Council refers itself to Information Commissioner following data breach involving home-schooled children

The Isle of Wight Council has referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office after mistakenly sending an email to the parents of home-schooled children that included the personal details of 90 students.

The email was sent to 90 parents of Year 11 elective home education students on Friday afternoon. It included an attachment that contained the personal details of the ninety students in the cohort.

The council sent a follow-up email shortly after the email, asking the parents to delete the original email without opening it.

The Information Commissioner's Office has confirmed it is assessing the incident.

A spokesperson for the council said: "In line with the council's protocols the email was recalled twenty minutes after sending and a follow up email was also sent to all recipients asking them to delete the original email without opening it.

"The email was sent to around eighty addresses and the council would like to apologise to all of the families listed in the document that was incorrectly attached and would be grateful for their support in deleting the original email sent in error.

"The council has notified the Information Commissioner's Office about the matter."

An ICO spokesperson said: "People have the right to expect that organisations will handle their personal information securely and responsibly.

"The Isle of Wight Council has made us aware of an incident and we are assessing the information provided."

Adam Carey