Information
Management in
Schools
Data
Collection and
Dissemination
The Protocol
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The revised edition of the Protocol on Data Sharing and Rationalisation in the
Schools Sector now has seven new signatories, making
seventeen including the Department.
It was first published in February 2004 with ten signatories; the revised
edition was published in October 2005, with a further seven signatories.
The partner organisations which have signed the Protocol are, in addition to the Department:
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Audit Commission
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British Educational Communications and Technology Agency — Becta
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Confederation of Education Service Managers — CONFED
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General Teaching Council for England — GTC
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Independent Schools Council — ISC
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Learning and Skills Council — LSC
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Local Government Association — LGA
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National Association for Gifted and Talented Youth
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National Bursars Association
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National College for School Leadership NCSL
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National Foundation for Educational Research — NFER
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Office for Standards in Education — OfSTED
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Partnerships For Schools
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Qualifications and Curriculum Agency — QCA
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Training and Development Agency for Schools
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Universities & Colleges Admissions Service — UCAS
Background and the implications for the Department, LAs/LEAs and schools
Schools and LEAs collect data about their pupils, staff, facilities and accommodation. Much of this is for their own internal purposes, but often they collect the same data again and again for different purposes, and too often at the request of many other bodies, both public and private.
The New Relationship With Schools initiative, announced by David Miliband in January 2004, has the effective and efficient use of data at its core. A key aim is to minimise burdens of data collection, and to ensure that data is collected once and used as often as required. Further aims are to automate collection and sharing of data, to collect data only when its value outweighs the cost, and to protect personal data.
Data should be used effectively to support:
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individual pupils in their learning
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whole schools in improving
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increased capacity to deliver across the sector
These principles are set out in the Protocol on Data Sharing and Rationalisation in the Schools Sector, between the Department and seventeen key partners.
The Protocol was published in February 2004 (revised October 2005) and highlighted in a speech by David Miliband, then Minister for School Standards, on 11 February 2004 at The Education Network (TEN) Conference.
The Protocol sets out a range of actions for its signatories, including:
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the development and introduction of a Common Basic Data Set covering pupils, adults, schools and LEAs,
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common standards and technology provision for the exchange and automatic collection of data,
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rationalising data collection,
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providing schools with added value analyses of data they have collected
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meeting the requirements of Data Protection legislation
The Department is expected to step up its control of data requests, reviewing ongoing data collections, ensuring that new collections are only given the go-ahead if they are supported by strong business cases, and sharing data with partners. Increasingly, data items will need to be of use to schools for their own purposes to be approved for collection.
The aim is to have fully implemented these developments in 2006.
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Page updated 28 October 2005 [GMC]
