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Request for your child's school record (England)
England · in English · for parents
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13 questions · about 5 min
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For a parent in England who wants to see, or have a copy of, their child's educational record held by a school. A request under regulation 5 of the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005: the governing body of a council-maintained school must let you see it free and give you a copy, at no more than the cost of supply, within 15 school days. For an academy or free school, the letter asks for the same information under the UK GDPR instead. Sent by email or handed in at the school office.
- Made for use in England
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- You want to see your child's school record in England.
- Your child is changing schools and you want a copy of their file.
- The school has written things about your child you disagree with and you want to see them.
- The academy has not answered your request for your child's records.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- School
- School's address
- Recipient's postcode
- Child's name
- Child's date of birth
- What you ask for: to see the record, a copy, or both
- Phone
Common questions
- Does an academy have to give me my child's school record?
- The 2005 regulations, with their 15 school days, cover council-maintained schools, not academies or free schools. From any school, though, your child's personal data can be requested under the UK GDPR, with a one-month time limit. A child mature enough to understand their rights makes that request themselves or authorises you to; for a younger child, you make it on their behalf. The ICO's website explains this free.
- What is in a pupil's educational record, and can anything be left out?
- It is the information the school holds about the pupil's education, such as reports, assessments and records passed on by earlier schools, but not notes a teacher keeps only for their own use. Information likely to cause serious harm to the pupil or someone else, and information about other people, can be withheld. Anything you see that is wrong can be pointed out to the school in writing.
- What if the school does not answer within 15 school days?
- Send a reminder quoting regulation 5 and the date of your request. If there is still no reply, use the school's complaints procedure, which every maintained school must have; after that, the Department for Education can look at whether the school followed its procedure. If the school is an academy and you asked under the UK GDPR, you can complain free to the ICO once a month has passed.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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