Is your school meeting RPA Cyber Insurance Requirements? Many May Fall Short Without Realising It

RPA - Cyber Protection for Schools.

Is your school meeting RPA Cyber Insurance Requirements? Many May Fall Short Without Realising It

Cyber insurance has become an essential safeguard for schools and academies across the UK, with the Department for Education's Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) providing cover for eligible establishments. But here's the uncomfortable truth: many schools think they're adequately protected when they're actually skating on thin ice.

The Hidden Gap in Cyber Preparedness

The RPA's cyber insurance component requires schools to demonstrate that reasonable cybersecurity measures are in place. This isn't simply ticking a box that says you've got antivirus software. Insurers want to see documented evidence of proper cybersecurity practices, regular staff training, incident response plans, and consistent monitoring.

The trouble is, most schools assume their IT support company is handling all of this. They've got firewalls, they change passwords now and then, and someone updates the servers occasionally. Job done, right?

Not quite. When a cyber incident hits – and it's increasingly a case of when, not if – schools often discover they can't actually prove they took reasonable precautions. No formal policies. No training records. No documented procedures. And suddenly, that insurance cover looks rather shaky.

Why Cyber Essentials Makes Sense

Achieving Cyber Essentials accreditation gives schools a clear framework for the cybersecurity controls that actually matter: firewalls, secure configuration, user access control, malware protection, and keeping everything up to date. It's government-backed, which means it carries weight.

More importantly, it gives you something concrete to show Ofsted inspectors, governors, and parents. When someone asks, "How do we know our data is safe?", you've got a proper answer rather than vague reassurances from your IT person that they're "excellent."

The process also tends to uncover gaps you didn't know existed. Is that old server still running Windows 2012? Those admin passwords that haven't been changed in three years? Does the USB stick policy exist only in theory? Cyber Essentials forces you to confront these issues before they become headlines.

But Here's the Question Nobody's Asking

If your school experienced a ransomware attack tomorrow and you needed to file an insurance claim, could you actually provide evidence of your cybersecurity measures? Written policies? Training logs? Security audits? Configuration documentation?

Many schools would struggle to produce these documents. Which raises an uncomfortable question: are you really insured at all?

Get Proper Advice

Don't leave this to chance. Email The Tech Shepherd for straightforward advice on where your school actually stands with cybersecurity and RPA compliance. We'll walk you through what you need, what you're missing, and how to fix it without the jargon or the panic.

Book a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your school's specific situation. Because finding out you're not covered adequately after an incident is considerably more expensive than sorting it out beforehand.

The question is: will you check now, or wait to find out the hard way?