Councils under fire for ban on card lists with pupil names
Three local authorities say identifying classmates breaks data protection law
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Council bosses in the north-east have been criticised after banning schools from giving out children’s names for Christmas card lists.
As very young children often struggle to remember the names of all their classmates, parents usually ask the teacher for a list.
Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Moray Council all say giving lists of full names to take home violates data protection regulations.
The ban is also in effect in the Argyll and Bute Council area, while Perth and Kinross Council has said it will give out lists containing only children’s first names.
Highland Council and Dundee City Council will continue to give out children’s full names when requested.
Father-of-two Derek Wasyliszyn, whose children, Jennifer, 4, and Ryan, 8, attend Hanover Street School in Aberdeen, said: “Things have gone a bit mad if teachers can’t even help kids send Christmas cards.
“It seems like the whole thing is getting a bit paranoid to me.”
Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, said: “I think that there may be overzealousness involved from some individuals.
“Let’s use some commonsense here. I would encourage everyone involved to give out lists of first names.”
Aberdeen South MP Anne Begg said: “A list of names is meaningless to anyone other than the parents themselves so it seems to be over the top. Often in these circumstances things like health and safety and data protection are used as excuses when people don’t want to do things.”
Criticism has even come from Scotland's information commissioner's office.
Assistant commissioner Ken Macdonald said: “Providing a list of children's names for Christmas cards poses no real risk, providing teachers are comfortable the list will only be used for that purpose.
“Schools should make parents aware of what they're doing and give them the chance to opt out if they wish.”
A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said: “We do not provide details of any child to anybody other than parents or legal guardians.”
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: “We take the security of information very seriously and would not share information without the consent of those concerned.”
A spokesman for Moray Council said: “For reasons of data protection we would not issue names of pupils.”
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