Overview
Schools/Colleges are required by law to engage with students’ parents in a number of different ways.
The government guidance uses the terms ‘resident’ and ‘non-resident’ parent to distinguish between parents who do and do not live with a child.
If a parent raises a concern and you are unsure how to act, you should refer to dataprotection@chesterfield.ac.uk to ensure that the parent’s rights and responsibilities are not infringed and our actions are compliant with education law.
Please note: the welfare of the child is always a paramount consideration.
Defining a parent
Parents may be recognised differently under education law and under family law. Section 576 of the Education Act 1996 states that, in relation to a child or young person, a ‘parent’ includes any person who is not a parent (from which can be inferred ‘biological parent’) but who has parental responsibility for or care of the child.
For the purposes of education law, the Department for Education (DfE) considers a ‘parent’ to include:
- all biological parents, whether they are married or not
- any person who, although not a biological parent, has parental responsibility for a child or young person – this could be an adoptive parent, a step-parent, a guardian or other relative
- any person who, although they are not a biological parent and do not have parental responsibility, has care of a child or young person
A person typically has care of a child or young person if the child lives with them either full or part time and they look after them, irrespective of what their biological or legal relationship is with the child.
If a person is not the biological parent of a child, does not have parental responsibility for the child, and the child no longer lives with them, it is unlikely they will be recognised as a parent. Any disputes about whether a person is a child’s ‘parent’ within the meaning of section 576 of the Education Act 1996 are for the courts to decide.
DfE may also refer to a ‘corporate parent’ within statutory and non-statutory guidance. This term is used to describe local authorities and partner organisations that contribute to services provided to looked-after children, namely children who are the subject of a care order. A care order gives the local authority (the ‘corporate parent’) parental responsibility under section 33(3) of the Children Act 1989.
Information sharing
Under the principles of the UK General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, a child or young adult can assume control of their personal information and restrict access to it from the age of 13.
Under the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005, parents have the right of access to their child’s ‘educational record’, in England and Wales, this only applies to schools. Chesterfield College is a further education establishment and these rules do not apply to colleges. Dataprotection@chesterfield.ac.uk manage these requests to prevent any confirm or deny situation.
As a College we rely on consent from the student to provide the nominated parent/guardian for us to contact in the event of an emergency or to provide information sharing relating to their learner journey at College. Sharing data about their learning journey applies to students up until the age of 18, or up until age 25 if they have an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP). This does not mean all information is shareable with parents. Data relating to health and disability, racial or ethnic origin and gender is special category data and must only be shared in specific circumstances. At all times this data must be protected and encrypted when sharing.
Safeguarding
The statutory guidance on keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) emphasises that everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding. Contact decisions for these purposes are made by the safeguarding team ccsafe@chesterfield.ac.uk
Further guidance
Understanding and dealing with issues relating to parental responsibility – GOV.UK