Almost one in four nurseries have experienced a cyber attack in the last year

This is despite 70 per cent of respondents reporting that they were confident or very confident in staff training and knowledge of data security.

A total of 137 nursery managers and owners across the UK took part in the survey by Connect Childcare and dot2dot nursery insurance into cyber security and data breaches.

Survey findings also reveal:

• 5 per cent of nursery managers and owners feel they do not have an effective data breach management plan and process in place.
• 45 per cent of key personnel continue to log accidents on paper, for example in an accident book, which could be vulnerable to loss or destruction.
• More than half (53.3 per cent) stated default passwords were in use for systems and devices handling CRM, online payments, parent interface, accounts, HR, anti-virus, data back-up and children’s milestones.

However, over three-quarters of nurseries (77 per cent) that took part in the survey said they have a dedicated staff member who is responsible for IT policies and data security, while 77 per cent said their workplace had a Business Continuity Plan. Although 17 per cent of respondents said the plan did not cover cyber incidents or data breach losses.

Founder and chief executive of management software provider Connect Childcare Chris Reid said, ‘Cyber security is clearly a significant worry for many nursery owners and managers. 

‘Several reported the threat of ransomware attacks, falling prey to scam emails and theft of data kept them awake at night.’

Jackie Hyde, managing director of nursery insurance specialist dot2dot, added, ‘Though there is clearly a lot of good practice, and procedures are improving, there is definitely room to do better, and protect data more effectively.’