Subject Access Request from Academy school taking 2 calendar months?

[permafrost]

Am i being unreasonable to be sad that an Academy school can interpret the four week deadline for responding to an SAR (personal data access request) to mean 30 school days (excluding weekends, bank holidays and half terms? ), so that, by their calculations (counting weekends, bank holidays and half terms etc), they can respond 2 calendar months after my original request.

Is that normal?

You expect them to be working on this over the Bank Holidays etc?

It depends what you're asking for and what your attitude has been like.

Requesting 'everything about my child' can be a massive undertaking and they will need a long time to achieve it.

Being an arse about it will make them drag their heels.

Mostly, they're allowed to do that so why wouldn't they give the maximum timescale to buy themselves as much time as possible?

They're allowed to "stop the clock" on the one month. For things like waiting for clarity etc.

And it could be argued that the breaks are a valid reason to do this. It's up to the data person to decide how to interpret things I suppose

ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/right-of-access/what-should-we-consider-when-responding-to-a-request/#extend

The max is 90 days I believe under ico guidelines

They will also need time consider redactions as they can't release 3rd party information. If your request is complex and involves pulling data from multiple places and involves redaction they have the right to extend thus by 2 months from the initial deadline.

I don't want them to work bank holidays or weekends on this, but have not asked for everything just specific things related to SEN and attainment/progress. I need the data to challenge an LA decision. It just doesn't look like a 2 month job to me.

Are parents who make a SAR request typically seen as arsey?

The response time for a SAR is one month but the organisation can take an additional two months if the request is considered to be complex:

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/your-right-to-get-copies-of-your-data/what-to-expect-after-making-a-subject-access-request/

As a school data person I would probably take a week to turn round what you’ve asked for. If you’d asked during a busy time eg end of term reports- maybe two weeks.

Yes, but that information might be held in 3 or 4 different systems. Like safeguarding software, central MIS, emails, shares drives etc. Plus it will all need to be checked for redaction.
And also, sorting, say, the SEN emails,.where teachers have emailed a list of students and SEn provision out from things like team lists for a netball match might take a while.

Did you explain why you submitted the SAR in the first place? Often, it's the kind of thing somebody does if they want to cause trouble for the organisation they submitted it to; aside from the people receiving it just being dickish because they can, they will often collate the data as quickly as possible and then send it through several layers of management to make sure there's nothing damning in there, or at least to get their stories straight.

If it's made clear that you're not taking aim at the school, it may magically appear faster...

@xyxygy - thanks for this suggestion i've followed up with another message to make sure that's really clear. I did say why i needed the info, and have expanded on that on the phone, but hopefully putting in writing will help

This wouldn't be a SAR at my school. It would be a friendly request from a parent and a fairly rapid turnaround from me. Parents who submit SAR are usually looking for something that they think the school are concealing. I agree that the info you want will reappear faster with a fuller explanation.

Do you really need a SAR? Because I'm not sure what you have asked for would necessarily constitute one. I think a SAR typically covers everything the school holds on your child, including all emails your child has been mentioned in.
When a school receives a SAR, it's a very large undertaking and, to cover their backs and ensure they have done everything right, most schools will want to take their time.
However, what you've asked for, SEN reports and attainment/progress reports, wouldn't normally take as long.
In answer to your question though, yes, most parents asking for a SAR, are doing so because they are unhappy about something and, rightly or wrongly are often quite arsey. There is often an underlying threat of some sort of action which tends to put schools on edge and, again, this will lead to them taking their time to ensure they're doing everything by the book.

You've asked them for a SAR which mens every single written piece of information they hold on your child.... They're scouring emails, MIS, cast lists, Team lists, shared documents, registers. Everything! Then having to redact all of the other names etc.

Have they informed you they need an extension? It is 1 month by default (not working days, term days or otherwise) they can extend but should only be if they genuinely can't do within the period or there are other mitigating circumstances, but they should explicitly explain this to you.

And everyone questioning why she's doing a "SAR" every request for personal information is a SAR whether it is labelled as such or not, and should be treated at one.

There's a Subject Access Request, and there's asking for supporting information pertaining to SEN

Not necessarily - a well-formed SAR should involve a request for specific pieces of information. It's possible to make a blanket request, but I've never seen one that was for literally everything.

From the ICO:

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/your-right-to-get-copies-of-your-data/preparing-and-submitting-your-subject-access-request/