White Paper: Retention Guidelines for Schools Back

In this post, we outline the Retention Guidelines for Schools (RGS) as prescribed by the Records Management Society of Great Britain. The RGS outlines recommended retention periods for a diverse class of records created by schools in the course of their operations.

Some of the below retention periods are governed by statute. We specifically state the relevant statutory provision where applicable. When the law is silent, retention periods outlined below are recommended as 'best practice'.

Following the guidelines set out in the RGS below will also ensure you are compliant with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

If you plan to retain or destroy documents for shorter or longer periods than stated below, you must retain documented reasons for doing so.

For many years, Secure Storage Services has ensured schools located in the North West of England abide by the RGS. If you require document storage for schools, contact our team today on 0151 293 4000 or contact us through this website.

Retention Guidelines for Schools (RGS)

Now we detail the Retention Guidelines for Schools for 16 different document catagories:

1. Records relating to child protection

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Statutory Provisions	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
1.1	Child protection files	Yes	Education Act 2002, s175, related guidance "Safeguarding Children in Education", September 2004	Date of birth + 25 years	Secure disposal
1.2	Allegation of child protection nature against a member of staff, including where the allegation is unfounded	Yes	Employment Practices Code: Supplementary Guidance 2.13.1 (Records of Disciplinary and Grievance). Education Act 2002 Guidance "Dealing with Allegations of Abuse against Teachers and Other Staff" November 2005	Until the person's normal retirement age, or 10 years from the date of the allegation whichever is the longer	Secure disposal

2. Records relating to governors

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Statutory Provisions	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
2.1	Minutes -
2.1a	Principal set (signed)	No		Permanent	Must be available in school for 6 years from the meeting. Can then be archived/stored elsewhere.
2.1b	Inspection copies	No		Date of meeting + 3 years	Secure disposal
2.2	Agendas	No		Date of meeting	Secure disposal
2.3	Reports	No		Date of report + 6 years	Retain in school for 6 years from report date. Can consider archiving/storing anything important.
2.4	Annual parents' meeting papers	No		Date of meeting + 6 years	Retain in school for 6 years from meeting date. Can consider archiving/storing anything important.
2.5	Instruments of Government	No		Permanent	Retain in school whilst school open. Can then be archived/stored elsewhere.
2.6	Trusts and Endowments	No		Permanent	Retain in school whilst operationally required. Can then be archived/stored elsewhere.
2.7	Action plans	No		Date of action plan + 3 years	Secure disposal
2.8	Policy documents	No		Expiry of policy	Retain in school whilst policy operational (this includes if the expired policy is part of a past decision making process).
2.9	Complaints files	Yes		Date of resolution of complaint + 6 years	Review for further retention in the case of contentious disputes. Secure disposal.
2.10	Annual reports required by Dept of Education	No	Education (Governors' Annual Reports) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002.SI2002 No1171	Date of report + 10 years	Secure disposal
2.11	Proposals for schools to become or be established as Specialist Status schools	No		Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal

3. Records relating to school management

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
3.1	Log books	Yes	Date of last entry in book + 6 years	Secure disposal
3.2	Minutes of the senior management team and other internal administrative bodies	Yes	Date of meeting + 5 years	Retain in school for 5 years from meeting date. Can consider archiving/storing anything important.
3.3	Reports made by the head teacher or management team	Yes	Date of report + 3 years	Retain in school for 3 years from report date. Can consider archiving/storing anything important.
3.4	Records created by head teachers, deputy head teachers, heads of year and other members of staff with administrative responsibilities	Yes	Closure of file + 6 years	Secure disposal
3.5	Correspondence created by head teachers, deputy head teachers, heads of year and other members of staff with administrative responsibilities	No/Yes	Date of correspondence + 3 years	Secure disposal
3.6	Professional development plans	Yes	Closure + 6 years	Secure disposal
3.7	School development plans	No	Closure + 6 years	Review for further retention. Secure disposal.
3.8	Admissions - if the admission is successful	Yes	Admission + 1 year	Secure disposal
3.9	Admissions - if the appeal is unsuccessful	Yes	Resolution of case + 1 year	Secure disposal
3.10	Admissions - secondary schools - casual	Yes	Current year + 1 year	Secure disposal
3.11	Proof of address supplied by parents as part of the admissions process	Yes	As the corresponding admission record	Secure disposal
3.12	Supplementary information form including additional information such as religion, medical conditions supplied as part of the admissions process	Yes	As the corresponding admission record	Secure disposal

