Document Retention – The Legalities

What you need to retain, where it needs to be stored, and for how long is a genuine concern for the bursar. There are legal requirements and regulations as outlined by the Retention Guidelines for Schools (RGS). Student safety is paramount for school records, especially in the case of personal records which need to be retained for a number of years in line with RGS regulations.

There are a number of other documentary factors to consider too. For example, a pupil can sue a school until they are 25 years old. Thus, any pupil documentation, including pupil leaver files and safeguarding documentation, needs to be kept for at least this time period. Health & Safety documents (including those relating to asbestos) need to be retained in perpetuity because of the fact that claims can be made at any time in the lifetime of a pupil or an employee. This also applies to insurance documentation. Other documentation, such as financial information (retention of which needs to be seven years), may need to be stored, but only for a limited time.

To manage and keep track of what must be kept or discarded can be a huge burden for the bursar or governors. There is other documentation to consider, too. Click here to view our comprehensive guide or browse the table below to compare retention times for various record types.

	Record Type	Retention Period
	Pupil Records	Claims may arise until a pupil reaches age 25.
	Safeguarding documentation	Typically retained until the individual reaches age 75.
	Health & Safety and asbestos documentation	Often retained for very long periods (up to 75 years).
	Financial records	Normally retained for 7 years.
	Governor minutes	Minimally retained for at least 6 years, often longer.
	Digital CPOMS Data	Retained until the pupil reaches age 35.