EdSafe

When Decisions Became Difficult

and

situations when I was called in by schools in Europe and Southeast Asia.

The use of surveillance or monitoring systems where safeguarding intent is clear, but privacy, proportionality, and accountability are less so.

In these situations, the governance question is not whether safeguarding matters, but how leadership judgement is exercised proportionately, and where accountability sits if the decision is later questioned.

Routine systems (such as canteen or access cards) generating or inferring high-risk student data beyond their original purpose.

Here, the governance issue is not system functionality, but whether leadership judgement has kept pace with how data use has evolved, and how that judgement can be defended if challenged.

Medical or wellbeing services operating in ways that compromise privacy, dignity, or confidentiality through environment or process design.

In these moments, the decision is less about service intent and more about how dignity, confidentiality, and accountability are balanced, and who carries responsibility if concerns are later raised.

Uncertainty about how digital wellbeing responsibilities relate to data protection obligations — and where governance boundaries actually sit.

What is often unclear here is not the importance of wellbeing, but where governance responsibility properly lies, and how leadership judgement should be exercised without creating unnecessary process or confusion.

Leadership uncertainty over whether data protection is a real technical requirement in any given situation, or a matter of judgement with real consequence for trust and accountability.

This uncertainty often marks a critical governance moment, where leadership must decide whether responsibility can be treated as technical, or whether it sits squarely with judgement and accountability if the decision is later questioned.

At its core, governance in data protection and AI exists to support clear judgement, protect trust, and ensure leadership decisions can be explained and stood behind when it matters.