Letter to School to Request Child Educational Records

What is a letter to request child educational records?

A letter to request child educational records can be used by a parent or carer of a child in England and Wales. The purpose of the letter is to make a formal request for the disclosure of a child's educational records.

Is it mandatory to send a written request for a child's educational records?

No. It is not mandatory to send a request of this nature in writing. A request can be made verbally. However, it can be helpful to make a written request so that:

• the person making the request has a record of the date and content of the request
• the request is made in a clear and unambiguous manner
• the legal basis of the request can be made clear

What is an educational record?

An educational record includes information which is processed by or on behalf of the governing body or teacher of the relevant school and has originated from:

• the child
• a parent of the child; or
• an employee of any local authority maintaining the school; or
• an employee or teacher of any school which caters for specialist educational needs

The term 'educational record' therefore covers a wide range of information. In practical terms, this will include things such as academic achievements, reports and curricular records.

What cannot be included in a letter to request a child's educational records?

The letter should only be used to request educational records. Where a parent would like to request other types of personal information about a child, they can make a subject access request. If a request is made for health information, a particular type of subject access request can be used.

Who can send a letter to request a child's educational records?

This document should be used by a person who has Parental Responsibility* for the child or by any person who is the child's carer.

Parental Responsibility is the legal term for the rights and responsibilities held by a parent or legal guardian of a child. A person might automatically hold Parental Responsibility, or they might acquire it via a legal process (such as a legal agreement or a court order).

If a person will be a child's carer if they are the primary carer for the child and the child lives with them.

What has to be done once a letter to request a child's educational records is ready?

Once completed, the letter can be signed and posted to the school. Alternatively, it can be attached to an email and sent electronically.

A parent or carer is entitled to receive the requested information within 15 school days of the school's receipt of the request. There are some limited grounds upon which a school may refuse the request. The reasoning for any such refusal should be made clear within the response provided.

What documents should be attached to a letter to request a child's educational records?

The parent or carer who is making the request may wish to attach evidence that they hold Parental Responsibility for the child, or that they are the child's carer. This can be particularly useful where the person making the request feels that there has been some ambiguity about their relationship to the child or where they feel that their right to receive the information may be questioned by the school. This evidence will vary depending upon the circumstances but may include:

• a court order which confirms that the person is the child's primary carer
• a copy of the child's birth certificate
• a copy of the parents' marriage certificate
• a copy of a parental responsibility order
• a copy of a parental responsibility agreement

What are the costs associated with a letter to request child educational records?

Ordinarily, a request for educational requests should not attract a processing fee. If the school staff maintain that processing the request involves a large amount of printing or photocopying, they may ask for a small fee.

What type of school can a letter to request child educational records be sent to?

A letter to request child educational records should be sent in relation to a child who:

• lives and attends school in England or in Wales
• attends a school which is maintained by a local authority (commonly known as a 'state school'), including any special educational needs school; OR
• attends a school which caters for special educational needs, even where this is not a school which is maintained by the local authority*

The document is not suitable where the request is to be made to any other type of independent (private) school, as different rules apply to those schools.

Why might somebody want to make a request for child educational records?

A person may wish to request educational information about a child for a range of reasons. For example, this type of request may be made where:

• the parents of a child have separated and the non-resident parent (the parent with whom the child does not live) wishes to obtain educational reports or records in relation to a child
• where the school has failed to communicate this information to them
• a person has taken over the care of a child and requires information about the child's education to assist them in caring for the child
• a parent or carer is appealing a Special Educational Needs decision in England and the educational records will form part of the evidence within such an appeal
• a parent or carer is appealing a decision about a statement of Special Educational Needs or an Individual Development Plan in Wales and the educational records will form part of the evidence within such an appeal

Schools must also ensure that the admissions register holds the names and addresses of all parents. A request can also be made within the letter for the register to be updated where the parent or carer's details have not been included within the register.

What should be included in a letter to request child educational records?

A letter to request child educational records should:

• explain the relationship of the sender to the child
• state what type of information is requested and why the sender believes they are entitled to that information
• explain how the sender would like to receive the information (e.g via email or hard copy)

What laws apply to a letter to request child educational records?

The relevant laws which relate to the disclosure and maintenance of educational records are:

• The Education Act 1996
• The Freedom of Information Act 2000
• The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/1437)
• The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/1751)
• The Pupil Information (Wales) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/1942)
• The Head Teacher's Report to Parents and Adult Pupils (Wales) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/1943)

The relevant definition of parent for the purposes of educational records is contained within The Education Act 1996.

The definition of Parental Responsibility will depend upon the nature of the parties' relationship to each other and the child. The provisions are contained in:

• The Children Act 1989
• The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008
• The Legitimacy Act 1976
• The Family Law Reform Act 1987
• The Adoption and Children Act 2002

Data protection laws also apply to personal data held by schools and will also be relevant to requests for the disclosure of educational records. Those laws are:

• The Data Protection Act 2018
• The retained EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (UK GDPR)

Help from a lawyer

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