The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2017 will be published on 29 June 2017 (provisional date). This was announced at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2017

A release calendar for official statistics is published at:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements

Whilst the requirement for parents to provide information on their children’s nationality and country of birth is optional, we recognise that there was disparity in how the request for this information was communicated by schools during the autumn school census collection. In view of this, the Department has committed to delete this information from its systems, where parents have since refused to provide it. This offer will continue to remain open to parents and will be reviewed in December 2017.

Following completion of the autumn census at the end of November 2016, the Department worked with sector representatives to review, and update, our data collection guidance to provide additional clarity on the collection of personal data from parents / guardians or pupils. Schools were informed via a data collection bulletin on 14 December that the updated guidance would address, amongst other points, parents’ rights to refuse or retract data and the updated guidance would be available in January. Following publication of the updated guidance on GOV.UK, the Department wrote to all head teachers on 10 January to highlight the updated guidance and, in particular, that parents can decide to retract nationality and country of birth information previously provided.

The autumn school census highlighted the need for clarification of how the new data items on nationality, country of birth and proficiency in English should be collected. The Department, therefore, updated the data collection guidance for schools in advance of the current school census that opened in January. The Department wrote to all head teachers on 10 January to highlight the updated guidance and request their support locally in improving the collection of sensitive data about pupils in the school census.

This communication did not specifically refer to data sharing with the Home Office because this sharing does not include the data relating to the nationality, country of birth and proficiency in English of pupils to which the communication referred. These new data items are collected solely for DfE analysts to use internally for educational research and have not, and will not, be shared by the Department with other government departments.

With regards to data sharing with the Home Office, a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Home Office and the Department for Education, which covers the sharing of limited information between those parties, is available in the house library. This MOU sets out publicly how this process works and the data which is shared. As stated above this does not, and will not, include the new data on nationality, country of birth and proficiency in English.

The total number of records, for on roll pupils, included within the 2016 autumn school census was 8,055,271.

It is our intention to publish information on the new nationality and country of birth information in the form of anonymised research within a statistical report. This will be made available later this year following completion of processing, analysis and assessment of data quality.

A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Home Office and the Department for Education which covers the legal basis is available in the house library.

The Department for Education (DfE) provide a privacy notice template^[1] for schools to use to explain to parents what personal data they collect, why it is collected, who it is shared with and what it is used for. The template we provide to schools also gives parents access to further information about the Department’s use of their children’s data^[2].

With regards to data sharing with the Home Office, a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Home Office and the Department for Education, which covers the sharing of limited information between those parties, is available in the house library. This sharing does not include data relating to the nationality, country of birth and proficiency in English of pupils which is collected solely for Department for Education analysts to use for research. These data items have not, and will not, be shared by the Department for Education with other government departments.

Whilst it is not possible for a parent / guardian or an individual child to opt out of the school census collection, there is certain information (including ethnicity, first language, country of birth, nationality and whether a child is the child of someone in the Armed Services) which must always be as declared by the parent / guardian or the pupil. The school census guidance^[3] is clear that the return of this information is voluntary and parents can withhold this information if they choose.

References:

[1] Privacy notice template:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-protection-and-privacy-privacy-notices

[2] DfE guidance for how we share data:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data

[3] School census data collection guide:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-census-2016-to-2017-guide-for-schools-and-las

The collection of pupil-level data via the school census supports the drive to raise standards, provide accurate targeted funding, and the monitoring and development of policy. Without this evidence and data, we cannot have a clear picture of how the school system is working or ensure that no groups of children are missing out on the education they deserve.

The new data items on nationality, country of birth and English proficiency will be used to help us better understand how children, with for example, English as an additional language, perform in terms of their broader education, and to assess and monitor the scale and impact immigration may be having on the schools’ sector. The collection of these data items is completely optional and parents are under no obligation to provide it if they do not want to.

This information is collected via the school census on a termly basis. If parents have previously provided this information to schools and now wish to retract it, they should inform the school of this decision. For such cases, schools can update their systems to show a parent has refused to provide the information and this will be collected within the next school census, which is due on the 19^th January.

Where a parent has exercised this right, the Department will remove any information collected on country of birth and nationality during the autumn census.

The submission of the School Census is a statutory requirement placed upon schools under Section 537A of the Education Act 1996. Schools therefore have a legal responsibility for collecting certain information, including pupil nationality, from parents which is to be provided to the Department for Education.

As the School Census is a legal requirement, schools do not need to obtain parental or pupil consent for the provision of School Census information to the Department and they are protected from legal challenge that they are breaching a duty of confidence to pupils.

Whilst the return of information via the School Census is a statutory requirement on schools, information on a pupil’s nationality must be recorded as declared by the parent / guardian or pupil. Parents are not obliged to provide nationality data to the school and are able to request that the school record the nationality as refused. This is clearly stated in the school census guide.

To address any uncertainties, I have placed an information note in the House Libraries.

Schools collect and use data to support the effective day to day running of their school. Schools capture this data within their own management information systems (MIS). They are free to purchase an MIS of their choice and some of the data held in this system is then shared with DfE when legally permitted to do so.

Some MIS contain an option for schools to ascribe ethnicity however this information is not captured by DfE and the Schools Census guidance (May 2016) is clear that parents or pupils may choose to withhold information on nationality, country of birth or ethnicity if they so wish. The guidance also states that there is no requirement for schools to request, or see, documentary evidence such as a passport or birth certificate to ascertain information on nationality and country of birth.

