The severity of cyberattacks on schools has worsened, with more than 10 per cent now reporting “critical damage”, according to data from Ofqual.

However, the regulator also said that while the impact of attacks may be greater, fewer schools are experiencing a cybersecurity incident and the proportion of teachers who have received training has grown.

Ofqual advises that malware protection and regular data back-ups form the best defence against cyberattacks.

‘Devastating impact on students’ work’

Amanda Swann, Ofqual’s executive director of general qualifications, said: “Cyberattacks can have a devastating impact on students’ academic work.

“Schools and colleges experiencing cybersecurity incidents reported losing entire classes’ coursework and facing weeks of disruption to teaching and learning.”

Key findings include:

• 9 per cent of teachers agreed that the cyberattack on their school or college was critically damaging, and 2 per cent strongly agreed.
• 72 per cent of teachers received cybersecurity training in 2024-25, up 11 percentage points from 61 per cent in 2023-24.
• 42 per cent of teachers responded saying the training was useful, while 32 per cent said they had training but it was not useful.
• 13 per cent of teachers said students’ personal data was breached and 16 per cent reported the same issue for staff.
• 55 per cent of schools that experienced a cybersecurity incident were able to recover immediately in 2024-25, down from 63 per cent the previous year.
• 29 per cent of schools experienced a cybersecurity incident in 2024-25, down five percentage points from 34 per cent.
• 4 per cent of teachers said students’ coursework was affected by incidents and 2 per cent said there was an impact on exams and assessments.

Ofqual is urging schools to ensure they are protected from malicious software and that back-ups are in place to restore students’ coursework as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October.

Effective defences

Ms Swann said: “Protection from malware and regular data back-ups are the most effective defence against these threats. Schools that maintain current, accessible back-ups can restore systems more quickly and avoid ransomware demands.”

She also said that as schools become increasingly digitalised, institutions with strong security measures “protect both educational continuity and students’ academic futures”.

Ofqual released the Teacher Tapp polling results, which surveyed a sample of 4,513 secondary teachers and up to 2,374 schools. Where percentages refer to schools, responses were limited to one per school, with the most senior teacher selected.

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