school office threatening me with social services for not giving my address - what can they do?

[kensingtongreen]

I'm soooo fed up.

Numerous problems with this (private) school but in relation to this , a few weeks ago they involved my ex in something and somewhat excluded me (an educational needs assessment for dc) - basically I have sole custody and am the only ine involved in anything and had organised dc to be assessed. They then went to my ex (abusive) and told him and he organised the dates and told them to Bill me but no one told me anything about it (I had told them to sort it out but heard nothing more so presumed there was a long wait). The only way I found out is they accidentally called my husband thinking it was my ex, saying they were going ahead on x date and would be billing me and is he happy with that. So, I called and asked what it was about and they then said they mistakenly called my husband thinking it was my ex and my ex had given them the go ahead etc etc, but didn't inform me. They then emailed me and my ex giving out my contact details to him. Then my ex gave me a barrage of abuse (because I found out he wanted to give me this shock bill (nearly 1k) but we would even know when/where it was taking place.
Anyway then he cancelled the assessment . The school said he can do that but I don't want to go around in circles organising things for my dc and him calling and cancelling them or changing things around, especially since they don't tell me.
Anyway I moved house and won't give him my address (he randomly turns up banging at my doors but the police can't do anything because he claims he has x,y,z concern "as a father". Given that the dcs school have made such big mistakes in giving my info out (they even put all my details in a circular to all the school parents "incase they want to contact for parties etc") , I didn't tell them I moved. They never even know who they are speaking to on the phone half the time, I've been addressed by several names. My ex turned up yesterday at the school and my dc told me his dad had spoken to him at school (unknown to me but I guess legally there isn't much I can do about that) and said if he doesn't find out my address, he can't come on his weekends anymore . My plan was to make a meeting point, since my court agreement only says I have to make dc available at x time, not that we have to be at home.
So, one of the office staff came to my car this morning and said can she have my address (this is after my ex coning yesterday there) and I said no sorry because they don't keep my information protected, so she replied she was going to have to tell social services . I said that's fine, I'm sure they will be understanding of my situation . Then I received an email from her saying they can't have a child in the school who's address is unknown and she wants me to confirm I will not be giving it and then she will be informing social services .

???????????

Given that they have already given out my info to all and sundry (my husband has got texts from my ex, my email was shared and the whole class has my old address, surely I have a right to maintain some privacy if they won't keep my info private ? Can they really call social services ? In what capacity? I called children's services myself today who said it would be nothing to do with them and they won't give my address nor force me to, given the circumstances. Is this protocol or is she just threatening me?

The school has legal duty to know where the student lives. They also have to know any future addresses too.
It all has to be out in the census for government inspections/compliance.

But, they shouldn't be publishing your address a as PPs said

Some great advice on this thread already. Could you offer the school the address of a trusted relative / friend/ workplace that you are less worried about your ex knowing?

If they have this type of address and a phone number for you I would hope this could be seen to tick their 'parent communication' boxes.

I am a bit of a cynic, but I think the only reason they are so insistent on having your address is so that they have some way of chasing you if you don't pay their fees.
They don't sound competent in safeguarding your child - any reason you can't move him to another school?

Independent schools don't rend to complete the census

Can you set up a PO box and give that as your postal address? Then they have an address and everything calms down a bit. Or give your parents or a friend's address for correspondence. I don't see they need to know the physical location, where you live, so long as they can contact you.

001 I'm intrigued - how do parents provide future addresses?

Iirc previous threads have led to suggestions that your child would be better off elsewhere. Have you made efforts to withdraw him? It might simply be easier to start again with fresh ground rules. If ex is in any way contributing to your Ds education , and his involvement suggests he wants to give that impression even if he then tries to pass cost on , it would be tricky to exclude him without a court order. Nor can you expect the school to be compliant if he has pr although data protection should apply. Do you really think this is worth the ongoing battle and angst of what's coming next?

It might not be as easy to remove the dc from school as pp think. The ex could object legally and sounds like an arse who would.

They have seriously broken data protection and safe guarding though.

Ummmm if he has parental responsible he has a right to any information the school hold about the child including his address. He also has a right to know and arrange/rearrange medical appointments. School should tell him if he asks. If fact if the other schools are withholding it they could get in big trouble.

And yes as a school they need to child's address and I can well see its a safeguarding issue not having it.

Struggling to see what the school has done wrong. If you want this information kept private you need to get tightened up the child arrangement order and then give school a copy. In the end he has parental responsibility so exactly the same rights to make arrangements and for information that you do.

Actually school do not HAVE to give the address out at all. In fact they shouldn't (think fleeing domestic violence victims, women in hostels, injunctions etc)

The school must give the address if a court hearing rules that they have to but up until the point that the nrp makes a court appeal for details and an order is granted they don't have to.

They HAVE to give details of the Childs welfare and academic reports and special needs care if he has PR

I have had legal advice on this and also advice from school safeguarding team.

Beyond any shadow of a doubt they should not be circulating anyone's phone number or e-mail without that person's express permission. This is surely common sense? Even if you had no training in data protection you wouldn't hand over someone's phone number without checking it's okay, I wouldn't do it between friends. If school-gate-mum A asked for school-gate-mum B's number, I'd say to SGM-B, I'll give SGM-A your number and tell her you want to speak to her.

