Remembering that the right is the individuals right and if a child has the
intellectual capacity to understand what is happening to their information
they are the ones whose permission is required;  Not the parents. :-\

Ian
----- Original Message -----
From: Roger Cook <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>; Paul Simpkins
<[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2000 2:06 PM
Subject: Re[2]: Exam results


>
>  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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