Dear Requester

Your request is being rejected as an invalid request as we believe it has been submitted under a pseudonym. 

Under section 8(1)(b) FOIA, a request is only valid if it:

• is in writing;
• states the name of the applicant; and
• provides an address for correspondence.

As this requirement has not been met, the Council is treating this request as invalid and we are declining to process it. 

The Information Commissioner’s Office guidance is explicit that “the name of the applicant” means a real name, not a pseudonym or fictitious name and where the Council has reliable evidence (e.g. admission, linked correspondence, or previous confirmed identity), it is entitled to rely on that knowledge to determine that the request is not valid.

The evidence we have for this request being made under a pseudonym is as follows:
• Previous requests made by you have been found to have been submitted under a pseudonym. 

The Council has responded to previous requests and disclosed information in good faith, based on the assumption that the request had been submitted in compliance with the statutory requirements. On discovering that a request was submitted under a pseudonym, the Council is satisfied that it was under no legal duty to process and respond to further requests submitted under this pseudonym. 

For any further requests you submit to the council, they must be done under your real name or they will be invalid. If we have reason to believe that a different pseudonym is being used, we may request proof of identification before providing a response.

Regards

Information and Feedback Team
South Tyneside Council


-----Original Message-----
From: Jamie Halliday <[FOI #1399711 email]> 
Sent: 08 February 2026 01:15
bject: Freedom of Information request - Retention periods and disposal controls for pupil records, SEND, exclusions and EOTAS

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please treat this as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

This request concerns records retention and disposal arrangements for education records, especially pupil files, SEND, exclusions, and education otherwise than at school (EOTAS), including home tuition and alternative provision.

1. Retention schedule entries and retention periods Please provide the recorded retention schedule entries (or equivalent documented retention rules) used by the council for the following categories, including the retention period and the trigger point (for example, DOB plus X years, closure of case, end of academic year, end of financial year):

a) maintained school pupil file / educational record
b) records held by the local authority relating to an individual pupil’s education
c) exclusion records (fixed-term and permanent), including panel or decision paperwork
d) SEND records held by the local authority (assessments, notes, decisions, panel minutes, plans)
e) EOTAS / home tuition / alternative provision records, including placement decisions and commissioning referrals
f) education finance and commissioning records relating to alternative provision or tuition (purchase orders, invoices, provider contracts, budget monitoring)

2. Version in force 2010 to 2014
If your retention schedule has changed since 2010, please provide either:
a) the version that was in force between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014 for the categories above, or
b) a change log that clearly states what changed and when, for those categories.

3. Disposal process and audit trail
Please provide the council’s recorded procedure or policy for secure disposal of education records in scope of section 1, including:
a) who authorises disposal
b) what audit trail is kept (for example, destruction logs, certificates)
c) whether third-party shredding or disposal contractors are used, and how compliance is evidenced

4. Maintained schools, oversight and information rights Please provide any recorded information or guidance the council uses that explains:
a) what education records are held by the council versus held by maintained schools
b) the council’s role in ensuring maintained schools comply with records retention expectations and information rights requests, including SARs and Educational Record requests

Format
Please provide the information electronically.

If any information is withheld, please cite the specific exemption(s) relied upon and explain why they apply.

Yours faithfully,

Jamie Halliday

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