School caused potential safeguarding issue with data breach

During the first quarter 65% of breaches were from the private sector

A school on the Isle of Man caused a potential safeguarding issue by giving the address of a child's parent to their estranged partner. 

The school hasn't been identified; the case has been revealed as part of advice on handling children’s data from the Information Commissioner.

Of the breaches reported in the first quarter of the year five involved schools.

Other issues documented including accessing systems with someone else’s password, not using Bcc on emails and medical information about all students, attending a school trip, detailed on a piece of paper stuck to the wall.

The school involved has not been named however the report says: "The school involved was aware that the parents were estranged and one parent should not know the address of their former partner. 

"Despite this correspondence was issued that included the address of both parents causing a potential safeguarding issue.

"All parties involved are aware of the breach."

The commissioner says that organisations processing children's data are often handling information that sits alongside complex family issues, court orders, custody disputes, health needs or safeguarding concerns, adding that 'a disclosure that appears minor on paper may have very different real-world consequences'.

It says that many breaches involving children's data can be avoided through simple checks and clear procedures such as considering:

• Whether the information being shared is actually necessary
• Whether health information or other sensitive data is visible to those who do not need access to it
• Whether recipient details have been checked carefully before sending correspondence
• Whether any known safeguarding considerations have been taken into account before information is disclosed
• Whether staff understand that children's personal data may require additional protection

Overall the first quarter of 2026/27 saw an estimated 10,750 people on the Isle of Man at risk of a personal data breach.

It's down from 16,600 in Q4 2025/26 while the number of breaches increased from 45 to 65.