Scoil Bhride BNS

Data Protection and Record Retention Policy

Scoil Bhride
Tullamore

Roll No. 18524k


Policy reviewed in March /April

2010.














Introduction:

This policy was recently formulated by Staff and Board of Management of Scoil Bhride. This work was coordinated by J. Healy ( IT coordinator).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 other 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 and allows timely access to information.

" Pupil progress records are invaluable in identifying those children with SEN., or who are encountering other difficulties in school.

" This policy is designed to comply with the following legislation:

o Education Act, 1998 (section 9(G) in particular), which sets out Parental right to access records pertaining to their child
o Education Welfare Act - requiring a school to report school attendance and transfer of pupils
o Data Protection act
o Freedom of information act


Importance of Home/school communication

Scoil Bhride Management will always attempt to promote cooperation and communication between home and school. As a senior boys school with a catholic ethos we realize that Parental involvement and engagement will enhance the learning opportunities which the school has to offer.


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
" To stipulate the length of time records and reports will be retained



In General:

The Principal ( or D.P. in the absence of the Principal) assumes the function of 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 ( as obtained by the school at enrolment)

This data relates to personal details of the students such as name, address, date of birth, contact numbers, gender, ethnic origin, nationality, religious belief, medical details, dietary information, PPSN
Other information gathered by the school at enrolment will include:
" Details of (and contact nos. for Parent(s))
" Details of any custody arrangements (if applicable)
" Permission to participate in 'stay safe' programme
" Permission to participate in RSE programme
" Permission to access records from previous school/forward records to next school which the student attends
" Statement of adherence to the school's code of behaviour.
" Permission to use images of the child on the school website, local media etc.

This information is gathered at Enrolment. Original enrolment forms are kept in a locked filing cabinet. It is transferred into digital format and contained in spreadsheet format on the computer in the administrative office. This file is not shared on the school network, and access to the office is confined to Principal, Teachers and administrative staff. This ensures rapid access to contact numbers in case of emergency/ injury etc. This can also be referenced by Teachers, prior to teaching 'Stay safe' or RSE programmes.
This office is closed when unoccupied.
A hardcopy of these spreadsheets is kept by the Principal and School secretary to ensure availability of contact numbers at all times.



Student Attainment Records:

Standardised testing:

Standardised testing in Mathematics and literacy takes place in May/June annually. Micra-T and Sigma-T are currently used. All classes undergo standardized testing. Administration of the tests and tabulating of results is undertaken by the Learning Support teacher. This information is then stored in digital form under an access programme designed for this purpose. A hardcopy is also retained by the Learning support Teacher. A password is required to access this information.
The NRIT test is administered annually, in September, to all class levels.
This information is also retained by the Learning support Teacher, in hard copy format.
All test results are filed under the academic year of completion of the test in a locked filing cabinet. Test results filed in this cabinet date to 1995.

School report cards

School reports are retained by the class Teacher and are transferred to the appropriate class Teacher for the next academic year. These report cards are standardized and contain previous school reports and previous standardized results. Reports are issued by post at the end of the academic year, usually in the last week in June.


Psychological Assessments


Psychological assessments are stored in the administrative office and are available only to the Principal who may make this report available to the Class Teacher/ Resource Teacher /SNA if necessary.



" Attendance Records

Roll books are retained by the class Teacher and the school register is retained by the school Principal.
Returns are made online to NEWB.
Pupil attendance is tracked on a daily/weekly basis. All absences are returned as per NEWB guidelines.


Staff Data

Data pertaining to staff members i.e. address, date of birth, contact numbers etc. is retained by the Principal only.
Data pertaining to staff leave is stored online on the OLCS website and is only accessible by the Data entry person, Approver and Second approver.(see below)

" Teacher - designed tests.
" Each class teacher designs his/her own test results template. This can be transferred to the follow-on Teacher if necessary.


" Individual Education Plans

Individual Education plans are designed and retained by the appropriate LS/ Resource Teacher. These are filed at the year end, along with Permission letters and other appropriate data. When a child leaves Learning support and/or the school, these files are transferred to another filing cabinet dedicated to those who have left the Learning support system.
For further information on data contained in IEPS, refer to the school Learning support policy (2008).


Administrative Data:

" Roll books are kept by the Teachers in their classroom and are collected and kept securely centrally during vacation periods.
" Records of Teacher attendance are filed on the OLCS system and are available to the Approver, Second Approver and Data entry person only. This online system is only accessible from the Principal's office. Passwords for this system are memorized.




Access to Records:

The following will have access where relevant and appropriate to the data listed above;

" Parents/Guardians
" Past Pupils over 18
" Health Service Executive
" Designated School Personnel e.g. both Class Teacher and SNA
" Inspectorate of Department of Education and Science
" Schools to which the child may transfer(assuming Parental permission is given)


. Parents/Guardians can make a request for information, pertaining to their child only, either in person or in writing at any time.
Reasonable accommodation must be given to the school to furnish this information.
An opportunity will be given to Parents to discuss all standardized tests completed by their children, at Parent-Teacher meetings, during the first term.

Storage:
Records are kept for a minimum of 7 years after the child leaves the school, by which time the child will have reached adulthood. Standardised tests booklets are shredded after one year but the Raw score, Stens and Percentiles are kept on file for this duration. The school, however, has a comprehensive filing system in place , and the school holds some records for children who have left the school up to fifteen years ago.



Success Criteria:


" Compliance with Data Protection Act and Statue of Limitations Act
" Easy access to records
" Framework in place for ease of compilation 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 Learning
support Teacher shall assume responsibility for ordering and administration of Standardised tests. 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 Spring 2010. All records held from before that date will continue to be maintained in the school.


Review/Ratification/Communication:
This policy was ratified and communicated in Spring 2010. It will be reviewed at the end of the 2012 school year and amended if necessary.



References:
Solas (CPSMA) May-June 2001
Education Act 1998
Education Welfare Act 2000
Date Protection Act 2003
Freedom of Information Act
School code of behavior 2010