Record keeping and retention information for academies and academy trusts
Published 22 February 2022
Applies to England
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1. Introduction
This guidance relates to the retention of records by academies and academy trusts.
2. What records should be kept by an academy or trust?
Academies and trusts should follow good practice and retain the following types of records:
- Pupil, staff, building, finance and governance records. A pupil record is defined in section 12 of the DfE guidance on educational records for England
- Records about the history of the school/academy (if applicable, including the 'school history' from prior to the conversion to an academy). See The National Archives' research guide on schools for examples.
All records should be retained in line with regulations and retention guidelines. See the Academy Trust Handbook and the Information and Records Management Society's (IRMS) Academies toolkit (see pages 63-102) for details.
3. What should happen to records belonging to an academy or trust that is closing?
When an academy closes, the following records should be identified and either retained, by the academy or trust, retained while they are still actively required for legal or regulatory purposes (ie until the retention period is reached). Alternatively, the following records should be transferred to the local authority (LA) archive service.
Governance and 'school history' records should be offered to the local authority's archive service for permanent preservation. The 'school history' records are things that need to be permanently preserved at an archive, eg where there is community interest such as whole school photos.
Records that need to be kept for a limited time, eg records of pupils who haven't transferred to another school; records of staff who do not continue their employment with the trust; records for the building (including asbestos, chemicals); governance records for the academy's local governing body; and financial records related to the academy or trust. These should be offered to the LA where the academy was based.
3.1 For an academy only closure – where the trust remains operational
Pupil records
For pupils that are transferring to a new educational setting – academies should follow the statutory guidance on keeping and maintaining records and transfer the records to the new school/academy. If pupils transfer to a college or sixth-form, the pupil records must be retained by the academy.
For pupil records that are not following the pupil to a new educational setting, eg when the pupil has reached the end of compulsory education, should be transferred to the relevant LA for that area where the records will remain accessible.
Safeguarding and SEND records
Safeguarding information should be shared with a new school or college in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2021 paras 105 to 113.
Transition arrangements for pupils with SEND should be managed in line with paras 6.42 and 6.57 of the Special educational needs and disability code of practice.
Staff, building, financial and governance records
Staff and building records are to be retained by the LA of the area in which the trust head office is located. If staff are transferring to a new educational setting, the ICO guidance on Disclosure of employee information under TUPE should be followed.
Staff records of staff from the academy who are continuing their employment with the trust would be retained by the trust.
Governance and 'school history' records should be offered to the local authority's archive service for permanent preservation.
Records for the closed academy should be retained by the trust in line with regulations and retention guidelines. See the Academy Trust Handbook or the Information and Records Management Society's (IRMS) Academies toolkit. for details. If staff are transferring to a new educational setting, the ICO guidance on Disclosure of employee information under TUPE should be followed.
3.2 For trust closures/transfers with academies in one local authority only
Pupil records
For pupils that are transferring to a new educational setting – academies should follow the statutory guidance on keeping and maintaining records and transfer the records to the new school/academy. If pupils transfer to a college or sixth-form, the pupil records must be retained by the academy.
For pupil records that are not following the pupil to a new educational setting, eg when the pupil has reached the end of compulsory education, these records should be transferred to the relevant LA for the individual academy that is being closed or transferred.
Safeguarding and SEND records
Safeguarding information should be shared with a new school or college in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2021 paras 105 to 113.
Transition arrangements for pupils with SEND should be managed in line with paras 6.42 and 6.57 of the Special educational needs and disability code of practice.
Staff, building and governance records
Staff and building records are to be retained by the LA of the area in which the trust head office is located. If staff are transferring to a new educational setting, the ICO guidance on Disclosure of employee information under TUPE should be followed.
Staff records of staff from the academy who are continuing their employment with the trust should be retained by the trust.
Governance and 'school history' records should be offered to the local authority's archive service or local record office for permanent preservation.
Finance records
Finance records should be retained by the trust as per HMRCand Companies House retention periods.
DfE/ESFA is entitled to request and receive financial information to enable the final accounting of how the trust spent the public money it received. See Academy Trust Handbook for details.
3.3 For trust closures/transfers with academies in more than one local authority
Pupil records
For pupils that are transferring to a new educational setting – academies should follow the statutory guidance on keeping and maintaining records and transfer the records to the new school/academy. If pupils transfer to a college or sixth-form, the pupil records must be retained by the academy.
For pupil records that are not following the pupil to a new educational setting, eg when the pupil has reached the end of compulsory education, these records should be transferred to the relevant LA for the individual academy that is being closed or transferred.
Safeguarding and SEND records
Safeguarding information should be shared with a new school or college in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2021 paras 105 to 113.
Transition arrangements for pupils with SEND should be managed in line with paras 6.42 and 6.57 of the Special educational needs and disability code of practice
Staff, building, financial and governance records
Staff and building records are to be retained by the LA of the area in which the trust head office is located. If staff are transferring to a new educational setting, the ICO guidance on Disclosure of employee information under TUPE should be followed.
Staff records of staff from the academy who are continuing their employment with the trust should be retained by the trust.
Governance and 'school history' records should be offered to the local authority's archive service or local record office for permanent preservation.
If the trust's head office is not based in the same LA, the academy's LA should be approached and offered the governance records.
For trust-level governance records, ie records representing the trust as a business, these should be retained by the LA where the trust's head office is based.
Finance records
Finance records should be retained by the trust as per HMRC and Companies House retention periods.
DfE/ESFA is entitled to request and receive financial information to enable the final accounting of how the trust spent the public money it received. See Academy Trust Handbook for details.
If the LA takes responsibility for any records, the academy or trust should inform their DfE contact.
4. How to access information transferred to local authority
4.1 Pupil records
Under Data Protection legislation and education regulations, those with parental responsibility have the right to view a pupil's education record. See the Information Commissioner's Office guidance on Accessing pupils' information for details.
4.2 Staff records
Under Data Protection legislation, staff and former staff have the right to view their personal data see the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance on your data matters for details or the Privacy Notice for your LA. If staff are transferring to a new educational setting, the ICO guidance on Disclosure of employee information under TUPE should be followed.
To identify which local authority the academy or trust belongs go, use Get Information About Schools, search for the academy, click on 'Location' the LA name is given in 'District'.
5. How to dispose of records
When records have reached their retention period, data must be disposed of securely and confidentially.
All records containing personal information, or sensitive policy information must be made either unreadable or unreconstructable:
- paper records should be shredded using a cross-cutting shredder or shredded by an external company.
- CDs / DVDs / floppy disks / SD and other storage media should be destroyed to particles no larger than 6 mm.
- audio / video tapes and fax rolls should be dismantled and shredded
- hard disks should be dismantled and should be destroyed to particles no larger than 6 mm.
Do not dispose records with the regular waste or a skip.
Note: Where an external contractor is used for shredding records, it is recommended that all records must be shredded on-site in the presence of an employee. The organisation must also be able to prove that the records have been destroyed by the company who should provide a certificate of destruction. Staff working for the external provider should have been trained in the handling of confidential documents.
6. What to do if you think personal data has not been processed correctly
The Information Commissioner Office (ICO) website provides advice and guidance, about how personal data should be handled. More information is available here.
7. Further information
If a trust or academy is in doubt about the most suitable archive for its records, they can consult TNA ([email protected] or contact ESFA enquiries.
ESFA enquiries
Contact form https://form.education...
For all enquiries for the Education and Skills Funding Agency