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Sunday, October 8, 2006 4:59 PM |
Lesson 6
Accessing your child's school record |
At school-info4u.com we are constantly stressing the importance of parental rights. Accessing your child's school record is just one of the many rights that you can excercise.
Your child's school keeps a file about your child. This is called an educational record. This file can contain written and/or taped documents.
- As well as documenting all your child's achievements, your child’s school will also be documenting all exclusions and incidents.
- You have a right to a copy of your child’s school record when you put in a request in writing to see it and pay for the photocopying of the documents.
- The school can't insist that you have to attend a meeting in order to receive it. The law says that they need to send you a copy of the record within 15 days- not including weekends and holidays.
If you discover that the school hasn't sent you all the documents in your child's file, ask them to explain their reasons for this. Request this in writing, send your letter by recorded delivery and keep a copy for you own records.
Can you be denied access to your child’s school record?
There are only three reasons that will allow the school to deny you access to your child’s records:
- If the record would reveal information about another pupil or if your child’s school believes that it might cause serious harm to the physical, mental or emotional health of the pupil in question, or any other person.
- If the record is only kept for a teacher’s personal use.
- If your child’s school believes that the record relates to your child being a victim of child abuse or at risk of it.
School records and your rights
- If your child transfers to another school their record will be automatically transferred, but the school has to get written permission from you if they want to send your child’s records to somewhere else.
- Once your son or daughter is eighteen years old, they have the right to see their own school records.
- You have the right to ask for your child’s record to be corrected and changed if you don’t agree with the content. However, the school has the right to argue this and can refuse to change the record.
- If you find that this happens to you, it is advisable to seek legal advice, approach the citizen’s advice bureau or ask the Local education authority- LEA to investigate the matter.
- You can also request that the school add information to your child’s record. This can include any type of information from a professional that has worked with your child.
- It should be relatively easy for you to get access to your child’s record. If a member of staff is a little unhelpful, all you have to do is be assertive and politely remind them that it is your right to have access to your child’s record.
- In order to avoid conflict, keep calm and try to be polite at all times with staff.
- If you still can't get access to your child's record, contact the head teacher.
- Your last point of call will be the LEA and/or chair of governors.
‘Keep cool; anger is not an argument’. Daniel Webster
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