What are the implications for schools?
• Pupils have the right under the Data Protection Act to receive on request a copy of any information the school holds about them (including their UPN), but schools should not give out details of learners’ UPNs unless specifically requested. • UPNs should be stored electronically and schools should not enter UPNs on their admission register, or on learners’ paper files, and should continue to use the admission number, rather than the UPN, as a general learner reference number within the school. • Schools should always consider carefully any requests for information that include the UPN and should only give out this information in accordance with paragraph 20 below. 20. What are the implications for the use of UPNs by other local agencies and for research purposes? There have been a number of requests from local agencies, such as Social Services, for permission to use UPNs to enable data matching. However, the UPN is individual learner information and as such may only be passed to other
