Record keeping and retention of information

A new document, Record keeping and retention of information by academies and academy trusts, was published by the ESFA on 22 February 2022. It updates the details of what records should be kept by an academy or academy trust.

For further information refer to the Academy Trust Handbook and the Academies Toolkit from the Information and Records Management Society (IRMS) website.

What records should be kept?

• Academies and academy trusts should keep pupil, staff, buildings, finance and governance records.
• They should also keep records about the history of the institution, including before it/they became an academy or members of an academy trust.
• When an academy or trust closes, the following documents should either be retained for as long as they are actively required or transferred to the local authority (LA) archive service where the records will remain accessible.

For an academy only closure, where the trust remains operational

• Governance and school history records should be offered to the LA’s archive service or local records office.
• Records for pupils in years 1 to 11 should be transferred to their new educational setting where appropriate.
• If pupils are leaving compulsory education, records should be transferred to the relevant LA for that area.
• For students transferring from year 11 to a college or sixth form, the records should be retained by the academy.
• Safeguarding information should be shared with a new school or college in line with KCSIE.
• Transitional arrangements for pupils with SEND should be managed in line with the SEND code of practice.
• Staff and buildings records are to be retained by the LA in the area in which the academy or trust head office is located.
• If staff are transferring to new employment, ICO guidance should be followed.
• Records of staff from an academy that remain within the same trust would be retained by the trust.

For trust closures/transfers with academies in one LA only

• For pupils transferring to a new educational setting, the records should be transferred to the new school/academy.
• For students transferring from an academy to a college or sixth form, the academy should retain the records.
• If the student is leaving compulsory education, the records should be transferred to the relevant LA for the individual academy that is being closed.
• Safeguarding information should be shared with the new school or college in line with KCSIE.
• Transition arrangements for pupils with SEND should be managed in line with the SEND code of practice.
• Staff and buildings records are to be retained by the LA in the area in which the trust head office is located.
• If staff are transferring to a new educational setting, the ICO guidance should be followed.
• Records of staff that are continuing employment with the trust should be retained by the trust.
• Governance and school history records should be offered to the LA archive or local record office for permanent preservation.
• Trust level governance records should be retained by the LA where the trust’s head office is based.
• Finance records should be retained by the trusts as per HMRC and Companies House retention periods.
• The 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.

Viewing and disposing of records

• Those with parental responsibility have the right to view a pupil’s education record.
• Staff and former staff have the right to view their personal data. If staff are transferring to a new educational setting, ICO advice should be followed.
• When records have reached their retention period, personal data must be disposed of securely and confidentially. They should be destroyed so that they are unreadable or unreconstructable (ie shredded, reduced to small particles or totally dismantled). They should not be disposed of with regular waste or put in a skip. External contractors should work in the presence of an academy employee and issue a certificate of destruction on completion.
• The ICO provides advice and guidance on how personal data should be handled.