Illustration of woman sitting in front of her computer, holding a paper document. An individual appears on the computer screen in front of her.The Safer Technologies 4 Schools initiative assesses the safety of digital products and services used by Australian and New Zealand schools. It provides a consistent security and privacy control framework to help schools reduce risks when choosing digital products and services.


ST4S aims to create a safer digital ecosystem for schools by providing clear, consistent information about safety, security and privacy, which will assist educators when choosing and using education applications.

The ST4S initiative was developed by the National Schools Interoperability Program (NSIP) at Education Services Australia (ESA), in collaboration with all Australian state, territory, Catholic and Independent school sectors. 

Why is it important to keep schools safe online?

Schools are more reliant than ever on technology, which means everyone in the education sector has a role to play in understanding data security and best practices to minimise risks.

As regularly reported by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in its data breach reports, the education sector continually reports a significant number of notifiable data breaches, highlighting a need for more robust measures to keep schools safer online.

A recent survey revealed that more than 4,000 online education products and services are used across Australian schools, with these numbers continually increasing.

 

Giving schools peace of mind

The ST4S program supports schools in understanding potential risks for users and their data, and assists educators in choosing applications reviewed against a nationally consistent framework.

Schools can benefit from an improved understanding of security and privacy issues, which helps to reduce risk when choosing education technology products.

Schools can request  suppliers to complete the ST4S Readiness Check to help make education technologies safer for all.

 

A framework for suppliers

The ST4S program supports suppliers in understanding the potential risks for users and their data. 

Participation in the ST4S assessment process is simple and free. Suppliers are invited to complete the ST4S Readiness Check and, when ready, are prioritised by a working group representing all Australian school and education authority stakeholders. 

Suppliers who undertake the assessment have reported reduced compliance costs because they’re no longer required to undertake multiple assessments.

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Supplier Guide

The suppliers guide provides information about the ST4S assessment framework. Get guidance and information on the whole assessment process, from questions and criteria to how results are shared.

Read the guide
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Readiness Check

The ST4S Readiness Check is a self-assessment tool for suppliers. Complete the check to see how your product compares to a nationally agreed privacy and security assessment framework for K–12 education.

Get ready