Deciding when to share (or withhold) information
Safeguarding trumps data protection
As a school, you have clear powers to share, hold and use information for the purpose of:
- Identifying and tackling all forms of abuse and neglect
- Promoting children’s welfare, including their educational outcomes
UK data protection laws do not prevent or limit you from sharing information to keep children safe. They only require you to share the information appropriately, in line with data protection principles (we explain more about these in the sections below).
Whether you’re acting on a disclosure or concern, or responding to requests for information from external agencies, you can share information with the appropriate people if you believe that doing so is likely to support the safeguarding and protection of a child.
To help identify patterns of behaviour for a child at risk of going missing, or who has gone missing With external agencies
