Child protection records

Sam:

Welcome to Safeguarding Conversations. In the UK, all organisations working with children & young people are required to have clear guidelines for the retention, storage and destruction of child protection records, that is, any concerns regarding the welfare of children and young people. They must also have similar guidelines where concerns involve and adult working with or volunteering with children. This applies to young people up to age 25 if still in education.

Sara:

And those requirements where there are concerns about adults working with children differ don't they?

Sam:

Yes, and the requirements also differ depending on which part of the UK organisations are based in. In addition, some sectors such as education have specific statutory requirements, which means they must be complied with.

Sara:

So it's easy to see how this could be confusing.

Sam:

Well hopefully we'll be able to shed some light on this today. So before we get into the detail of specific requirements, there are two distinct areas we need to look at. The first will be very familiar to all senior leaders, data protection principles.

Sara:

This is where I think leaders may get confused as they're aware of Data Protection Law, GDPR and the Information Commisioner's Office guidelines.

Sam:

Well let's simplify that, we're talking about child protection, so if the records are being kept relate to child protection concerns, as long as the standards for content, retention periods and deletion processes are met, organisations will be compliant.

Sara:

That includes ensuring any records containing sensitive or confidential data are secure and access to them is controlled. So headteachers and DSLs should consider access to records on a 'need to know' basis and be able to track that access.

Sam:

Yes that's right Sara, and this is where tracking systems are really helpful.

Sara:

When we designed our tracking system Safeguarding Concern, the audit trail was a crucial element.

Sam:

So that's the first area, the next area is one where I think causes the main confusion, mainly because it's not clearly understood, the lawful basis for compiling, holding & sharing children's data. So, as a former very experienced headteacher Sara, what do you understand as the lawful basis?

Sara:

Mmm... I think I'd be focussing on data that remains confidential unless it is shareable, where there's a need to know basis where safeguarding a child is paramount. Am I on the right lines?

Sam:

Kind of. There's actually 4 distinct areas of lawful basis that apply:

• The first is public task - where collection, storing, use or sharing of children's data is necessary for you to perform a task in the public interest or carry out your official authority.
• The second is legitimate interest - where the collection, storing, use or sharing of children's data is necessary for pursuing a legitimate interest. So that would be things like improving services, or societal benefit e.g. gathering data to improve services to a wider community.
• The third is the main safeguarding lawful basis- recognised legitimate interest - that is the collection, storing, use or sharing of children's data for five specific lawfully pre-approved purposes one of which includes crime prevention and safeguarding.
• Finally there is legal obligation - the collection, storing, use or sharing of children's data is necessary for complying with a common law or statutory obligation.

Sara:

That's very interesting, so whenever a school is thinking about collecting, storing or sharing children's data they can do that confidently by being guided by these four legal requirements.

Sam:

Yes.

Sara:

One of the things that stood out for me in this year's KCSIE was the focus on information sharing, particularly between multi-agencies.

Sam:

As you and listeners will know, problems related to multi-agency information sharing has been a recurrent key factor in case reviews and this year the DFE alongside publishing new statutory information sharing guidance has emphasised the importance this plays within KCSIE.

Sara:

And going back to what I said earlier, Data protection law allows you to share information when required to identify children at risk of harm and to safeguard them from harm.

Sam:

That's right.

Sara:

I know we're not going to look at how to record data etc in this podcast Sam, but I do think it would be worth looking at the retention periods for safeguarding records as it can be a little confusing for schools.

Sam:

Ok, well first it depends where you are in the UK.

Sara:

It would be so much easier if there was one rule.

Sam:

I know but as it stands:

• If the school is in England, the file should be kept until the child is 25, unless the file relates to child sexual abuse. Then the file should be retained until the child's 75th birthday. This is following the recommendation from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
• If the school is in Wales, the file should be kept until the child is 25.
• For schools in Northern Ireland, the recommendation is that the file is kept until the child's 30th birthday.
• And in Scotland, child protection referrals should be kept for 5 years after the date of leaving school education.

As you say Sara, I agree, it would be helpful to have one system, especially as populations are transient and we know that moving area is a common tactic used to avoid the scrutiny of children's services.

Sara:

Can we now look at the requirements where there are concerns about an adult working or volunteering with children, because it's different isn't it?

Sam:

Yes.

Sara:

So this is where they have behaved in a way that may, or has harmed a child or in a way that indicated they are unsuitable to work with young people.

Sam:

And also where they have committed a criminal offence against, or related to, a child.

It also includes what is commonly known as 'low-level concerns, where there is behaviour that isn't in line with or conflicts with the standards and values of the school or organisation.

Sara:

Which is important as those low level concerns may build a more worrying collective picture.

Sam:

Absolutely. The safeguarding duty applies even if it is presented as thoughtless behaviour. It must be recorded.

Sara:

And it doesn't matter that it may be initially an HR matter does it.

Sam:

No the recording principles apply.

Sara:

So what about retention of these concerns?

Sam:

Again there are regional variations, which I will flag up again as being problematic as workforces are transient too.

• In England and Wales records must be kept within the subjects personnel file at least until they reach normal pension age or for 10 years, whichever is longer.
• In Northern Ireland, it's a DFE recommendation that records of allegations against a member of school staff should be retained indefinitely unless they are completely exonerated.
• In Scotland it depends on the nature of the allegation and local authority guidelines and the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) Disciplinary Policy and Procedure). Those procedures say that disciplinary warnings or actions relating to a breach of child protection or involving children/vulnerable adults must be retained on the teacher's/staff member's file for 25 years from the date of the warning/termination, or destroyed in line with specific council agreements.

Sara:

So it's just a case of knowing which requirements apply, especially if you change jobs within another part of the UK.

Sam:

Yes that's right. Now I should just say there are some exceptions to the rules. For example if legal proceedings have not been completed before the retention deadline, or if records are needed as part of an official inquiry but schools will be advised of this by their legal representation.

Sara:

So to summarise, what I've taken away from our discussion is that schools need to:

• Ensure they understand the lawful basis for keeping records and understand child protection data principles, handling, storage and retention.
• Access to records needs to be controlled and recorded
• Retention periods need to be adhered to, including statutory requirements
• And they need to have a set process for deletion of records.

Sam:

Yes that's right and don't forget the record follows the child and must be handed over to the receiving school.

I hope you've enjoyed this episode. Just one word before we finish, when we plan these podcasts we try to focus on key and emerging issues but from this month we will be dedicating the last podcast of every month to looking at the key safeguarding issues important to you. So if you have a subject or a question you'd like us to look at you can go to https://ssslearning.co.uk/podcastsquestions and send in your requests. The link is also available on our website- simply hit the resources tab and select podcasts.

We look forward to hearing from you and thanks for listening.