4. Records relating to pupils

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Statutory Provisions	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
4.1	Admission registers	Yes		Entry + 7 years	Retain in school for 7 years from entry. Can consider archiving these records if have the facility.
4.2	Attendance registers	Yes		Date of register + 3 years	Secure disposal
4.3	Pupil files retained in schools	Yes
4.3a	Primary	Yes		Retain for time which the pupil remains at the primary school	Transfer to the secondary school (or other primary school) when the child leaves the school.
4.3b	Secondary	Yes	Limitation Act 1980	Date of birth + 25 years	Transfer to another secondary school if required. In the case of exclusion it may be appropriate to transfer the record to the Pupil Referral Unit. Secure disposal
4.4	Pupil files	Yes
4.4a	Primary	Yes		Retain for time which the pupil remains at the primary school	Transfer to the secondary school (or other primary school) when the child leaves the school.
4.4b	Secondary	Yes	Limitation Act 1980	Date of birth + 25 years	Transfer to another secondary school if required. In the case of exclusion it may be appropriate to transfer the record to the Pupil Referral Unit. Secure disposal
4.5	Special Educational Needs files, reviews and individual education plans	Yes		Date of birth + 25 years	Secure disposal
4.6	Correspondence relating to authorised absence and issues	Yes		Date of absence + 2 years	Secure disposal
4.7	Examination results
4.7a	Public	No		Year of examination + 6 years	Secure disposal
4.7b	Internal examination results	Yes		Current year + 5 years	Secure disposal
4.8	Any other records created in the course of contact with pupils	Yes/No		Current year + 3 years	Review at the end of 3 years and retain with pupil file if necessary. Secure disposal
4.9	Statement maintained under the Education Act 1996 Section 324	Yes	Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Section 1	Date of birth + 30 years	Secure disposal unless legal action is pending
4.10	Proposed statement or amended statement	Yes	Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Section 1	Date of birth + 30 years	Secure disposal unless legal action is pending
4.11	Advice and information to parents regarding educational needs	Yes	Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Section 2	Closure + 12 years	Secure disposal unless legal action is pending
4.12	Accessibility strategy	Yes	Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Section 14	Closure + 12 years	Secure disposal unless legal action is pending
4.13	Parental permission slips for school trips, where there has been no major incident	Yes		Conclusion of the trip	Secure disposal unless legal action is pending
4.14	Parental permission slips for school trips, where there has been a major incident	Yes	Limitation Act 1980	Date of birth of pupil involved in the incident + 25 years	Secure disposal. Permission slips for all pupils on trip need to be retained for period to show that the rules had been followed for all pupils.
4.15	Records created by schools to obtain approval to run an educational visit outside the classroom, primary schools	No	3 part supplement of the Health & Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits (HASPEV) (1998)	Date of visit + 14 years	Secure disposal
4.16	Records created by schools to obtain approval to run an educational visit outside the classroom, secondary schools	No	3 part supplement of the Health & Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits (HASPEV) (1998)	Date of visit + 10 years	Secure disposal
4.17	Walking bus registers	Yes		Date of register + 3 years	This takes into account that if an incident requiring an accident report, the register will be submitted with the accident report and kept for the retention time for accident reporting. Secure disposal

