Pathway 2 — Setting up

Data protection in practice

Practical steps for Irish teachers — what to strip from documents before uploading, what never to type into a prompt, and how to use AI safely within your GDPR obligations.

The one rule that covers almost every situation: never enter personally identifiable information about any student, parent, or colleague into any AI tool — free or paid. Names, addresses, results linked to a named individual, medical information, SEN details, disciplinary records. None of it.

Why this is easier to get wrong than you think

Here is the thing about GDPR and AI tools: the risk is not that teachers are careless. It is that using an AI tool feels like thinking out loud. You are sitting at your desk, you type a prompt, you get a response. It does not feel like data processing. But legally, it is.

When you type something into a free AI tool, that text is sent to and processed on external servers. The data handling terms vary widely. Some tools use conversation content to improve their models. Some store it. Most teachers do not know exactly what happens to what they type — and that uncertainty, when it involves personal data, is a compliance issue.

So what counts as personal data? Under GDPR, it is any information that identifies or could identify a living person. In a school context, that is a long list.

Data types — can you use them in an AI prompt?
Type of data	Examples	Safe to use in AI?
Student name	Full name, first name if identifiable	No
Contact details	Address, phone, email of student or parent	No
Assessment results (named)	"Aoife got 72% in her Christmas test"	No
SEN and medical information	Learning profiles, diagnoses, medication needs	No
Safeguarding information	Any pastoral or child protection detail	Never
Parent and guardian details	Names, contact info, family circumstances	No
Anonymous class information	"A class of 28 3rd Year students, mixed ability"	Yes
Generic scenarios	"A student who struggles with fractions"	Yes
Your own curriculum materials	Lesson plans, slides, worksheets (no names)	Check first
School name with identifiable detail	"At St. Brendan's, in Ms Kelly's class…"	Caution

How to anonymise a document before uploading it

The good news is that anonymising a document before uploading it is a five-minute job, not a major undertaking. Work through these steps in order before you open any school document in an AI tool.

Use Find and Replace. In Word or Google Docs, press Ctrl+H (or Cmd+H on a Mac). Find each student name and replace it with "Student A", "Student B" and so on. Do this before you open the document anywhere else.
Remove headers and footers. School documents often carry the school name, class, and teacher name in headers or footers. Delete them or replace with generic text before uploading.
Check comments and tracked changes. These frequently contain names. Accept or delete all tracked changes and remove all comments before uploading.
Remove document metadata. Word documents store the author name and edit history in hidden metadata. In Word: File → Info → Check for Issues → Inspect Document → Remove Personal Information.
Read it once more. Scan the full document before uploading. Names and identifying details appear in unexpected places — examples, feedback notes, annotations.

Safe prompting — what to change and why

You do not need to give the AI the full context to get a useful response. Here is what that looks like in practice — the same task, prompted safely and unsafely.

✗ Unsafe — do not type this

Write a parent email about Ciarán Murphy in 2nd Year who has been disruptive in class and whose attendance has dropped to 74% this term.

✓ Safe — use this instead

Write a parent email about a 2nd Year student whose behaviour has become disruptive and whose attendance has dropped significantly this term. Tone: concerned but constructive. I will fill in the student's name myself before sending.

✗ Unsafe — do not type this

Write feedback for Niamh O'Brien's history essay. She's dyslexic and finds extended writing very difficult. Her argument is strong but her paragraphing is poor.

✓ Safe — use this instead

Write constructive written feedback for a history essay where the student's argument is strong but paragraphing is weak. The student benefits from clear, specific, and encouraging feedback. Keep it to 80 words. I will personalise it before adding it to the student's work.

So what does that mean for how you work? You add the name, the subject, the specific individual detail — yourself, afterwards, in your own system. The AI does the drafting. You do the personalising. That is the workflow, and it keeps you safe.

Before you use AI at school — your quick checklist

Tick each item before you start. Your ticks are not saved — this is a personal reminder only.

Data protection checklist

I understand that my school's GDPR obligations apply when I use AI tools.

I will not enter any student names, parent names, or contact details into any AI tool.

I will not enter any medical, SEN, or safeguarding information into any AI tool.

I will anonymise any document before uploading it — names, school details, and metadata removed.

I will check any AI-generated content for accuracy before I use it with students.

I know who my school's data protection officer is, and I will contact them if I am unsure about anything.

Where to find further guidance

These organisations publish guidance that is directly relevant to Irish schools.

Data Protection Commission — dataprotection.ie (opens in new tab) — Ireland's national GDPR regulator. Publishes sector-specific guidance including for schools.
Department of Education — gov.ie (opens in new tab) — publishes circulars and guidance on digital technology in schools.
PDST — pdst.ie (opens in new tab) — professional development resources for Irish teachers including digital literacy.