Education information

In more detail

• What is education information?
• How can people access education information?
• Can we charge a fee for providing access to education information?
• How long do we have to comply if a SAR is received in school holidays?
• Is education information ever exempt from a SAR?
• Is there an exemption for education information processed by the courts?
• Is education information exempt if disclosure may cause serious harm?
• Is there a restriction if you are an education authority in Scotland?

What is education information?

The DPA defines education information as personal information that:

• consists of information forming part of an educational record; and
• is not information concerning health.

The definition of ‘educational record’ in the DPA differs between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In general, it has a broad meaning and includes most information about current and past pupils that is processed by or on behalf of a school. The definition applies to nearly all schools, including maintained schools, independent schools and academies.

Most of the personal information a school holds about a particular pupil is likely within the pupil’s educational record. However, some of the information may fall outside the educational record. For example, this includes:

• information a parent of another child gives about the pupil; and
• information a teacher keeps solely for their own use.

How can people access education information?

There are two distinct rights to information that schools hold about pupils:

• The pupil’s right of access under article 15 of the UK GDPR.
• A parent’s right to access their child’s educational record.
  • In England and Wales, this right only applies to maintained schools.
  • In Northern Ireland, this right applies to all grant-aided schools — but not independent schools, academies or free schools.
  • In Scotland, this right applies to all schools.

It’s important to be aware of a parent’s separate right to access their child’s educational records. The law on this right is outside our remit, but we refer to it here for completeness.

The information you provide may differ depending on which right applies. Remember that:

• the SAR provisions provide a right of access to personal information in general; and
• the relevant education regulations only allow a parent to access their child’s educational record.

The two rights also have different time limits for compliance:

• You must comply with a SAR within one month (or within three months, if the request is complex or you receive multiple requests from the same person at the same time).
• You are required to respond to a parent’s right of access to their child’s educational records within 15 school days. You will need to consider your obligations under the relevant legislation.

Unlike a parent’s right to access their child’s educational record, it is the pupil’s right to make a SAR. Parents can only submit a SAR for information about their child if the child is not competent to act on their own behalf or has given their consent. For guidance about deciding whether a child is able to make their own SAR, see What about requests for information about children?

If it’s not clear whether a requester has parental responsibility for the child or is acting on their behalf, you need to clarify this before responding to the SAR. If the school is in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the school is responsible for dealing with the SAR. If the school is in Scotland, the relevant education authority or the proprietor of an independent school is responsible for dealing with the SAR.

Can we charge a fee for providing access to education information?

In general, you cannot charge a fee to comply with a SAR for education information. However, if a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, you may charge a fee to respond. For more information about when you can charge a fee, see Can we charge a fee?

How long do we have to comply if we receive a SAR in school holidays?

There are no special rules that allow you to extend the time for dealing with a SAR that you receive during school holidays. If you receive a SAR when the school is closed, you must comply within the normal time for responding. See How long do we have to comply? for more information.

Is education information ever exempt from a SAR?

The exemptions and restrictions that apply to other types of personal information also apply to education information. For example, if an educational record contains personal information relating to someone other than the requester (such as a family member), you must consider the rules about third-party information before disclosing it to the requester. It’s normally reasonable to disclose information that identifies a teacher. See Exemptions: can we refuse a SAR if it involves information about other people? for more information.

Some further exemptions and restrictions apply to education information. These are explained in the next sections.

Is there an exemption for education information processed by the courts?

You are exempt from providing education information in response to a SAR if:

• it is processed by a court;
• it is supplied in a report or given to the court as evidence in the course of proceedings where specific court rules apply; and
• in accordance with these specific court rules, the court may withhold the person’s information in whole or in part.

The specific court rules which may apply are:

• the Magistrates’ Courts (Children and Young Persons) Rules (Northern Ireland) 1969;
• the Magistrates’ Courts (Children and Young Persons) Rules 1992;
• the Family Proceedings Rules (Northern Ireland) 1996;
• the Magistrates’ Courts (Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995) Rules (Northern Ireland) 1996;
• the Act of Sederunt (Child Care and Maintenance) Rules 1997;
• the Sheriff Court Adoption Rules 2009;
• the Family Procedure Rules 2010; and
• the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Rules of Procedure in Children’s Hearings) Rules 2013.

However, this does not mean that you can withhold all information just because there are ongoing legal proceedings.

Is education information exempt if disclosure may cause serious harm?

Yes. In most circumstances, you are exempt from providing education information in response to a SAR to the extent that complying with the request would likely cause serious harm to the physical or mental health of any person. This is known as the ‘serious harm test’ for education information. However, this exemption does not apply to independent schools in Scotland.

Is there a restriction if you are an education authority in Scotland?

If you are an education authority in Scotland (as defined by the Education (Scotland) Act 1980), there is a restriction in place where a question arises of whether you are required to disclose education information in response to a SAR. The restriction applies if:

• you believe that the relevant information came from the Principal Reporter (as defined by the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011) in the course of their statutory duties; and
• the person whom the information is about is not entitled to receive it from the Principal Reporter.

You must inform the Principal Reporter of the issue within 14 days of the question arising.

You are not permitted to disclose the education information in response to the request if the Principal Reporter has told you they think the serious harm test for education information is met.