5. Records relating to child Curriculum

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
5.1	School development plan	No	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
5.2	Curriculum returns	No	Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal
5.3	Schemes of work	No	Current year + 1 year	It may be appropriate to review these records at end of each year and allocate a new retention period. Secure disposal.
5.4	Timetable	No	Current year + 1 year	It may be appropriate to review these records at end of each year and allocate a new retention period. Secure disposal.
5.5	Class record books	Yes/No	Current year + 1 year	It may be appropriate to review these records at end of each year and allocate a new retention period. Secure disposal.
5.6	Mark books	Yes/No	Current year + 1 year	It may be appropriate to review these records at end of each year and allocate a new retention period. Secure disposal.
5.7	Record of homework set	No	Current year + 1 year	It may be appropriate to review these records at end of each year and allocate a new retention period. Secure disposal.
5.8	Pupils' work	Yes	Current year + 1 year	It may be appropriate to review these records at end of each year and allocate a new retention period. Secure disposal.
5.9	Examination results	Yes	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
5.10	SATs records, examination papers and results	Yes	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
5.11	PAN reports	Yes	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
5.12	Value added and contextual data	Yes	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
5.13	Self evaluation forms	Yes	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal

6. Records relating to personnel records

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Statutory Provisions	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
6.1	Timesheets, sick pay	Yes	Financial Regulations	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
6.2	Staff personnel files	Yes		Termination + 25 years	Secure disposal
6.3	Interview notes and recruitment records	Yes		Date of interview notes + 6 months if unsuccessful. If successful place in personnel file.	Secure disposal
6.4	Pre-employment vetting information (including CRB checks)	Yes	CRB guidelines	Date of check + 6 months	Secure disposal
6.5	Disciplinary proceedings	Yes	Where the warning relates to child protection issues see 1.2
6.5a	Oral warning	Yes		Date of warning + 6 months	Secure disposal
6.5b	Written warning - level one	Yes		Date of warning + 6 months	Secure disposal
6.5c	Written warning - level one	Yes		Date of warning + 12 months	Secure disposal
6.5d	Final warning	Yes		Date of warning + 18 months	Secure disposal
6.5e	Case not found	Yes		If child protection see 1.2, otherwise destroy immediately	Secure disposal
6.6	Records relating to accident/injury at work	Yes		Date of incident + 12 years	In case of serious accidents a further retention period will need to be applied. Secure disposal
6.7	Annual appraisal and assessment records	Yes		Current year + 5 years	Secure disposal
6.8	Salary cards	Yes		Last date of employment + 85 years	Secure disposal
6.9	Maternity pay records	Yes	Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986 (SI1986/1960), revised 1999 (SI 1999/567)	Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal
6.10	Records held under Retirement Benefits Schemes (Information Powers) Regulations 1995	Yes		Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
6.11	Proofs of identity collected as part of the process for checking "portable" enhanced CRB disclosure	Yes		Where possible these should be checked and a note/copy of what was checked placed on personnel file. If felt necessary to keep any documentation this should also be placed in personnel file.	Secure disposal of notes/copies and return of originals.

7. Records relating to health and safety

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Statutory Provisions	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
7.1	Accessibility plans	Yes	Disability Discrimination Act	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
7.2	Accident reporting		Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979 Regulation 25. Social Security Administration Act 1992 Section 8. Limitation Act 1980		Secure disposal
7.2a	Adults	Yes		Date of incident + 7 years	Secure disposal
7.2b	Children	Yes		Date of birth of child + 7 years	Secure disposal
7.3	COSHH			Current year + 10 years	Where appropriate an additional retention period may be allocated. Secure disposal
7.4	Incident reports	Yes		Current year + 20 years	Secure disposal
7.5	Policy statements			Date of expiry + 1 year	Secure disposal
7.6	Risk assessments			Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal
7.7	Process of monitoring areas where employees and persons are likely to have come in contact with asbestos			Last action + 40 years	Secure disposal
7.8	Process of monitoring areas where employees and persons are likely to have come in contact with radiation			Last action + 50 years	Secure disposal
7.9	Fire precautions log book			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal

