APPENDIX 46
Memorandum submitted by the Department
for Children, Schools and Families
DATA GATHERING AND DATA SHARING WITHIN THE
DEPARTMENT
INTRODUCTION
1. Effective sharing of data and information
is central to the Department for Children, Schools and Families
(DCFS) ability to deliver better outcomes for children and learners.
Better information sharing is crucial to safeguarding children
and supporting the drive to personalise learning and to improve
service delivery; it also contributes to improvements in efficiency
and effectiveness, in reducing burdens on the front line, and
in ensuring effective accountability. It is a cornerstone of the
Every Child Matters (ECM) strategy to improve outcomes for all
children and for delivery of many of our reform programmes such
as specialised diplomas and vocational qualifications reform.
2. While better information sharing brings
many benefits, the Department is determined to ensure that the
benefits are balanced against the need for privacy and the safety
and security of personal data and information. This is reflected
in the design and delivery of programmes and the systems that
support them. This includes legislation when appropriate, guidance
and training for practitioners, authorisation and authentication
of users, and secure systems.
THE BENEFITS
OF DATA
SHARING
3. Much of DCFS activity depends on effective
information sharing, both at the level of Government databases,
and between individual practitioners. Every Child Matters is a
cross-Government programme, led by DCFS, of system-wide reform
of children's services that supports working across professional
boundaries to co-ordinate services around the needs of individual
children and young people. Similarly the devolved nature of the
education and skills sector and large number of public bodies
and institutions within it make effective sharing of data and
information particularly important. This is increasingly the case
as services are organised around the needs of customers.
4. DCFS has many major programmes that depend
on effective sharing of data. While all aim to improve services
to children, families and learners , some are an essential force
for protecting children and young people—ContactPoint and
the Common Assessment Framework, and the new Vetting and Barring
scheme, which is a cross-Departmental programme with the Home
Office in the overall lead and DCFS and DH sharing the policy
lead for children and for vulnerable adults respectively. Other
DCFS programmes are about enabling efficiency, and improving educational
attainment. For example, the Managing Information Across Partners
(MIAP) programme will enable information about post-14 learners
to be shared more efficiently between bodies such as schools,
colleges and exam boards.
5. We are currently working with a group
of Local Authorities piloting Electronic Common Assessment Framework
systems (e-CAF systems). They are ensuring access is controlled
by one individual in the Local Authority. This work is at an early
stage and we are already working with the Information Commissioner
to ensure we take his views into account.
6. Sharing of data is central to the introduction
of major reform programmes such as the Specialist Diplomas for
14 to 19 year olds. For example, this programme may result in
a learner completing courses with a number of learning providers
and qualification awarding bodies. Students may have a personal
portfolio of evidence drawn from different sources. This portfolio
(probably web-based) would be portable and owned by the student.
It would be capable of being updated from different sources (learning
providers, employer assignments) and shared by the student with
others including universities, colleges and employers. In this
instance the sharing of data brings real benefits to the learner
through greater transparency, choice and ownership and supports
greater efficiency and effectiveness in the system.
7. The Integrated Children's System (ICS)
is a framework for working with children in need (as defined under
the Children Act 1989) and their families. ICS provides a conceptual
framework, a method of practice, and a business process to support
practitioners and managers in undertaking the key tasks of assessment,
planning, intervention and review, for looked after children and
other children in need. It is based on an understanding of children's
developmental needs in the context of parental capacity and wider
family and environmental factors. It has full regard to current
legislation. Because the work with children in need requires skilled
use of detailed and complex information, ICS is designed to be
supported by an electronic case record system.
8. A key aim of ICS is to provide frontline
staff and their managers with the necessary help, through information
communication technology (ICT), to record, collate, analyse and
output the information required. There is no "ICS database".
Each of the 150 top-tier local authorities has been required to
adopt the best practice principles enshrined in ICS, of assessment,
planning, intervention and review. Authorities are required to
ensure that the information needed for each of these key processes
for responding to children in need in their own area is held electronically
according to appropriate exemplars. This has meant that each authority
has been developing it own existing IT systems to meet this challenge.
9. ICS users are not exempt from the legal
requirements governing either the sharing of personal data or
social care practice. The Children Act 1989 is clear that, whenever
an assessment of a child's needs, either for services, accommodation,
or protection, is made, the child's wishes and feelings must be
taken into account.
10. The New Deal for Skills (NDfS) programme
is currently at pilot stage but also demonstrates some of the
advantages that come to both citizens and society at large from
effective data sharing, NDfS provides tailored support to help
unemployed people develop the skills necessary to sustain and
progress in employment by enabling those with low skills or a
lack of qualifications to access training provided by the Learning
and Skills Council. NDfS also helps to ensure that the training
provided is appropriately targeted at those who need it by evaluating
the effect of training on job retention and career prospects.
Information is shared in two key ways. Firstly, information about
unemployed people and their skills is shared between advisers
to help them identify suitable training. Secondly, information
is shared to evaluate the programmes and see how effective it
has been in terms of helping people into work. Data sharing also
benefits the taxpayer and wider society by ensuring that benefit
claimants attend their specified training courses, increase their
skills, come off benefits and enter the workforce. Responsibility
for the NDfS programme has been transferred to the Department
for Innovation, Universities and Skills following the recent Machinery
of Government changes.
