Dear All,
The query about publication of exam results should be considered in a
wider context.
Those of you who are in the unfortunate position of providing advice to
schools about how they complete the new Notification process should spend
some time with the school to talk about all of the potential disclosure
issues that arise with publicity. Now, all schools are effectively in
competition with each other for pupils. This inevitably results in
headteachers seeking whatever publicity they can for anything approaching
"good news" about the school, its teachers, its pupils, the admin staff
and even the school pet if it reproduces!
There are two issues. First, completing the Notification form correctly.
I'm not an expert on this one yet but the draft forms that are published
by the Commissioner's office contain references to publicity and media
publication. These need to be considered carefully. It might at this
stage be useful to include everything on the grounds that if you miss the
heading and then do it, you are automatically in default! Second, the
headteacher must think carefully about how the school's policy on
publicity is drawn up and communicated to parents. The obvious point for
publication is in the school's manual/handbook (or whatever) that they
hand out to parents. The policy needs to draw a careful line between the
need for publicity against the need to protect the privacy of the
individuals concerned. (Don't forget its not just the DPA but the Human
Rights Act (HRA) you need to think about.) Parents should be advised of
the types of publicity the school will seek and ask them for their Prior
Consent (note the Initial Capitals).
The practical difficulty, of course, is remembering who did not give
consent and never including them in any publicity. And what should you do
if the parents separate? Should you ask for permission again of the
parent with custody?
Not forgetting, of course, that ALL of the staff must also be asked to
sign up to the policy; teachers, cleaners, cooks, caretakers, etc.
It might even be an idea to give a copy of the school's publicity policy
to the local reporter(s) so they know the bounds of the policy. That way,
if they overstep the mark, you have a bit of a defence if the aggrieved
parent take action under the HRA.
I don't think that headteachers should go overboard about this issue. Most
parents will want their kid's picture in the paper so they can show
granny. However, every parent (and arguably their children) have choices
that they should be allowed to exercise and which we, as public
authorities, must respect. And that's the essence of the DPA and HRA.
Roger Cook
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