Please read this guidance alongside Record keeping and retention information for academies: guidance for academies and academy trusts on record keeping and retention published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
This list indicates the sort of academy school records that may be suitable for transfer to a local authority archive, although it is not an exhaustive list. You should include records of any predecessor schools as well as your current school. Most of the older records will be physical, but do not overlook comparable digital records. Please liaise with the archivist before making a transfer as there may not be capacity to take in everything that you offer, or you may hold significant items not identified below.
- Governors’/managers’ minutes
- Key constitutional documents
- Annual accounts, if not in the minutes
- Reports to governors, especially headteachers’ reports
- Correspondence etc. on significant issues
- Governing body’s annual report to parents
- Staff registers/lists
- Prospectuses/syllabi/curriculum statements
- Timetables
- Inspection reports (Local Education Authority, Diocesan, Ofsted)
- Staff meetings
- Log books
- Punishment books
- Historic admission registers
- Evacuee registers
- Non-current building plans
- Stock books/inventories
- School histories (published or unpublished)
- School magazines
- Programmes of school events
- Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)/Friends minutes
- Photographs (you may have to be selective, e.g. photos of the whole school, classes, buildings, key events)
- Noteworthy pupil project work/scrapbooks etc.
- Any 19th-century or earlier records (including foundation charters and non-current title deeds)
Records that are not suitable for transfer:
- Current records identified for transfer to other schools or LEA
- Teaching materials
- Attendance records (unless admission records do not exist)
- Routine correspondence and circulars
- Duplicate items
- Subsidiary financial records
- Uniforms (though there may be a case for accepting small items such as badges) – local museums may be interested
- Trophies (though there may be a case for accepting small items such as medals) – local museums may be interested
- Rolls of Honour and War Memorials (wooden and stone) – local museums may be interested
This guidance reflects typical practice regarding paper/analogue records. Born-digital records capturing the same information are likely to be of similar long-term preservation value. We will publish further advice regarding the selection and transfer of born-digital academy school records in due course.
Thank you to those of you in the Chief Archivists in Local Government Group (CALGG) and the Records at Risk Group who responded with feedback on this guidance.