Education chiefs do not know if home educated children join a school as they don’t operate a central database.

That is according to the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture Graham Cregeen.

Mr Cregeen was asked by Garff MHK Daphne Caine what policies and procedures his department has to ensure GDPR compliance in relation to the home or privately educated register ensuring that it is accurate, up-to-date, and kept no longer than is necessary?

The minister said that DESC has no specific GDPR policy for home or privately education children. It does seek to keep updated records but it is dependent on parents informing the department.

Mr Cregeen said: ’If parents decide to move children from home or private education to a school, the department is not made aware of this because the department does not operate a central database and the schools are data controllers in their own right.

’It is only possible for the department to update our records if parents formally update us of the change.

’Furthermore the department has cause, on occasion, to write to parents who home or privately educate their children, most recently coins to commemorate the end of the first world war.

’A number of letters were returned to the department with "not at this address" and using information previously provided to the department we sought to contact those parents either by email or phone call.

’A number of those contacted updated their address, however one family was no longer contactable and it was subsequently determined they have left the island.’

He added that once a home or privately educated child reached the school leaving age of 16, the department deletes these records.

Mrs Caine asked if attempts were made to update the registers to ensure the records were kept up to date.

However Mr Cregeen said when the DESC had contacted some parents it received a ’not so positive response for us contacting them’.