As I understand it, you are correct in distinguishing between the pupil's
right of access under the DPA and the parents' rights under the Pupil
Information Regulations. However, there are inevitably complicating
factors.
Firstly, I believe the current Regulations are SI 2005 No. 1437 (not 2002).
One clear source of confusion is that parents may very well be entitled to
make DPA subject access applications on behalf of children who are too young
to apply in their own right. It's hard to see why they would, because of
the fee difference, but a DPA application could conceivably result in subtly
different information being provided, if the school, for example, holds
information about the child which is not within the definition of an
educational record. A DPA application could also, I suppose, be made by an
adult other than the parent acting on behalf of the child.
You also need to look at: The Data Protection (Subject Access) (Fees and
Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2000 (No. 191)
(This link takes you to the Statute Law Database - the best thing to come
out of government for years.)
In the Regulations, s.5 says that a DPA access request from the Data Subject
(i.e. the child or someone acting on their behalf) for material which
qualifies as an educational record is subject to a 15-day time limit in
England and Wales, while the Schedule to the Regulations sets the maximum
fee for DPA access to educational records at £50, on a sliding scale
depending on the number of pages.
Sorry if this makes life more complicated.
Paul Ticher
0116 273 8191
22 Stoughton Drive North, Leicester LE5 5UB
I hereby require any recipient of this message not to use my personal data
for direct marketing purposes.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Catherine Lantsbery" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 1:31 PM
Subject: Pupil Access to Education Records
Dear All I have an issue with pupil access to their education records.
Generally we have been applying the DPA (i.e. 40 days to comply £10 fee)
however on looking at IC guidance
(http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_a
pplication/subject_access_-
_right_of_access_to_education_records_in_england.pdf) it states that 15 days
is the required time and that the sliding scale for fees will apply. I am
presuming that the different fees and time scale relate to those included in
the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regs 2000. However having looked
at the regs under regulation 5 it is the parent only who has a right of
access to the Educational Records of their child (the 15 days and fees scale
will apply along with proof of parental identity etc). This would mean that
the child does not have a general right of access under the pupil regs but
under the DPA therefore 40 days and £10 would apply. Can anyone shed any
light on this as my main concern is that we may be applying the incorrect
deadline (currently pupils 40 days, parents 15 days)
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