Schools’ email service description

Suffolk County Council currently provides a managed Microsoft 365 mailbox solution which provisions schools with a .suffolk.sch.uk email address.

Secure email

The schools mail service implements transport layer security (TLS) as standard between the school and Suffolk County Council. For Schools using the service the following applies:

Data in Transit

Secured in transit – When most email is sent or received using modern email systems the messages are secured in transit by default using TLS, however this is not guaranteed, and it may be sent unencrypted. Configurations can be implemented by Suffolk IT to ensure email is always sent secured in transit or a per recipient email domain basis (i.e. who you are sending to). If the messages cannot be secured in transit the message will not be sent. It is important to note that this is implemented on a domain basis and will not work with public mail services like Gmail or Hotmail.

Secured in content – OME is not currently configured as part of the schools’ mail service, but is something that we are looking at.

Data at Rest

Email stored on Microsoft’s email servers is always encrypted at rest. If an Outlook client is being used to access email in Office 365 and the client is configured to download or cache email on the local PC/laptop, a hard disk encryption product is required. This is not provided as part of the schools’ mail service.

Withdrawing from the Schools’ Email Service

This service is purchased annually on a 12-month rolling contract. In order to withdraw you must inform us in writing no less than 30 days before the renewal date.

  • 1 April for Local Authority Schools
  • 1 September for Academies

If no notification to cease has been received, the service will continue, and the school/ academy will be charged for the full year. No refunds will be given for the remainder of the service if notice is submitted after the renewal date.