What are you doing about unsafe emails?

Many of us have heard it said  “email is not safe” and “Think of email as a paper postcard: people can see what’s written on it if they try hard enough”, but what does it mean and how does it affect the way I send data about my children, both internally within my school and externally to the local authority or other schools? And more to the point, what should we do about it? 

Why email is not safe 

As far as the problem is concerned, this article Corresponding with HMRC by email is a good starting point. It notes clearly that 

• confidentiality and privacy — there’s a risk that emails sent over the internet may be intercepted 

• confirming your identity — it’s crucial that we only communicate with established contacts at their correct email addresses 

• there’s no guarantee that an email received over an insecure network, like the internet, has not been altered during transit 

I think we can assume that we want a safe solution for our children as much as His Majesty would want for his Revenue and Customs. 

There is no one procedure to make email secure 

We can then consider the solution. Again, we can look to the government for answers. The website Securing government email offers very detailed solutions. The question now becomes not “what should I do, but how do I do it?”, and there is no simple answer. 

Well, that’s not true, because the simple answer is not to use email.  

SixIntoSeven – a secure way to transfer data 

Rather than use emails to transfer sensitive information, use a secure messaging service. We use these all the time, for example, when communicating our banks through their secure apps. 

The primary to secondary transition is one of the largest annual movements of data and much of this travels by email. You wouldn’t let your pupils on an unsecure mode of transport. Do you feel comfortable doing the same with their data?  

At Pupil Pathways, we believe our children deserve better than a paper postcard which people can see what’s written on it if they try hard enough. That is why all our services are GDPR complaint. 

Find out more about how we can reduce your burden on insecure emails by using our contact page or by emailing us at