Schools hold information on their pupils and from time to time, by law, they have to share some of the information with various government departments. Schools will also share information with other organisations where there is a need to protect a child or someone else from harm.
The Data Protection Act 2018 calls schools, local authorities and other organisations that process children’s information ‘data controllers’. This means, among other things that the information held about children must only be used for specific purposes allowed by law.