR data, exam results and login details for school systems. If that information is not properly removed before a device leaves the site, the school carries the risk, not the person who eventually buys or scraps the machine.
Why this matters more for schools than most businesses
Schools hold some of the most sensitive personal data around, much of it about children. The ICO has been clear that organisations remain responsible for personal data even after a device is no longer in daily use. A laptop sitting in a store cupboard waiting for someone to 'sort it out' is still a live data protection risk. So is handing a box of old machines to a member of staff to take to the tip.
A safeguarding file left on an old laptop, or exam data still sitting on a drive that gets sold on second hand, is the kind of incident that ends up in a governors' meeting for the wrong reasons.
What actually needs attention
Most schools think first of laptops and desktops, but the list is usually longer. Tablets used for learning, old servers, network storage, USB drives handed out over the years, and even photocopiers and printers with internal storage can all hold data. If a device has ever stored or processed anything, it needs to be assessed before disposal, not assumed to be safe because it looks old or broken.
A simple process to follow
- Know what you have. A basic list of devices, where they are, and roughly what they might hold, makes everything after this easier.
- Separate anything that clearly holds data from equipment that does not, such as cabling or accessories.
- Make sure data is properly wiped or the device is physically destroyed, depending on its condition and what it held. This should not be left to guesswork or a quick factory reset.
- Get evidence. A proper disposal provider will give you a certificate that shows what was done and when, which you can keep on file if anyone ever asks.
- Make sure whatever cannot be reused is recycled responsibly, rather than sent to general waste.
Questions worth asking before you hand equipment over
How will you know the data was actually removed, not just deleted? Will you receive a certificate for each device or batch? What happens if a drive cannot be wiped and needs physical destruction instead? Is collection free, and does someone come to the school rather than staff having to transport equipment themselves?
A provider who can answer these clearly, without vague reassurance, is one worth trusting with school equipment.
Compritech offers free collection for qualifying volumes of equipment, onsite data destruction where needed, and a digital certificate for every device processed, so your school has a clear record if it is ever asked to show one.
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