Vendor Compliance and Partnership

Schools today depend on a wide network of external providers — from catering services, transport, and security to school medical support, IT teams, and educational platforms like Canva and ClassDojo. These vendors often have access to personal data or physical access to the school site, which gives them a privileged and high-risk position within your operational structure.

Despite their external status, third parties are often involved in processing personal data, interacting with children, parents, staff or visitors, or integrating with your school’s systems. Under data protection regulations, this makes your school accountable for their compliance. Failing to assess and manage vendor risks could lead to data breaches, regulatory fines, reputational damage, or loss of parental trust.

At Ed Safe, we help schools reduce these risks by embedding a clear, practical approach to vendor management. We support you with:

• Vendor and third-party risk assessments

• DPIAs (Data Protection Impact Assessments) where services impact privacy

• Data minimization and pseudonymization strategies

• Contract reviews to ensure appropriate data processing clauses

• RASCI mapping to define accountability

• RoPA updates to maintain records of processing activities

• TIA assessments where international data transfers are involved

• Privacy agreements and onboarding protocols

We also advise on how to audit vendors periodically, define exit strategies for data removal, and implement due diligence processes for new partnerships. Whether you're reviewing an existing supplier or onboarding a new EdTech tool, we ensure your vendors meet the same high compliance expectations you set internally.

With the right structure in place, vendor relationships become strengths — not vulnerabilities.