Navigating education data governance in the UK state schools: a continued conversation

The Digital Futures Commission report on education data governance set out a child rights-based analysis of the use of EdTech in UK state schools. The report revealed a highly complex governance landscape with education governance devolved to the different UK nations, and data governance is overseen centrally primarily by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) whose expertise is not in education. There is no government body that oversees both education and data governance together, and partly as a consequence of this, the law and policy applicable to EdTech is fragmented with unclear lines of accountability. Our report sets out key recommendations for bringing better clarity, accountability, and child rights protections to the EdTech space in the UK.