A guide to early years record keeping

Retention periods are usually dictated by legal requirements, or in their absence, by industry standards and the needs of the business. Under general data protection regulation (GDPR), settings must issue privacy notices to the individuals whose data is being held. These notices explain why their data is being collected, how long it will be held and how it will be protected. When looking at the types of records retained by an early years setting, they normally fall within the following categories:

Children's general records
Standard general childcare records, such as daily attendance registers or routine accident books, should be retained throughout the child's attendance and kept until the setting's next Ofsted inspection or for a minimum of three years.

Safeguarding records
Safeguarding and child protection records must generally be kept until the child reaches 25 years of age to comply with civil claim limits under the Limitation Act 1980. For cases involving severe allegations or sexual abuse, the mandatory retention period increases to 75 years.

Accidents, injury and medical records should generally be retained for three years. However, logs detailing serious injuries, head trauma or hospitalisation should be held much longer. These logs must be kept until the child reaches 21 to cover standard personal injury claims, or up to 24 if the accident involves broader safeguarding and contractual issues.

Personnel records
When retaining employment records, early years settings must follow the guidelines set by employment law, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and the Department for Education, as storage periods depend on the specific type of document.

For unsuccessful job applications, recruitment and vetting data should be held for six months to one year to protect against potential discrimination claims.

Criminal record checks require stricter handling; actual certificates must not be kept for more than six months, leaving only the basic reference details such as the name, date and certificate number on file.

Once an employee leaves the setting, their personnel file should be retained for six years to cover potential legal or tribunal claims. The same six-year rule applies to wage and salary records, including overtime, bonuses and expense claims as mandated by tax regulations.

Finally, records relating to National Insurance, statutory maternity and sick pay have a shorter retention requirement of at least three years.

employees where occupational diseases may not become apparent or be diagnosed for many years.

Finally, a record of complaints must be retained for at least three years.

Health and safety records
Personnel accident books and RIDDOR reports are retained for three years from the date of the last entry or reportable incident.

For safeguarding or child protection investigations, it is recommended to keep them for much longer. For safeguarding allegations relating to employees, normally these should be kept for at least 10 years.

Employee accident records under health and safety rules are required to be retained for three years from the date the record was made.

When a child moves to a new school or educational setting, confidential safeguarding files must be transferred securely and separately from the main file.

When a child moves to a new school or educational setting, confidential safeguarding files must be transferred securely and separately from the main file.

Once you know which files to keep and for how long, the next step is establishing safe, practical methods for managing them.

Paper records need to be locked in fireproof filing cabinets and access to these records must be restricted to authorised personnel.

Documents may be scanned and stored electronically, provided the digital copies remain as legible as the originals.

For reliable long-term organisation, all files should be clearly labelled with their planned destruction dates, and digital files containing confidential information should be password protected.

When the retention period lapses, settings must ensure that physical records containing personal data are disposed of safely via confidential waste bins or cross-cut shredders. Digital files must be permanently deleted from all systems.

Remember to keep a log of all destroyed files so your setting has a clear record of what has been deleted.

Staying on top of record retention is a vital part of running a safe and compliant early years setting. This responsibility continues even if a setting closes down. In this case, providers are still legally required to keep all records secure for their full designated periods.

Implementing secure storage habits and clear destruction logs today will protect your setting in years to come. By focusing on these core document types and establishing clear storage and disposal routines, you can confidently meet your legal obligations while protecting your setting.

Alliance members can access a wide range of free mini-guides as part of their membership. Within the business management bundle (tinyurl.com/U5-retention) Retention periods for records sets out the requirements and recommendations for different types of records relating to children and the management of early years provision.

As an Alliance member, you have access to Law-Call's 24-hour legal advice telephone service. Details can be found in the Alliance member benefit overview section of EYA Central: bit.ly/U5Law-Call.