Keeping child protection records
If a pupil leaves your school and:
- Starts attending another school, you should pass on their child protection records to that school. Read our article on transferring child protection files for more advice
- Doesn't move to another school, you should keep their child protection records until their 25th birthday
Records should be stored either as a separate file, or in a sealed envelope in the pupil file.
This is is set out in the DfE's guidance on record keeping and management (see the section 'create a data retention schedule').
Keep the file for longer if it relates to child sexual abuse
You should retain this information until the child’s 75th birthday. This is a recommendation made by the Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
If allegations of abuse made about a member of staff were found to be malicious or false, remove details of those