Background

Recently appointed as Principal of an Academy that replaced a failing school

of 1000 students and 120 staff.
Budget was in deficit due to over-staffing.
Staff morale was low due to historical issues, a fear of change and its
implications.

Situation
Received a letter from a parent (JO) stating a number of complaints
concerning her child (RO), the lack of communication & alleged ongoing
inaction.
Received a letter from a Complaints Officer from the Information
Commissioners Office (ICO) requiring a response to a complaint made by JO
regarding a Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) request.
Staff regarded JO as a vexatious parent with a history of confrontation.

The Task
Identify key issues and take decisions to change processes and practices.
Secure legislative requirements around record keeping: Records
Management Society of Great Britain Local Governing Group Retention
Guidelines for Schools Version 3.1.
Consider Data protection Act 1998 (DPA) and data disclosure exemptions.
Research a variety of systems to streamline and safely store data and files.
Secure a management process.
Identify staff training needs in particular around handling FOIA requests and
storage of records.
Change working patterns of a number of staff.
Monitor progress.
Ensure compliance.
Manage performance.
Respond to ICO and act on findings.
Respond to JO and restore confidence.

Actions carried out by me:

Reviewed ROs student file.
Investigated the paper trail of the note.
Interviewed staff around the process of handling information received,
response and record keeping.
Initiated a review of all 1000+ student files to determine extent of the problem.
Reviewed management processes around communication with parents and
the role of a data protection officer.
Reviewed complaints procedure.
Redefined roles of a number of staff around communication and record
keeping.

Result
Discovered note from JO requesting a Subject Level Disclosure in ROs
student file together with other letters from JO.
ROs file contained a mixture of routine and sensitive correspondence for both
mother and child.
Identified failures by two members of staff: poor record keeping which did not
comply with the DPA/guidance on records retention for schools and the lack of
response to the information disclosure request.
Set up a medium and long-term work plan to review 1000+ record files and to
secure compliance.
Reviewed 3 potential solutions with key staff; a new record keeping and
storage system implemented.
Targets set and appointed a senior leader to oversee the process of data
protection.
Identified key staff as responsible and trained.
Responded to the ICO and the matter subsequently closed.
Responded to JO who subsequently let the matter drop.
One of the key failing members of staff did not reach performance target and
chose to leave to pursue other interests.