School safeguarding records
Contents
- School safeguarding records
- How to transfer School safeguarding files
- When to transfer a School safeguarding files
School safeguarding records
All staff who handle safeguarding records should receive training and guidance .
Schools can either create a separate policy for this guidance or add it to their existing policies, along with plans to follow best practices. The school's safeguarding and child protection policy should clearly explain the process for transferring and receiving information.
Guidance
The following documents support schools in effectively transferring and receiving safeguarding records:
- Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)
- Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018
- Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- data protection in Schools 2023
- Information and Records Management Society (IRMS): toolkit for Schools 2019
- careers guidance and access for education and training providers
- destination data good practice for Schools 2018
Record keeping
The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is responsible for maintaining all child protection files as specified in KCSIE.
Make sure all information is easy to find, accurately and objectively recorded in chronological order, and written professionally. Keep a brief timeline of important safeguarding events for each child at the beginning of the file. This timeline should be clear enough for any professional to understand on its own.
Include all safeguarding concerns in the file, even minor ones, as they might be important later. Do not remove any information from the files regularly or before transferring them, because what seems unimportant now could be crucial later. If you have to remove something, note who removed it, why, and when. This note should stay in the file.
Keep safeguarding records until the student leaves, even if they turn 18. Schools should keep track of where students go after age 16 and explain why in their policies.
Use the Information and records management society toolkit for further information on the retention of children’s other records.
Sharing information
Issue a Privacy Notice annually to parents in the Autumn Term, or to new pupils who join during the year. This notice covers all data held and processed by the school, including the transfer of child protection and safeguarding files.
The school's data protection policy and GDPR guidance should detail any archives and retention periods for records.
Make sure parents understand this practice by regularly reminding them through newsletters, prospectuses, safeguarding information leaflets, and home-school agreements.
Consent from parents or children is not needed to transfer safeguarding information between people responsible for child safety. However, pupils and parents have the right to access their educational records through a subject access request under Data Protection laws.
Share safeguarding information with agencies like children’s social care, health, the police, and education as needed. Inspectors may view individual safeguarding files. For solicitor requests, seek legal advice. Redact names of other children unless consent is obtained and ensure all identifying information is removed.
Last updated 02 July 2024