St. Brigid’s N.S. Data Protection and Record-Keeping Policy

 

Introduction:


This policy was formulated by the Staff and Board of Management of St. Brigid’s N.S. The purpose of the policy is to identify the records required to be retained by the school and to ensure confidentiality and manageable procedures in relation to access to such records by parents and stake holders.

Rationale:


⦁ A policy on data protection and record keeping is necessary to ensure that the school has proper procedures in place in relation to accountability and transparency.
⦁ It is good practise to record pupil progress so as to identify learning needs.
⦁ A policy must be put in place to ensure a school complies with legislation such as;

⦁ Education Act, section 9g requiring a school to provide access to records to students over 18/parents
⦁ Education Welfare Act – requiring a school to report school attendance and transfer of pupils.

Relationship to School Ethos:


St. Brigid’s N.S. promotes openness and co-operation between staff, parents and pupils as a means towards providing the caring environment through which a child can develop and grow to his full potential.

Aims/Objectives:


⦁ To ensure the school complies with legislative requirements
⦁ To clarify the types of records maintained and the procedures relating to making them available to the relevant bodies
⦁ To put in place a proper recording and reporting framework on the educational progress of pupils
⦁ To establish clear guidelines on making these records available to parents and past pupils who are over 18
⦁ To stipulate the length of time records and reports will be retained

Guidelines:


The Principal assumes the function of the data controller and supervises the application of the Data Protection Act within the school. The data under the control of the Principal comes under the following headings.

  • Personal Data:
    This data relates to personal details of the students such as name, address, date of birth, gender, ethnic origin, nationality, religious belief, medical details, dietary information, PPSN, contact details and parents names. These are kept in the office in a locked cabinet.

⦁ Student Records: ( stored as manual records and/ or electronically)
Student records are held by each class teacher and a master copy is held in the office
Student records may contain:
⦁ Personal details of the student
⦁ Medical sensitive data
⦁ School report cards
⦁ Psychological/Clinical/Occupational Therapy/Speech and Language Assessments
⦁ Standardised Test Results
⦁ Attendance Records
⦁ Screening Test such as NRIT
⦁ Data Protection
⦁ Teacher – designed tests. Each class teacher designs his/her own test template
⦁ Diagnostic Tests Reports
⦁ Individual Education Plans
⦁ Learning Support/Resource Data such as records of permission/refusal to access LS/RT services in the school
⦁ Portfolios of student work e.g Art
⦁ Details of behavioural incidents or accidents

⦁ Staff data ( stored as manual records and/ or electronically)
This data relates to personal and professional details of the staff such as name, address, date of birth, contact details, payroll number, attendance records, qualifications, school records, sick leave, CPD, curriculum vitae, school returns, classes taught, seniority and supervision payments.

⦁ Administrative Data: ( stored as manual records and/ or electronically)
⦁ Attendance Reports, Roll Books, Registers
⦁ Accidents Report Book
⦁ Administration of Medicines Indemnity Form
⦁ Policies
⦁ HSE Files
⦁ Board of Management Files
⦁ Accounts
Providing Information over the Phone:

In St. Brigid’s N.S. any employee dealing with telephone enquiries should check the identity of the caller and be careful about disclosing any personal information held by the school over the phone. If deemed necessary employees should refer the request to the Principal. No employee should feel forced into disclosing personal information.

Transfer of Student Records:

A parental authorisation letter must be signed by parent(s) in the event of data being transferred to other schools. When a pupil transfers to another Primary School and is accepted via POD, reports may be sent to that school with parental permission

Access to Records:


The following will have access where relevant and appropriate to the data listed above;
⦁ Parents/Guardians – see Appendix 1 from CPSMA outlining details of access
⦁ Past pupils over 18
⦁ Health Service Executive
⦁ Designated school personnel
⦁ Department of Education & Skills
⦁ First and second-level schools (where relevant)

A parental authorisation form must be completed by parents in the event of data being transferred to outside agencies such as health professionals etc. Outside agencies requesting access to records must do so in writing given seven days notice. Parents/Guardians can make such a request either by phone, email or in writing. The right to erasure or rectification is available to change any mistakes or inaccuracies by proper authorisation through the same procedures.

The Annual School Report format and its communication to parents are outlined clearly in our schools Report Form Guidelines Policy. A standardised school report form is used which is issued by post in June.

Storage:

Records are stored securely in offices/cabinets or may be stored in the central lock up area. For computerized records, systems are password protected. All records are stored until the past pupil reaches the age of 25 years. In the case of children with Special Educational Needs, records are stored until they reach the age of 24 years. Child Protection Data is governed by “Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children” Employees are required to maintain the confidentiality of any data to which they have access.

A pupil profile and selection of records are held be each teacher in his/her individual classroom and passed on to the next teacher as the child moves to the next class.
All completed school roll books are stored in a similar location in addition to samples of children’s work and pupil profiles. Access to these stored files is restricted to authorised personnel only.

Success Criteria:
⦁ Compliance with Data Protection Act and Statute of Limitations Act
⦁ Easy access to records
⦁ Framework in place for ease of compliance and reporting
⦁ Manageable storage of records

Roles and Responsibilities:
The school staff, under the direction of the Principal will implement and monitor this policy. Individual teachers will design, administer and record all in-class testing. The Principal will ensure records are maintained and stored, particularly the records of students transferring to another school.

Implementation Data:
This new policy is effective from November 2018.

All records held from before that date will continue to be maintained in the school.

Review/Ratification/Communication:
This policy was ratified on _____________________.

The policy will be available through the office.

It will be reviewed every 2 years and amended if necessary.

References:
⦁ Solas (CPSMA) May-June 2001
⦁ Education Act 1998
⦁ Education Welfare Act 2000
⦁ Date Protection Act 2003
⦁ Freedom of Information A