To address any uncertainties regarding how information should be collected, I have placed an information note in the House Libraries.

We are also continuing to work with the sector to consider how we can better support schools in collecting school census data for future rounds.

The Department for Education Schools Census guidance (May 2016) clearly states that there is no requirement for schools to request, or see, any documentary evidence such as a passport or birth certificate to ascertain information on nationality and country of birth. Additionally, the guidance states that parents may choose to withhold this information if they so wish.

The School Census does not collect passport numbers or expiry dates, and this information is not collected by the Department. We are aware that some schools collect passport details and hold them on their Management Information Systems. This is something requested by schools themselves – for example for school trips. This is a matter for Management Information System providers and schools.

To address any uncertainties, I have placed an information note in the House Libraries. This note has also been published on the Department’s public website.

We know there has been some confusion and some schools have asked parents for passports or birth certificates. We will work with the sector to consider how we can better support schools in collecting school census data for future rounds.

The DfE has been collecting data about pupils attending schools in England through the School Census for over ten years.

The data is collected termly and supports a number of DfE’s strategic objectives. It is widely used by DfE for the purpose of improving, and promoting, the education or well-being of all pupils in England. For example, data on disadvantaged or special educational needs pupils enable the department to target support to where it is needed most.

Ethnic background data is regarded as sensitive personal data. Parents and pupils have always had the right to refuse to provide this information. From 2011, if a parent or pupil refused to provide this information, schools should record “refused” in their systems rather than recording an ethnic background for that pupil. Up to 2010 the ethnic monitoring guidance provided by the Department permitted the ascription of ethnicity by schools where certain safeguards were met. In 2011 the ability for schools to ascribe the ethnicity for pupils was removed from the guidance.

The Department for Education publishes guidance for schools on administering the school census. As stated in the guidance (section 5.3.5) the requested information on nationality is as declared by the parent or guardian. The parent or guardian may decline to provide this information to the school without consequences. In such a case, the school would record this as ‘refused’ to meet its statutory duty to make a return.

The guidance is available on the Government’s website, www.gov.uk, by searching for ‘School census 2016 to 2017: guide for schools and LAs’.

Data on nationality and country of birth have not and will not be shared with the Home Office or anyone else. It is solely for DfE research.

The School Census is the DfE’s primary source of administrative data about pupils attending schools in England and has been running since 2006. It is collected termly from all state schools in England and contains information for each pupil such as their name, address, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, whether they have special education needs. The data collected is vital in supporting a number of the department’s strategic objectives and is widely used by DfE for the purpose of improving, and promoting, the education and well-being of children in England.

The Department publishes a School Census user guide. This guide supports schools in understanding Departmental data requirements and assists schools to meet their statutory duty to complete the school census.

The Census collects the same information for most children; for example, name, age, address. However some data is restricted to children of a certain age or attending certain types of school; for example, “learning aims” are only collected for post-16 pupils. The Census guidance is clear that for the new data items of nationality and country of birth to be collected this year, schools do not need to see any documentation when collecting this information, i.e. they do not need to see passports or other forms of identification. The guidance is also clear that parents and families are also able to refuse to provide this information if they wish. However, the Department is aware that a number of schools have not implemented the collection in accordance with the guidance. We will, therefore, work with the sector to consider how it can better support schools in collecting school census data for future rounds.

To address any uncertainties, I have placed an information note in the House Libraries.

The school census user guide for the 2016 to 2017 academic year is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-census-2016-to-2017-guide-for-schools-and-las.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to support the aspiration of the Royal British Legion's (RBL) 'Count Them In' campaign to include a veteran's marker in the 2021 census to provide information to better support the commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. In June this year I wrote to John Pullinger, the National Statistician, to request that the position set out in the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) response to the census consultation was revisited. Following discussions this has been agreed and further work is being taken forward. The ONS and the MOD have established a working group to review the decision not to record veterans in the 2021 census. To date it has met six times. The working group is developing a number of themes which have allowed us to develop a good understanding of each other's needs, including those of other Government Departments, Local Authorities and the charitable sector. The latest ONS statement on this issue can be found at the following address: https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/consultations/the2021censusinitialviewoncontentforenglandandwales/updateonmeetinginformationneedsonthearmedforcescommunityveterans The ONS will be inviting key stakeholders from across Government, Local Authorities and the charitable sector to a meeting this autumn to seek their further input on this issue. In addition, the MOD and the ONS met with the RBL in July this year to explain the work that both Departments are taking forward.

The autumn school census is undertaken on the first Thursday in October. The census guide was made available on the Department’s website on 4 May 2016. Five months’ notice was provided to parents by this document. The guidance can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-census-2016-to-2017-guide-for-schools-and-las.

The census specifications were first set out in technical terms to the public on the Department’s website via the business and technical specifications, which are primarily used by suppliers of school’s management information systems, on 18 December 2015. As such, some 10 months’ notice was provided via this document. The specifications can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-census-2016-to-2017-technical-information.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Ministry of Defence have established a working group to review the decision not to record veteran Service personnel in the 2021 census. To date it has met five times. The working group is developing a number of themes which has allowed us to develop a good understanding of each other's needs.

The ONS will be inviting key stakeholders from across Government, Local Authorities and the charitable sector to a meeting this autumn to further seek their input. In addition both organisations met with the Royal British Legion in July this year to explain the work that both departments are taking forward

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.