How long should schools keep counselling records?
"How long do I have to keep these notes?" is one of the most frequent questions school counsellors ask — and one of the most confusing, because there is no single statutory retention period for counselling records in UK schools. This guide explains what the law requires, the benchmarks schools commonly use, and how to make and record a defensible decision.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your school's data protection officer (DPO) and records management policy should have the final word.
What the law actually says
UK GDPR does not set retention periods. Instead, the storage limitation principle (Article 5(1)(e)) says personal data must be kept "for no longer than is necessary" for the purposes it was collected for. That means each organisation must:
- decide how long it needs each type of record,
- justify that decision, and
- write it down in a retention schedule — and then actually follow it.
Keeping counselling notes forever "just in case" is not compliant. Deleting them as soon as counselling ends may not be either, if they could be needed to protect the pupil or respond to a later concern or claim.
Benchmarks schools commonly use
Because the law leaves the decision to you, most schools rely on sector guidance:
- Information and Records Management Society (IRMS) Toolkit for Schools. The IRMS toolkit is the most widely used retention reference for schools in England and Wales. It sets retention periods for pupil records and child-protection information, commonly expressed relative to the pupil's date of birth (for example, keeping information until the pupil reaches 25). Check the current version of the toolkit, as periods are revised.
- Health-style records for children. Records of therapeutic work with children are often kept until the young person's 25th birthday (or for a period after the last contact if later), reflecting guidance used for children's health records. Many school counselling services adopt the same benchmark.
- Professional body guidance. BACP's Good Practice in Action resources on record keeping encourage practitioners to set a retention period, apply it consistently, and tell clients about it.
Whichever benchmark you adopt, the important thing is that it is written down, justified and applied consistently.
Child-protection files are different
Your counselling notes are not the school's child-protection file. Child-protection records are held by the DSL, must follow the pupil when they move school, and are subject to their own retention rules in the IRMS toolkit and in KCSIE. If you made a safeguarding referral, the record of that referral belongs in the child-protection file — and your counselling notes should record that you made it.
Don't destroy records that may be needed
Before destroying any counselling records, check that there is no reason to keep them longer, for example:
- an ongoing safeguarding enquiry, police investigation or court case,
- an open complaint or legal claim,
- a statutory inquiry or "do not destroy" instruction your school has received,
- an unanswered subject access request (records must not be deleted to avoid disclosure).
If any of these apply, suspend destruction and record why.
Setting your own retention rule: a checklist
- Agree the rule with your DPO, and make sure it appears in the school's retention schedule.
- Define the trigger — e.g. "the pupil's 25th birthday" or "7 years after the last session, or the pupil's 25th birthday if later".
- Tell pupils and parents — your privacy notice or counselling agreement should say how long records are kept.
- Record where every copy is kept — paper files, laptops, backups, email. A retention rule only works if you know where the data is.
- Diarise reviews — set an annual review to identify records that have reached their destruction date.
- Destroy securely and log it — shred paper, securely erase digital files, and keep a destruction log (what, when, by whom) without re-recording the sensitive content.
When a counsellor leaves the school
Counselling records belong to the service provider (usually the school, or the agency that employs the counsellor), not to the individual counsellor. Agree in advance what happens to records when a counsellor leaves: who takes custody, how they are transferred securely, and who will apply the retention rule. Records left on a personal laptop are a common and serious data protection risk.
How CounselNote helps
CounselNote lets you configure retention wording for your school and keeps records encrypted on a single managed computer, so you always know where every copy is. Encrypted backups can be restored if a device fails. Read the guide or try it free for 30 days.
Official sources
- Information Commissioner's Office, Principle (e): Storage limitation
- Information and Records Management Society, Toolkit for Schools
- Department for Education, Keeping children safe in education
- BACP, Good Practice in Action resources
This guide is general information for school counsellors and pastoral staff in the UK. It is not legal advice. Always follow your school's safeguarding, data protection and records policies, and take advice from your DSL, DPO or supervisor on individual cases.