AIBU for teacher to give out list of names of all the kids in the class

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Is it helpful for writing christmas cards/ party invites?
Or against date protection/ safeguarding/ GDPR?

I asked for a list at star for birthday parties, would hate to have missed someone out! Also helped with name spelling. The child will know all the names in class eventually so can’t see how it can be a problem.

The safeguarding argument actually makes me angry. It’s not ok to give out a list of names because of the possibility of it falling into the wrong hands and potentially being used for ill. But with a higher probability of some poor child being missed out and getting upset when all their friends got cards and they didn’t.
All the while children are being tortured to the point of death and safeguarding isn’t helping them. Makes my blood boil.

It’s just pointless, bureaucratic tick boxing paying lip service to safeguarding when current safeguarding policies where it really matters are seriously failing our children.

@SomethingBeginningWithX

Safeguarding and GDPR are not the same thing. Safeguarding is child protection, GDPR is privacy. Names alone are highly unlikely to breach GDPR unless connected with other information.

GDPR isn't even a thing anymore...it's been replaced the Data Protection Act 2018.

@RockingMyFiftiesNot

But seriously, some people in this thread need to get a grip.

'Some people' are only stating what is fact. Is it crazy in the context we're talking about here? Maybe. Do people need to 'get a grip' because they have a better understanding of GDPR than others? I don't think so.

First names are not sensitive information in this scenario.
It's not that straight forward. First names can be considered identifiable information, especially when combined with other snippets of information.

But my child knows their classmates names, they aren't secret.

My kid isn't friends with ollie, Sam, Child A and Rosie.

We are in England we have a full list of children. Collated and circulated by class reps I think.

I could name all the children without the list though, we all seem to know each other.

We are asked to consent or not to our names and email addresses being shared with other parents at the beginning of the year. It's useful.

We were able to have first name only lists for party invitation purposes. That was a few years ago.

DH asked for a list and was told it would be 1st names only. Tbh that's all we were wanting. DD also mentions some names from her class and I can see some on Google classroom so don't see the issue.

Knowing people's names is not a GDPR breach! Names aren't exactly confidential in a classroom 😀.
Sharing everyone's address, email, phone number would be against GDPR though.

eh, its standard protocol and yes I use it every single year for cards and invites, It is a lifesaver because relying on the memory of a 5/6/7/8 year old for all the names of the kids in their class and spellings is impossible.

They aren't giving out your personal details (home address, bank details, salary etc...) just a reminder list of the info your kid ALREADY knows but might forget - anyone at the school or anyone that knows a kid at the school has access to your kids name just by asking the kid, its a baseline identifier not a secret.

We had an 'opt in' system run by the PTA

The school had no input, other than to let the PTA put a notice about it in the website

Parents could then fill in the PTA's form, or not, choosing whether to include name, address, email, phone (any combination) and then thus wouid be collated by the class rep and distributed to parents.

They would include first name of all DC in the class, even if no further info given, so that parents can see if there's anyone they might miss out.

For Christmas card, I still like the classroom postbox system, because you can then dump the whole lot in there, and a couple of the pupils (Stars if the Week?) get to do the sorting and handing out

I have never heard such utter nonsense as on this thread. Children's names are not private information and are openly used every day in class.

@MrsFin

Knowing people's names is not a GDPR breach! Names aren't exactly confidential in a classroom 😀. Sharing everyone's address, email, phone number would be against GDPR though.

This.

We got a list of first names. So that if you wanted to write cards you are including everyone. Which is a good thing to teach your child when they are young. They may not be best buds with Alfie or Penny, but they are still your classmate and it would be very un-christmassy to leave them out.

Knowing people's names is not a GDPR breach! Names aren't exactly confidential in a classroom 😀.
That is true. But 'knowing' people's names isn't the issue, it's the school handing out a list. Even though it might seem ridiculous, they shouldn't be doing it.

Sharing everyone's address, email, phone number would be against GDPR though.
And names. Even first names only in some cases.

But people don't seem to want to believe that so I'll not repeat it again.

00100001 - not true.

The UK GDPR is very much 'still a thing' as is the Data Protection Act 2018 - both form the UK's data protection legislative landscape.

Against gdpr

Go and find the specific part of GDPR which prohibits this.

People shouting GDPR have no idea what GDRP is or entails. Funny really

@RockingMyFiftiesNot you need to read your own link...

GDPR is the new. But it’s against my human rights cry.

Names on their own wouldn’t spark a ICO investigation, names plus additional information such as name and surname is identifying, or other info such as address would cross a line.

@Polkadotties

People shouting GDPR have no idea what GDRP is or entails. Funny really

Indeed!

RockingMyFiftiesNot - I admire your efforts!

Perhaps easier for folk to imagine their workplace - you know the names of your colleagues, as they know yours, but wouldn't expect your employer to be handing out a list of home addresses, personal e-mail and mobile phone number.

The employer wouldn't have a lawful basis to do so - and the school wouldn't either.

Even for a list of first names only - this can be considered to be personal data, depending on the circumstances and, if the school has determined that releasing it isn't necessary to fulfil a stated purpose, it would be breaching data protection law to do so.

Agree not GDPR.

But it is certainly policy of primary schools in my part of Scotland not to share that information. No class lists, no passing on details, they won't give out party invitations. I was in the office once on another matter and heard one of the office ladies trying to explain to a parent that no, she couldn't give her Anna's mum's number to arrange a playdate.

People shouting GDPR have no idea what GDRP is or entails. Funny really

Oh, some of us know way more about GFPR than you want to believe but I'm not going to out myself any further by proving it.

Will leave you all to it now

Also i've just remembered how extreme they are with this stuff... for years the PTA used to present every child leaving Primary with a secondary school tie and a dictionary. One of the mums who was really arty would use her calligraphy skills to write up little inserts for the dictionary with the child's first name and the date.

Even for this, after 7 years in the school, the parent had to go into the school and sit into the staff room to copy the (first names only) off a list. The list was not allowed to leave school. They were very, very strict about it.

@00100001 GDPR absolutely is still a thing. ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/