Totally unprofessional to not know who they are ringing, they could so easily share sensitive information with the wrong person.

No, toffeelatte, the OP's contact and address details are her personal information and come under the data protection act. The school should have them but they are also legally bound not to disclose them to third parties without one of the legal exemptions applying. It could put the OP in danger if she is escaping an abusive relationship.

The onus is also on the school to manage their data according to the law so they are obliged to train their staff in relevant data protection law as are any organisations which hold personal data.

KingLooieCatz the legislation says something along the lines of the school has to take reasonable measures to find out the future addresses. So generally, our school asks "if you will be moving house, please let us know where to and when" (or words tot hat effect). It is reasonable that if you are moving house in the near future, you will know the likely date and address :) Naturally, there is no way to "know" if a family will move, and there is no way to force the parents to tell the school about future addresses, but the school has to ask - to cover the "reasonable measure" aspect of it.

"DelphiniumBlue* "I am a bit of a cynic, but I think the only reason they are so insistent on having your address is so that they have some way of chasing you if you don't pay their fees."

Whilst that is one reason. They have to know by law where the students main address is. We just had inspection at our inde school, and part of it was making sure this info was present and correct

DelphiniumBlue ^^

stealth ours does - every bloody month!

Yes they should hold it, but they shouldn't give it to third parties without consent as they are likely to be in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998.

There are several issues here.

Firstly, your ex has PR. That means he has a right to receive the same information from school as you and to be involved in decisions about your child's education, medical treatment, etc. The fact you have sole custody does not change that. You do not have the right to exclude him. If you want him excluded you will have to get a court order to that effect and make sure the school are aware of it. The school cannot agree to exclude him unless there is a court order.

Secondly, as others have said, the school is required to have your current address. I'm afraid you will have to give that information to the school if your child is going to stay there.

Thirdly, there have been multiple breaches of data protection here. The school must not give your email address, home address or phone number to anyone else without your consent. You should complain to the head about that. If you are not happy with the response check their complaints procedure - your next port of call is likely to be the governors. If you exhaust their complaints procedure and are still not happy with the response you should refer the matter to the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office).

Finally, you seem uncertain about the school's reference to social services. Every local authority has a social services department. They deal with child protection, fostering, adoption, adult social care and so on. The school has every right to refer you to social services if they have child protection concerns. The fact this is an independent school is irrelevant. I'm afraid withholding your address raises child protection concerns so it is something that should be notified.

Remember that the home address of the child is also the "home address" of the parent. Which makes the "don't give it to parent" much more complicated, it's probable that because it reveals information about a 3rd party the school shouldn't be giving it out, but it's not absolutely 100% clear cut.

Of course email and phone number don't come under that, so sharing those show that it wasn't a considered response by the data controller.

It's not "probable". The school cannot give out the home address to third parties without there being an exemption in place relating to court, the authorities or the police. There is no automatic right for a non resident parent to know the child's home address. It would have to be decided by a court. It's not the school's place as a third party to give out the personal address to anyone without the consent of the OP. It is a clear breach of data protection law and may put a woman escaping an abusive ex partner in danger.

She is fully entitled to make a complaint.

An adult with Parental Responsibilty can make a subject access request of all personal information held by the child, that includes the childs address. The parent is not a third party in this situation, they're acting on behalf of the child, as is their right with PR.

An adult with Parental Responsibilty can make a subject access request of all personal information held by the child, that includes the childs address

Sorry but this is wrong.

The data controller must not comply with a subject access request if doing so will disclose information relating to a third party who can be identified from the information unless either the third party consents or it is reasonable to provide the information without their consent. So, in this instance, disclosing the child's address will clearly also disclose the mother's address. The mother does not consent to that disclosure and, in the circumstances, it is not reasonable to disclose without her consent so the school should withhold the child's address if the father makes a subject access request.

There is a further exemption in the Data Protection (Subject Access Modification) (Education) Order 2000 which allows the data controller, when responding to a subject access request, to withhold any information that would be likely to cause serious harm to the physical or mental health or condition of the data subject or any other person. In this case disclosing the address potentially places the child's mother in danger.

So there are at least two grounds on which the school should withhold the child's address if the father makes a subject access request.

That was my understanding too sirfred.

but I'm fully prepared to accept it might be wrong. But then if I was the OP I think I would actually contact my legal aid (due to domestic violence) solicitor and check with him

They are a third party as far as the OP's personal information is concerned.

If the information you request in a SAR also involves personal information about another person (as this does) this information may be exempt - this depends on the effect the disclosure is likely to have. So the school cannot just give it out without considering the other person and they are likely to be in breach of the DPA if they do not take reasonable steps to protect data, such as asking the OP for her consent.

From the ICO:

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) says a data controller does not have to comply with a SAR if to do so would mean disclosing information about another individual who can be identified from that information, except where:

The other individual has consented to the disclosure

It is reasonable in all the circumstances to comply with the request without that individual's consent

I don't see any reasonable basis for the school not asking the OP for her consent to reveal her personal address to her ex husband. I just see sloppy data protection practice. There is no automatic legal right for a non resident parent with or without parental responsibility to know where their child is living. The non resident parent has to apply to a court for this. So it should be redacted on the grounds of it being the OP's personal info.