School apologises after dumping confidential information about new Year 7 pupils

Parents enrolling prospective pupils at Springwell Community College were required to supply their child’s birth certificate, address and contact details in a student admission booklet.

But a letter was later issued to parents in which headteacher Ian Wingfield requested the details be re-submitted after the original booklets were disposed of ‘in error’ and sent to a recycling plant.

A parent contacting the Derbyshire Times to voice her concerns said she had heard the booklets had been ‘thrown out in the bins by cleaning staff’.

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“Surely this needs looking into and the headteacher needs to be answering questions as this does not comply with GDPR. This is clearly a data breach and I would like to know what severe steps that have been taken towards Springwell staff about this.”

Ian Wingfield, headteacher of Springwell Community College, carried out an investigation into the blunder.

He said: “Unfortunately the booklets filled in by parents of our new Year 7 children were, in error, sent for disposal.

“They were destroyed by our waste management company as soon as they arrived at the plant.”

Mr Wingfield said he had spoken to the Information Commissioner’s office who informed him that there was ‘no reportable breach of GDPR regulations’.

“We have written to all the parents concerned to apologise for the mistake that was made and reassure them that the information in the booklets was not put at risk,” Mr Wingfield added.

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