School Pupil Records (Scotland) Regulations 1990
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1990/1551 |
1990 No. 1551 (S.158)
EDUCATION, SCOTLAND
The School Pupil Records (Scotland) Regulations 1990
Made 25th July 1990
Laid before Parliament 8th August 1990
Coming into force 1st October 1990
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 2 of the Education (Scotland) Act 19801, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the School Pupil Records (Scotland) Regulations 1990 and shall come into force on 1st October 1990.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–
“the Act” means the Education (Scotland) Act 1980;
“appropriate person” means, in respect of information relating to a pupil –
(a) the pupil, where–
(i) he is not less than 16 years of age; or
(ii) he is less than 16 years of age, and a parent of the pupil consents to his request;
(b) a parent of the pupil where the pupil is less than 18 years of age;
(c) a parent of the pupil, where the pupil is not less than 18 years of age but is not in the opinion of the education authority capable of understanding the relevant information in respect of which access or rectification is sought,
and for the purpose of this definition “parent” in paragraph (a) and (b) has the same meaning as in the Act and in paragraph (c) includes a person legally entitled to administer the pupil’s affairs or who appears to the education authority to have assumed actual responsibility for the pupil;
“personal information” means information which relates to a living individual who can be identified from that information (or from that and any other information in the possession of the authority keeping the record) and includes any expression of opinion about the individual;
“pupil” means the individual to whom information relates, being a person who receives, or has received, school education provided by the education authority.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these Regulations and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph of that regulation bearing that number.
Information to which these Regulations apply
3.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, the information to which these Regulations apply is personal information which–
(a)
(a) is held in a pupil’s progress record kept in accordance with the Schools General (Scotland) Regulations 19752or in any other record kept by an education authority for the purpose of the discharge, in relation to school education, of their functions under section 1 of the Act; and
(b)
(b) relates to a person who receives, or has received, school education provided by the education authority.
(2) These Regulations do not apply to personal information which is data to which the Data Protection Act 19843applies.
(3) These Regulations do not apply to personal information which was recorded by the education authority before the date when these Regulations come into force except to the extent that access to that information is required to make intelligible information recorded on or after that date.
Requirement to give access to information
4.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, and to regulations 5 to 9, an education authority shall upon request in writing by an appropriate person give him access to information relating to a pupil free of charge by such means as the education authority think fit.
(2) The requirements of paragraph (1) only arise where the person requesting the information has supplied such information as the authority may reasonably require to establish that he is an appropriate person and to locate the information which he seeks.
(3) The requirements of paragraph (1) apply to information held at the date of the receipt of the request, but if any correction, addition or erasure is made between that time and the time when the information is supplied, the education authority shall give access also to the information as so amended.
(4) When an education authority are required by paragraph (1) to comply with a request, they shall, subject to paragraph (5), do so–
(a)
(a) in relation to any information other than information to which regulation 7 or 8 applies, and subject to regulation 9, within 40 days of the date of receiving the request or (if later) the date of receiving any information referred to in paragraph (2);
(b)
(b) in relation to any information to which regulation 7 or 8 applies, within 20 days of receiving an opinion under that regulation, or within the time limit specified in sub-paragraph (a) above if later.
(5) Where the information to be supplied under paragraph (1) includes any information to which regulation 6 applies, the education authority shall give access within the time limit specified in paragraph (4) to so much of the information to which regulation 6 applies as may be supplied without consent in accordance with regulation 6(5), and where any consent is received they shall give access to the information to which the consent applies within 20 days of receiving the consent, or within the time limit specified in paragraph (4) if later.
Circumstances where information need not be disclosed
5.—(1) An education authority shall not be required to give access under regulation 4(1) to information–
(a)
(a) kept, and intended to be kept, by an employee of the education authority solely for his own use;
(b)
(b) contained in a copy of a reference given by the education authority or one of its employees to a person who has requested it in connection with an application by a pupil for employment, education or training;
(c)
(c) contained in a record of needs kept under section 60 of the Act;
(d)
(d) in respect of which a claim to confidentiality between client and professional legal adviser could be maintained in legal proceedings;
(e)
(e) which has been supplied to the education authority by a person, other than an employee of the education authority, subject to a legal obligation that it shall not be disclosed;
(f)
(f) to the extent that its disclosure would in the opinion of the education authority be likely to cause serious harm to the physical or mental health of the pupil or any other person, but this provision is subject to paragraphs (2) and (3);
(g)
(g) to the extent that its disclosure would in the opinion of the education authority be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, but this provision is subject to paragraph (3).
(2) In relation to information to which regulation 7 applies, the opinion of the health board or appropriate health professional obtained under that regulation shall be applied for the purpose of paragraph (1)(f) in place of that of the education authority.
(3) In relation to information to which regulation 8 applies, the opinion of the Reporter obtained under that regulation shall be applied for purposes of paragraph (1)(f) or (g) in place of that of the education authority.
Consent required for access to information disclosing identity of another individual
6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), this regulation applies to information which would in the opinion of the education authority be likely to disclose to the person who requests access to it the identity of a living individual (other than the pupil or the person who requests access) either as a person to whom the information applies or as the source of the information or to enable that identity to be deduced by the person who requests access either from the information itself or from a combination of that information and other information which the person who requests access is likely to have.
(2) In relation to information to which regulation 7 or 8 applies, the opinion of the health board, appropriate health professional or Reporter obtained under that regulation shall be applied for the purpose of paragraph (1) in place of that of the education authority.
(3) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), the education authority shall not be required to give access under regulation 4(1) to information to which this regulation applies unless consent to giving access has been obtained from the individual whose identity may be disclosed or deduced.
(4) Paragraph (3) does not apply–
(a)
(a) where the individual whose identity may be disclosed or deduced is employed by the education authority in pursuance of its functions relating to education and the information relates to him, or he was the source of it, in his capacity as such employee;
(b)
(b) in relation to information to which regulation 7 applies, where the individual whose identity may be disclosed or deduced is a health professional who has been involved in the care of the pupil and the information relates to the health professional or was supplied by him in that capacity.
(5) Nothing in this regulation shall excuse the education authority from giving access under regulation 4(1) to as much of the information concerned as can be given access to without being likely to...
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