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GDPR Article 15 Subject Access Request — School

A formal letter requesting every personal-data record the school holds about your child. Free, must be answered within 30 days, available to any parent with parental responsibility under both EU GDPR and UK GDPR.

This is one of the most under-used evidence-gathering tools in PA cases. Schools often hold safeguarding notes, emails between teachers about the child, attendance records, parents-evening lists, and emergency-contact updates that contradict the alienating parent's narrative.

Template letter

[Your full name] [Your address] [Date]

The Data Protection Officer [School name + address]

Subject Access Request — [child's full name], DOB [date]

Dear Data Protection Officer,

I am writing to make a Subject Access Request under Article 15 of the [EU GDPR / UK GDPR] and the Data Protection Act 2018 for personal data concerning my child, [child's full name], date of birth [DOB], currently enrolled at [school name] in [year group / class].

I am the child's [father / mother] and hold parental responsibility under [s. 2(1) of the Children Act 1989 / equivalent in your jurisdiction]. A copy of [the birth certificate / court order confirming parental responsibility] is enclosed.

Please provide, in any reasonably accessible format:

  1. All personal data the school currently holds about my child, including:
  2. attendance records
  3. emergency-contact records (including any changes made and who authorised them)
  4. safeguarding logs and any referrals to children's social care
  5. communications (emails, written notes, internal memos) between school staff that mention my child
  6. parents-evening attendance records
  7. records of who has been authorised to collect my child
  8. any incident reports

  9. photographs and video where my child is identifiable

  10. Information about any third parties to whom my child's personal data has been disclosed.

  11. Information about how long the school retains each category of data.

I understand that under Article 15, the school must respond within one calendar month of receiving this request, without charge.

Please send the response to me at the address above. If you require any clarification, please contact me at [email] / [phone].

Yours sincerely,

[Signature] [Printed name]

Enclosures: [copy of birth certificate / court order]

After you receive the response

Compare what the school produces to what you were told (or not told) by the other parent and the school itself. Specific things to flag:

  • Emergency-contact list that omits you when it shouldn't.
  • Photo / event consent forms signed without your knowledge.
  • Safeguarding referrals you were never informed of.
  • Internal emails referencing instructions to limit your contact.
  • Attendance gaps inconsistent with the other parent's explanations.

Save the response. Cross-reference into your contact log. Add the source reference to your case file.

Disclaimer. This is a starter template, not legal advice. Adapt to your jurisdiction and case facts. Have a licensed practitioner review before filing. Statutes and procedural rules vary and update — verify against primary source.

— AntiAlienate.com · CC BY 4.0

Sources & authoritative references

Referenced in this page:

Topic baseline (independently verifiable):