8. Administrative records

	Basic File Description	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
8.1	Employer's liability certificate	Closure of school + 40 years	Secure disposal
8.2	Inventories of equipment and furniture	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
8.3	General file series	Current year + 5 years	Review to see if further retention period required. Secure disposal
8.4	School brochure or prospectus	Current year + 3 years	Disposal
8.5	Circulars (staff, parents, pupils)	Current year + 1 year	Review to see if further retention period required. Secure disposal
8.6	Newsletters, ephemera	Current year + 1 year	Review to see if further retention period required. Secure disposal
8.7	Visitors book	Current year + 2 year	Review to see if further retention period required. Secure disposal
8.8	PTA/Old Pupils Associations	Current year + 6 years	Review to see if further retention period required. Secure disposal

9. Records relating to Finance

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Statutory Provisions	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
9.1	Annual accounts		Financial Regulations	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.2	Loans and grants		Financial Regulations	Date of last payment on loan + 12 years	Secure disposal
9.3	Contracts
9.3a	Under seal			Contract completion date + 12 years	Secure disposal
9.3b	Under signature			Contract completion date + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.3c	Monitoring records			Current year + 2 years	Secure disposal
9.4	Copy orders			Current year + 2 years	Secure disposal
9.5	Budget reports, budget monitoring etc.			Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal
9.6	Invoice, receipts and other records covered by the Financial Regulations		Financial Regulations	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.7	Annual budget and background papers			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.8	Order books and requisitions			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.9	Delivery documentation			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.10	Debtors' records		Limitations Act	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.11	School fund - Cheque books			Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal
9.12	School fund - Paying in books			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.13	School fund - Ledger			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.14	School fund - Invoices			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.15	School fund - Receipts			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.16	School fund - Bank statements			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.17	School fund - School journey books			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.18	Student grant applications	Yes		Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal
9.19	Free school meals registers	Yes		Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
9.20	Petty cash books			Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal

10. Records relating to property

	Basic File Description	Statutory Provisions	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
10.1	Title deeds		Permanent	These should follow the property
10.2	Plans		Permanent	Retain in school whilst operational. Can then be archived/stored elsewhere.
10.3	Maintenance and contractors	Financial Regulations	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
10.4	Leases		Expiry of lease + 6 years	Secure disposal
10.5	Lettings		Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal
10.6	Burglary, theft and vandalism report forms		Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
10.7	Maintenance log books		Last entry + 10 years	Secure disposal
10.8	Contractors' reports		Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal

11. Records relating to local authorities

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
11.1	Secondary transfer sheets (primary)	Yes	Current year + 2 years	Secure disposal
11.2	Attendance returns	Yes	Current year + 1 year	Secure disposal
11.3	Circulars from LEA	Yes	Whilst required operationally	Review to see if further retention period required. Disposal

12. Records relating to the Department of Education

	Basic File Description	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
12.1	HMI reports	These do not need to be kept any longer	Secure disposal
12.2	OFSTED reports and papers	Replace former report with new inspection report	Review to see if further retention period required. Secure disposal
12.3	Returns	Current year + 6 years	Secure disposal
12.4	Circulars from Department of Education	Whilst required operationally	Review to see if further retention period required. Disposal

13. Records relating to Optum

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Statutory Provisions	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
13.1	Service level agreements			Until superseded	Secure disposal
13.2	Work experience agreement	Yes		Date of birth of child + 18 years	Secure disposal

14. Records relating to school meals

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Statutory Provisions	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
14.1	Dinner register			Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal
14.2	School meals summary sheets			Current year + 3 years	Secure disposal

15. Records relating to Family Liaison Officers and Home School Liaison Assistants

	Basic File Description	Data Protection Issue	Retention Period	Action at End of Administrative Life of Record
15.1	Day books	Yes	Current year + 2 years	Review to see if further retention period required. Secure disposal
15.2	Reports for outside agencies - where the report has been included on the case file created by the outside agency	Yes	Whilst the child is attending the school	Secure disposal
15.3	Referral forms	Yes	While the referral is current	Secure disposal
15.4	Contact data sheets	Yes	Current year then review	If contact is no longer active secure disposal
15.5	Contact database entries	Yes	Current year then review	If contact is no longer active secure delete
15.6	Group registers	Yes	Current year + 2 years	Secure disposal