 |
|
||
|
School Census |
|||
           |
1. SCHOOL CENSUS and NATIONAL PUPIL DATABASE The 1996 Education Act (s537) empowered the government to collect information about pupils directly from schools; however, this specifically could not include the name of any pupil. Since then, a series of amendments and regulations has changed that situation to enable, since 2000, a regular ‘pupil level’ (ie. individual) census of every pupil in a state-maintained school. The range of information collected has also increased incrementally, and currently more than 40 individual-level data items are collected. Because the legislation says that schools must supply the data (a
‘statutory duty’ - which provides an exception to certain requirements of
the Data Protection Act) parents and children are nor asked for consent, nor
informed that it is taking place. Once collected, the information is held on
the National Pupil Database (NPD) and at the moment is principally used
statistically or for research. LEAs can also obtain information that relates
to pupils in their area. Capita, who carry out the census on behalf of the DfES, takes information
directly from each school’s system on the dates prescribed by DfES. Until
2006, the census was held annually in Jan/Feb (the Pupil Level Annual School
Census or PLASC), but it is now to be a termly census. This year the census has also been extended to include nursery schools,
and from 2007 it is intended to take information from all childminders,
private nurseries and playgroups. The Government has confirmed that data held on the NPD will never be deleted.
|
||
intro