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Why academies must share data

Mon, 13/02/2012 - 12:33

Phil Neal's latest blog on Children and Young People Now explores why it is imperative that academies continue to share information on children with local authorities.

Tim Loughton recently called on academies to ensure they engage with wider children's services to support youth work and the safeguarding of children.

As of 1 January 2012, there were 1529 academies open in England and that figure is expected to continue rising. Schools that have become academies are required to complete the school census for the DfE, which includes data such as the number of children who are looked after or have been excluded. However, there is currently no statutory obligation for them to provide such data to the local authority.

This means that if councils want to be able to directly access information from academies, such as children’s attendance, achievement, behaviour and whether or not they are entitled to free school meals, they may need to ensure they have data sharing agreements in place with each of these schools.

So why is this important?

If a child starts repeatedly missing school on a Monday morning or their behaviour in class suddenly begins to deteriorate, there could be many reasons behind it. But it could be that their family is struggling to make ends meet or they are experiencing neglect and abuse at home.

Changes in a child’s behaviour at school is one of the earliest indicators that their family might be having difficulties. The sooner councils are made aware of issues affecting a child in school, the quicker families will get the help they need to give their children the best chance in life.

Local authorities have a responsibility to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families. Having access to regular and current information on children from schools and academies will help them successfully fulfil this role.

To ensure local authorities can continue to access the information they need on children, collection of data needs to be as pain free as possible so that as greater freedoms are given, academies choose to continue to support the process. Many schools have been sharing their data with the local authority on a weekly or sometimes even daily basis for years. The technology is available that allows data stored on their management information system to be transferred electronically to the council and back again automatically. This ensures timely information is available to those who need it, with minimal impact on staff workloads.

Sharing more data on children with the authority is not about increasing beaurocracy or altering the increased autonomy many academies currently enjoy. It’s about working together to protect children, support families and build a brighter future for some of the most vulnerable in society.

This article was first published in Phil Neal's Children and Young People Now blog.