I only want the names of the kids in my sons class

[Festivefly]

Is it normal practice to refuse to give you names of your sons class mates. I only wanted to write christmas cards for him as he doesn't no his bum from his elbow. But get the data protection palaver thrown at me. What about my right to know who my son spends his day with? I'm only going to have to go round now and ask everyones name, its ridiculous

Eh? As far as I understood it, Data Protection Act is about storing information for profit purposes (you have to be registered to do that) and allowing everyone to see what information they have stored about you on request (regardless whether you are registered or not). A list of class names for writing cards is hardly relevant!!

How bizarre!

We all have a list of everyone in DD's class complete with names, addresses, tel numbers and date of birth. The school distributes in the beginning of every year.

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What are they talking about then?????????

Yes, but stressyhead that's a database of information WITH the names - a list of names in itself wouldn't apply I wouldn't have thought. Especially in a non-profit context.

Sorry stressyhead posts crossed, i can see why that is wrong, but i just wanted names, and i think i should know who he plays with. He only remembers a couple of names. Anyway i've decided to copy them off the coat pegs

I asked for a class list as well festivefly and was given it by the end of that day.

Oooo good thinking FF It's so daft you have to do that though, isn't it?!

Well i said are you sure and they were adamant that it was ilegal, i felt like a bit of a snoop, why are these rules never consistent throughout. I feel like going back in and saying something now, i presumad this was the case everywhere

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Thanks georgina, i was happy when i came up with that! (even though it looks more suspicious than a list)

My kids' school won't give out a list either (although the class photo has all the names on!!). Their teachers always tells us to get names from coat pegs or book drawers - a strange rule but i would rather it be that way than Stressyhead's example.

Unfortuantely under new DPA paper based files of information, and schools are included

Could the school not just ask for permission for parents to give out their children's first (and last?) names though?

Oh ffs, there's a list of all first and second names pinned to my son's classroom door (it's a large-ish state school in a city) so we can take a copy and write cards, which seems completely sensible to me. I was also given the list when I asked for it in rural Devon (it was for party invitations that time). I don't know that I'd be terribly happy about my address being given out though.

DPA basically says that an organisation that holds information on people must adhere to certain guidelines. Previously it was just computer records but it does apply to paper records too.

To broadly simplify the DPA, the school should be able to justify every bit of information they hold on your child and should not retain information they do not use. They should not send the information to unauthorised 3rd parties without your permission. This may include other parents. When your child started school you may have agreed to this or not (it's exactly the same as the tick box you fill in to say that you don't want your details sent to anyone else when you apply for a credit card or whatever). If the school did not explicitely get your permission to send your child's details to other parents then they are correct in refusing to give you the names of classmates. it's my guess that they forgot to include a generic clause in the DPA stuff you might have signed - or didn't get you to sign anything.

I would be really surprised at a school selling the directory at the fete as someone said. They would have had to get your agreement on this in writing and I would DEFINITELY report the school for this.

It sounds like the schools are applying the DPA in varying ways.

Can you believe I got turned down for a job advising the local council on their DPA issues?!!!

freddiecat is right - I used to work for the data protection registrar (yawn) and they should be asking permission before distributing any 'personal data' - i think the reason there are so many variations are just simply because the DPA can be so complicated and has been recently updated so many schools just don't know what it does/doesn't cover.

I wouldnt want my tel no. given out

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"they should be asking permission before distributing any 'personal data'" - I agree with that completely, but personal data is the information provided with a name not the name in itself.

I.E. if FF had asked for all the mum's phone numbers with the name list then she'd have been well out of order and it wouldn't be allowed. A names list in itself (especially when it can be got from the clothes pegs in the hall!) should be fine.

one of the carers at dd2's nursery kindly wrote out by hand all her 'classmates' names, so parents could do christmas cards easily. i just asked dd1 (she's 3 and a half) about hers.

Thre'll be covering the names up on the clothes pegs next and replacing them with numbers, barcode there bottoms

LOL at the idea of barcodes on their bums! Would they scan them at a security cheek-point?

LOL FF!

Ew, wouldn't like to touch the barcode reader then

roscoe: groan