+ Use 'subscription' to keep up to date with new comments in a discussion

+ Keep track of Governor appointments with "Governor Records' feature

+ Policy Management - Save Time and Reduce Stress

Use GVO to manage your policy workflow, including publishing policies externally for public, staff and student access - using the same unique version of any document.

+ Facilitate off line working with "Meeting Pack Download"

Use GVO to manage your policy workflow, including publishing policies externally for public, staff and student access - using the same unique version of any document.

Governors and school leaders are able to securely access GVO to add their comments and approve policies, keeping an audit and evidence trail. Once a policy is fully approved a PDF version of the policy can be automatically published externally, without the need to update multiple systems.

The GVO Policy Reporting tool automatically flags policies which are due for renewal, alerting the policy owner that action is needed.

Click on the short video below to see an overview of how GVO Policy Management can help you save time and reduce stress.

+ Is my data on GVO secure?

All data within Governors' Virtual Office (GVO) including user profiles, database and collection metadata, are stored in a dedicated MongoDB 'instance' which resides within MongoDB Atlas, a “database as a service” (DBaaS) offering from the makers of MongoDB. This store is encrypted and located in a UK data centre. The instance of MongoDB Atlas used for GVO is hosted and managed by MongoDB using an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centre located in the EU (London). All MongoDB Atlas connections are encrypted with TLS, and MongoDB cluster-mates communicate within the data centre via a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for additional security.

The production instance of the GVO web application is hosted and managed by Heroku, using a European data centre. For GVO, Heroku only hosts the application; all data and metadata are located in MongoDB Atlas (see above). Heroku uses AWS for additional hosting services and sub-processing. All production and development instances in Heroku are physically separate. The GVO platform is hosted on AWS in an EU data centre (Ireland).

+ Is School Leadership Systems compliant with the GDPR regulations?

We set out below the steps we have taken to ensure that the data in your GVO is appropriately handled and the procedures comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) .

How we deliver Governors' Virtual Office

All data within Governors' Virtual Office (GVO) including user profiles, database and collection metadata, are stored in a dedicated MongoDB 'instance' which resides within MongoDB Atlas, a “database as a service” (DBaaS) offering from the makers of MongoDB. This store is encrypted and located in a UK data centre. The instance of MongoDB Atlas used for GVO is hosted and managed by MongoDB using an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centre located in London. All MongoDB Atlas connections are encrypted with TLS, and MongoDB cluster-mates communicate within the data centre via a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for additional security.

The production instance of the GVO web application is hosted and managed by Heroku, using a European data centre. For GVO, Heroku only hosts the application; all data and metadata are located in MongoDB Atlas (see above). Heroku uses AWS for additional hosting services and sub-processing. All production and development instances in Heroku are physically separate. The GVO platform is hosted on AWS in an EU data centre (Ireland).

Security, Privacy, and GDPR

All Amazon Web Service offerings are “GDPR ready” meaning that the service maintains a number of security certifications and permits operations that facilitate data security and privacy. Specific certifications held by AWS include:

ISO 27001 for technical measures
ISO 27017 for cloud security
ISO 27018 for cloud privacy
SOC 1, SOC 2 and SOC 3 PCI DSS Level 1 EU-specific certifications such as BSI’s Common Cloud Computing Controls Catalogue (C5)
Heroku holds a TRUSTe Certification

MongoDB Atlas infrastructure runs on AWS for GVO and, in addition to the AWS certifications, MongoDB also hold a SOC 2 Type 1 report as of May 31st, 2017.

We maintain a watching brief on new security technologies and will adopt the best industry practice when protecting your data.

School Leaderships Systems Ltd is registered under the Data Protection Act with the Information Commissioner's Office. Registration No.223914.


Responsibility for data within GVO

While School Leadership Systems Limited is responsible for the security of personal data whilst it is stored in your GVO, and is responsible for the procedures used by its staff if they are required to handle personal data, you are responsible for the content of your Governors' Virtual Office as described in our standard Terms and conditions which can be inspected here.

The addition and deletion of users is usually controlled by the Clerk to the Governors and changes are instantaneous so that you can keep an up to date list of authorised users. Individual Governors have their own User Name and password.

GDPR requires that there be a contractual agreement that a processor will process data in accordance with the Regulation.

A copy of our Privacy and Cookies Policy is available to view here .