Sharing information safely
Sometimes schools and boards need to share information about students and staff with others outside the school or board, including other agencies.
Keep reading to find out how you can safely do this.
When can information be shared?
Boards are privacy agencies, and the personal information they collect, hold, use, share, and dispose of is taonga (precious).
Principle 11open_in_new of the Privacy Act 2020 sets clear limits on an agency’s disclosure of personal information to another person or agency.
There needs to be a good reason for an agency to do this.
Generally, “good reason” includes an agency sharing information collected from a person for a purpose and in a way the person has agreed to (or later agreed to, if the situation was urgent).
Do schools need permission to share student information with parents and caregivers?
A school does not need permission from the student to share their personal information if this is being done for the reason it was collected in the first place.
For example, sharing a student’s information about their educational progress and achievement with their parent or caregiver.
The principal can also share the student’s personal information with a support agency (such as the RTLB – Resource Teachers Learning and Behaviour Service) or the board when it relates to improving the educational outcomes for that student.
Do schools need permission to share student information with extended whānau and family?
It is good practice, wherever possible, to seek an individual’s permission before sharing their personal information with another person or agency.
This helps meet the privacy principles by enabling individuals to know who holds their personal information and why it may need to be shared with others.
We recommend that your board set a policy for your school or kura to safely share students’ personal information.
For example, when educational progress, achievement, and wellbeing can be shared with extended whānau (as this is not covered by the legislation).
What other legislation enables the sharing of student information with parents, caregivers, and other agencies?
Section 103 of the Education and Training Act 2020open_in_new requires the principal to tell a student’s parent or caregiver of matters preventing or slowing the student’s progress through the school or harming the student’s relationships with teachers or other students.
Section 66A of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989open_in_new permits boards (and their schools) and other specified agencies to share information so they can more easily collaborate and provide the right services and supports to address the safety and wellbeing issues of tamariki (children).
Information Privacy Principle (IPP) 3Aopen_in_new requires your school to tell an individual that you have received their personal information indirectly, if it is shared with you from another agency (unless certain exemptions apply).
What information would the board include in its privacy policy?
Policy settings should include expectations to ensure the school has clear and accessible privacy statements and consent processes.
Your privacy policy and privacy statements should make it clear that some information will need to be shared with the student’s parent, other staff, the board, and external agencies to ensure the best educational outcomes for this student.
It should be clear what that information is, in what form it will be shared, and why it is being shared.
Ideally, the policy and procedure will include consent for this information to be collected and shared at the time of collection. For example, on your enrolment form.
The most common information to be shared is:
- Name, NSN (National Student Number), address, and other contact details
- Ethnicity and whakapapa
- Photographs and other images
- Attendance, academic records, and any other information the principal believes is preventing or slowing the student’s progress
- Behavioural, pastoral care records, and any other information the principal believes is harming relationships with teachers and other students
- Information about their home life that is relevant to understanding their educational progress
- Friend groups, extra-curricular interests and hobbies.
Your policies should also include guidance on identifying and responding to information requests and breaches.
You will also need to have information about your Privacy Officer.
Check out the Privacy Commissioner’s websiteopen_in_new for some tools and further information to support your board in writing or reviewing its privacy policies.
Note: School counsellor information is often subject to an obligation of confidence.
This means this information can only be shared with the student's agreement, or when there are significant safety concerns, irrespective of the student's age.
Visit the New Zealand Association of Counsellors Frequently Asked Questionsopen_in_new page for more information.
Questions your board could ask
- Do we know what personal information can be shared under the Privacy Act 2020?
- Do we know what information must be shared with parents and caregivers?
- Do we know that information can be shared with other agencies to address a student’s safety and wellbeing issues?
- If we have policies and procedures around sharing information, do we know when they were last reviewed?
- Do we know where to go for advice on sharing personal information?
Templates, resources, and references
Click on the link(s) below to access this topic’s templates, resources, and references.
Depending on your device, these may download or open in a separate browser.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
- Office of the Privacy Commissioneropen_in_new
- Information Privacy Principle (IPP) 3Aopen_in_new
- Children's Privacy Guidance for the Education Sectoropen_in_new