Educational Records Management Policy
As a Rights Respecting School, we are committed to embedding the principles and values of the United Nation Conventions for the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This policy enables our pupils to access and enjoy the following articles of the convention.
Article 1 – Every child under the Age of 18 has all the rights in the Convention.
Article 28 – Every child has the right to an education.
Article 29 – Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full.
Article 42 – Every child has the right to know their rights.
Date adopted ………………………
Review date…………………………………..
Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn Records Management Policy
Introduction
Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn recognises that by efficiently managing its records, it will be able to comply with its legal and regulatory obligations and to contribute to the effective overall management of the school.
Records provide evidence for protecting the legal rights and interests of the school, and provide evidence for demonstrating performance and accountability.
This document provides the policy framework through which this effective management can be achieved and audited.
Responsibilities
The school has a responsibility to maintain its records and record keeping systems in accordance with the regulatory environment.
The headteacher has overall responsibility for this policy and will give guidance about good records management practice and will promote compliance with this policy so that information will be retrieved easily, appropriately and in a timely way. The headteacher will also monitor compliance with this policy by surveying annually to check if records are stored securely and can be accessed appropriately.
Individual staff and employees must ensure that records for which they are responsible are accurate, and are maintained and disposed of in accordance with the school’s records management guidelines.
Managing Pupil Records
Pupil records should be seen as the core record charting an individual pupil’s progress through the Education System. The pupil record should accompany the pupil to every school they attend and should contain information that is accurate, objective, easy to access and written in a professional manner.
Recording Information
A pupil or their nominated representative has the legal right to see their own file at any point during their education and even until the record is destroyed. This is their right of subject access under the Data Protection Act 1998.
The pupil record begins when an individual starts school. This file will follow the pupil for the rest of his/her school career and should contain:
the pupil’s name
date of birth
gender
position in the family
emergency contact details
any special educational needs
The pupil record should also contain:
the pupil’s ethnic origin
language of home
names of parents and or guardians with home address and telephone number
name and date of every school attended along with date of leaving
any other agencies involved
The following information should also be included on the pupil record
· Admission form
· Any information about a statement and support offered in relation to the statement
· Any relevant medical information
· Any correspondence with parents or outside agencies relating to major issues
· Parental permission for photographs/videos to be taken
· Any information relating to a major incident involving the child
· Any reports written about the child
· Details of any complaints made by the parents or the pupil
Responsibility for the pupil record once the pupil leaves school
The school which the pupil attended until statutory leaving age, or the school where the pupil completed sixth form is responsible for retaining the pupil record until the pupil reaches the age of 25 years.
Safe destruction of the pupil record
Pupil’s records should be disposed of in accordance with City and County of Swansea Retention Guidelines for Schools. A copy of this schedule is kept in upper and lower school offices. An electronic Records Management Tool Kit for Schools, Version 3.1 can also be found on the City and County of Swansea’s web site.
Storage of pupil records
All pupil records should be kept securely at all times. Paper records should be kept in lockable storage in restricted areas. Equally electronic records should have appropriate security.
Access arrangements for pupil records should ensure that confidentiality is maintained whilst equally enabling information to be shared lawfully and appropriately, and to be accessible for those authorised to see it.
Confirmation of headteacher’s annual monitoring of secure storage of records:
2013 Signed......
2014 Signed......
2015 Signed......
2016 Signed......
This policy was written with regard to ensuring an appropriate work/life balance.