Freedom of information and data protection
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act gives individuals or organisations the right to request information from any public authority. This means that any person has the legal right to ask a school for information it holds.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has produced guidance to help school staff and governors, who are responsible for making sure their school complies with the Act, understand what the Act requires, the type of information they have to provide and how they should handle requests for information.
The guidance also contains links to more detailed information and other sources of help for those who need it. A checklist of actions, PowerPoint presentation, retention schedule for documents and summary leaflet for governors are also available.
Further guidance and information about the FOI Act
The DCSF’s guidance complements information about freedom of information and the FOI Act provided by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is responsible for administering and enforcing the Act. They also provide guidance and codes of practice for dealing with FOI requests and for records management.
Exemptions
There is some information which is exempt from the FOI Act and which people do not have the right to see. These exemptions make sure that there is a proper balance between the right to know, the right to personal privacy and effective government. Section 36 of the Act concerns information whose disclosure would be likely to have particular effects. The application of Section 36 to any information needs to be approved by a qualified person, which in the case of schools is the chair of the governing body. Guidance on the type of information which is exempt is provided by the MoJ.
Fees
Public authorities can ask for payment for providing certain information. The MoJ has produced guidance on the fees which can be charged.
Data Protection Act 1998
The Data Protection Act gives people rights over their personal information. It also means that anyone who processes personal information must comply with eight principles, which make sure that personal information is:
- fairly and lawfully processed
- processed for limited purposes
- adequate, relevant and not excessive
- accurate and up to date
- not kept for longer than is necessary
- processed in line with people’s rights
- secure
- not transferred to other countries without adequate protection.
Schools and governing bodies have obligations under the Data Protection Act to prevent certain information relating to pupils' records from being disclosed. The ICO provides guidance on the Data Protection Act and the type of information if covers.
Because they deal with personal information, schools should notify themselves as data controllers under the Data Protection Act. Notification is the process by which a data controller, who is someone who processes personal information, gives the ICO details about the way in which they manage that information. The ICO publishes some of these details in the register of data controllers, which is available to the public for inspection.
Publishing schemes for schools
The ICO introduced a model publication scheme that all public sector organisations, including maintained schools, should have adopted from 1 January 2009 in order to meet the requirements of the FOI Act to let people know about the information they make available.
The publication scheme is a guide to the type of information an organisation makes public, the form in which it is published, for example as a leaflet or on a website, and whether a charge is made for providing any type of information.
The ICO has produced a ‘definition document’ which sets out the type of information schools in particular should provide in their guide to information. It is not a definitive list and schools should routinely provide as much information as possible.
The ICO also provides a template ‘guide to information’ which is a downloadable guide that schools can print off, complete and use without further modification.
School governors
School governing bodies must give certain information to parents, pupils, the LA and the DCSF. This includes:
- publishing a school prospectus and annual report
- providing information about admissions arrangements
- giving the LA details relating to children who have been or will be away from school
- sending a copy of the school prospectus to the local Connexions service
- providing information on request to Connexions personal advisers
- making copies of the agenda and minutes of its meetings available (excluding confidential information)
- notifying the LA of resignations and appointment of governors
- giving the LA any information or reports it requires in connection with the governing body's
- function, particularly relating to provision for pupils with SEN
- liaising with the LA on the development of the LA's Education Development Plan (EDP)
- making sure the headteacher provides parents with information about pupils' educational and/or curricular records and/or statement of SEN, and setting fees for providing this information;
- giving the DCSF details for the results of National Curriculum assessments and information to be used in the secondary and primary performance tables.
Laws and regulations
Chapter 25 of A Guide to the Law for School Governors summarises the duties of school governors relating to making information available.
Laws relating to the responsibilities of governing bodies concerning school information are contained in the Education (School Information)(England) Regulations 2002, which concern the responsibilities of governing bodies, and the Education (Special Educational Needs)(England)(Consolidation) Regulations 2001 and the Education (Special Educational Needs)(Information) Regulations 1999, which are concerned with the provision of information about pupils with statements of SEN.
Gathering information in schools
Many schools gather information by issuing parent questionnaires, parent surveys and sometimes pupil questionnaires. Examples used by various schools include:
- Exit survey – Charlwood Village Infant School
- Finding out about Charlwood Village Infant School
- Parental attitudes – Charlwood Village Infant School
- Ofsted-based Parent Survey – Goldsworth Primary School
- Ofsted-based Pupil Survey
Resources
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has responsibility for the Environmental Information Regulations which make specific provision for access to environmental information.
The National Archives (TNA) produces policy and guidance on records management and on public records held in archives offices, to help public authorities to meet their obligations under the Act.
GovernorLine is an information line for governors on 08000 722181 http://www.governorline.info/
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