Data protection warning over medical information

Many schools keep personal and health information about pupils in their management information or similar systems, where it can be freely seen by teachers, teaching assistants, technicians, IT support staff and anyone else who has access

One school nurse has reported the situation to the Royal College of Nursing, who said it would investigate. 

The nurse, who asked not to be named, told SecEd: “Many of these systems used in schools are intended for information such as registration and pupil progress tracking. They are not meant to be used for sensitive information such as medical and health details.

“Of course, information about pupils who have allergies, asthma or are required to take medication are recorded and may been seen by anyone who needs to know. But not everyone needs to know, for example, that a girl may require emergency contraception or is pregnant, or that a male student has a sexually transmitted disease. This would be a violation of their privacy.