11. In contrast to NDfS, the CCIS (Client
Caseload Information System) is a well established operational
system. It is currently managed by Connexions and is capable of
monitoring the activities of young people at local authority and
even ward level. CCIS was primarily designed as a tool for Connexions
personal advisers and lead professionals to support effective
intervention and identify the most vulnerable young people and
their needs. It provides a framework for the consistent recording
of information, which is used for performance management and measuring
progress towards local targets for supporting those not in education,
employment or training.
PRIVACY AND
SECURITY OF
DATA
12. While these examples demonstrate some
of the benefits of data sharing to both the citizen and administrative
systems, the DCFS aims to balance these benefits with the need
to maintain privacy and security of data. We are very aware that
if citizens are to take up the education, skills and children's
services to which they are entitled they must have confidence
in the way their personal data is handled and shared. While all
services are subject to the appropriate legislation on privacy
and security of data we have also put in place a range of measures
that aim to provide this confidence and accountability. This is
achieved through a range of measures including appropriate legislation,
guidance to practitioners, access control through authorisation
and accreditation of practitioners and building security into
system design.
13. We have recently led on work with partners
across government, and more widely (including the Information
Commissioner's Office (ICO)), to develop a practitioner guide
on information sharing. The guidance is published as part of the
Every Child Matters strategy and is proving a valuable tool for
practitioners to enable them to know when and how they can share
information legally and professionally, in compliance with the
Data Protection Act, the Human Rights Act and the Common Law Duty
of Confidentiality. It addresses sharing information as part of
preventative services and enables practitioners to reach an informed
and appropriate decision about whether information should be shared.
14. Additionally the British Educational
Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) is producing guidance
on our behalf, and in consultation with the ICO, on the use of
biometric systems in schools. This is in response to the growing
numbers of schools that are using biometric systems to improve
school management; mainly to register attendance, pay for meals
or access the library. The use of biometric systems can bring
benefits to schools including reductions in bullying and better
attendance, along with administrative efficiency and can have
other advantages in this regard over other systems such as smart
cards. The guidance advises School governing bodies and head teachers
(although parents and carers will also find the information useful)
on the practical and legal steps they need to follow should they
decide to introduce biometric systems. The guidance aims to ensure
parents are fully informed about what the school is planning,
that appropriate data security measures are in place and that
parents and children have alternative access should that be necessary.
15. Becta has also published a technical
specification for school infrastructure which sets out the security
steps for ensuring that electronic data is kept secure, and safeguarded
against a range of potential theats, including identity theft.
These steps include establishing ICT security policies and procedures,
and implementing appropriate physical security, data security,
network security and Internet and remote access security.
16. Data security is being built into the
design and implementation of all the major DCFS programmes. A
prime example is ContactPoint which will be the quick way for
authorised professionals working with children to find out who
else is working with the same child or young person, making it
easier to deliver more coordinated support. This basic online
directory will be available to authorised staff who need it to
do their jobs. It is a key part of the Every Child Matters programme
to improve outcomes for children.
17. ContactPoint will not hold assessments,
record statements of need, academic performance, attendance, diet
any subjective material or clinical observations about a child,
nor will it hold opinions or views about a child's parents or
carers. It will hold only the contact details of the child's carers,
general practitioner surgery, school and other professionals working
with the child. Authorised users will have to have had relevant
training and to have undergone appropriate checks, including enhanced
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) certification and ContactPoint operators
will be subject to the requirements of the new Vetting and Barring
Scheme, established following the Bichard Inquiry to avoid harm,
or risk of harm, to children and vulnerable adults.
See Annex for more details of ContactPoint
18. The National Pupil Database (NPD) is
another example of the way in which data security is central to
DCFS systems. The NPD has been recording information on pupils'
attainment in education over a number of years. This information
can be used effectively to see how pupils have progressed and
whether particular initiatives—such as the Aim Higher programme,
which aimed to increase participation in higher education—have
had an impact. Crucially, this information is held securely and
researchers have to apply for access. Any data provided is anonymous:
it shows comparative attainment levels, not the details of the
pupils and can help researchers identify trends and evaluate policy
initiatives.
VETTING AND
BARRING SCHEME
19. As a final example the Vetting and Barring
Scheme to be introduced under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups
Act 2006 and following the Bichard Inquiry aims to help avoid
harm, or risk of harm, to children and vulnerable adults. It aims
to do this by preventing those who are deemed unsuitable to work
with children and vulnerable adults from gaining access to them
through their work. This will be done by:
— Providing employers with a more
effective and streamlined vetting service for potential employees.
— Barring unsuitable individuals
from working, or seeking to work, with children and vulnerable
adults at the earliest opportunity.
20. The responsibility for taking barring
decisions will lie with a new Independent Safeguarding Authority
which will be an independent statutory body. The application processes
for vetting and barring decisions will be run by the Criminal
Records Bureau (CRB).
IN CONCLUSION
21. The Department takes very seriously
issues around security and confidentiality of data to ensure that
it is only used for purposes for which it is intended. In particular
data sharing enables the delivery of better outcomes for children
and learners, and helps to protect them from harm by preventing
those who are barred from working with children having contact
with them or data about them. The measures we are putting in place
are designed to provide effective services while also addressing
both the legislative requirements on privacy and security and
building the confidence of citizens about the education, skills
and children's services to which they are entitled.
July 2007
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