Fewer schools in England are experiencing a cyber incident, according to the regulator Ofqual. Its third annual survey covering the 2025 to 2026 academic year found that those hit by cyber fell to 27pc; that’s down from 29pc in the school year 2024 to 2025 and 34pc in 2023 to 2024. When incidents do occur, schools are recovering faster, says the watchdog, with 66pc able to recover at once, up from 55pc in the academic year before.
Amanda Swann, Ofqualโs Executive Director of Delivery, said: “Itโs encouraging to see schools recovering faster, but a cyber breach can still cause real uncertainty for students if coursework or marks are lost, and staff confidence can be affected long after systems are back online. Cyber security isnโt just an IT problem; itโs a leadership responsibility. Regular backups and a clear response plan can make a huge difference when things go wrong.”
As for who’s primarily responsible for cyber security, 46pc of responding teachers said their IT team, 40pc said all staff, and 9pc pointed to senior leadership.
Comment
Mat Pullen, Director for Education at identity and access management product company โฏJamf, himself a former secondary school teacher, said:โIt’s encouraging that schools are improving their cyber resilience. Reducing incidents matters, but so does recovering faster. Cyberattacks have closed schools for a week or longer in the past, further disrupting an education already hit by Covid and affecting the wider economy as parents take time off work.
“There is still a concern over the lack of consensus over who is responsible for keeping systems safe.ย IT teams must secure devices on tight budgets, while teaching staff push for more tech without planning for long-term costs, and neither fully understands the other’s priorities. Ultimately, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility of IT, teachers and senior leadership, and breaking down these silos keeps technology secure and lessons running.
ย “While more than half of secondary schools have taken action, the 45 per cent that haven’t is still a significant number. Schools need to immediately assess their risks โ only by understanding what types of threats affect the items in their networks can they properly address the problem. Schools should then build an internet safety framework, including content filtering to block inappropriate material and threat prevention software to stop cyberattacks.โ
