Fewer English secondary schools report cyber incidents, recovery improves

Ofqual’s survey found that fewer secondary schools in England reported cybersecurity incidents in 2025/26, and those affected were more likely to recover immediately. The findings suggest schools may be becoming more resilient, although Ofqual could not say what caused the improvement and many teachers were unsure what security changes their school had made.

Of 3,775 teachers surveyed in July, 27 per cent reported an incident, down from 29 per cent the previous year and 34 per cent in 2023/24. Phishing was most common; ransomware affected 2 per cent of respondents. Among affected schools, 66 per cent said they recovered immediately, compared with 55 per cent a year earlier, while reported critical damage fell from 10 to 7 per cent. Teachers differed over responsibility: 46 per cent named the IT team and 40 per cent said all staff shared it; around a third had received no training or were unsure, and a similar share said their training was not useful. The results are not directly comparable with a government survey that counted attempted attacks as well as incidents.