The General Teaching Council for England (GTC) is putting new measures in place to ensure that no more teacher data is lost. Schools minister Jim Knight responded to a written parliamentary question about the issue by noting that the disc lost by the organisation, which contained the details of over 11,000 teachers, has not been recovered. The disc – which was sent through a recognised courier using its tracking service – was mislaid in transit. Information on it included the names, addresses and registration numbers of thousands of teachers, although all of this was encrypted.
Nonetheless, stated Mr Knight, the GTC and the Department for Children, Schools and Families have now 'taken urgent steps to put additional security checks in place for the affected records.' All future data exchanges will now be conducted electronically by the body, rather than on 'physical discs,' added the minister. Teachers whose data was on the lost disc received a letter of apology from the GTC at the time of the incident last month.
