Why is ascription voluntary rather than compulsory for schools?
The DCSF recognises that the return rates on the request for ethnic background data in some schools can sometimes be so low as to make ethnic monitoring ineffective. We want to give schools the option to carry out ascription if this is the only opportunity that schools will have to collect this data in order to make monitoring possible. Head teachers with the support of their staff are best placed to make the decision whether ascription is desirable or not in their schools. Therefore ascription is voluntary and schools should not be put under pressure to undertake ascription. The DCSF Guidance on the collection and recording of pupils’ ethnic background outlines the specific procedures that schools should take in order to meet data protection guidelines.
