Has anyone ever been pulled up by Ofsted for not being registered with ICO?

[yummymummy]

Just wondering if this has ever come up in anyone's inspection and whether or not it appeared on their Ofsted report or was listed as an action?
Thanks

[hectors house]

I don't believe that Ofsted in the past have checked whether you are registered with the ICO or not - but I just decided that with so much emphasis being on ensuring policies are in place for taking photos in the new EYFS that I would register - just got my "certificate" yesterday - well a piece of folded paper saying I have registered for the year - somehow I expected more for my £35!

[sarah707]

A childminder on here said the other day in a thread that Ofsted had asked her and she had shown her certificate and all was ok.

:D

[Tatjana]

I didn't think it was an Ofsted requirement, so why should they ask, just like contracts have nothing to do with them.

[nipper]

I was inspected in February this year. I hadn't registered at the time but told the inspector that I was in the process of and she smiled sweetly and said (and I quote) "It hasn't got anything to do with us!"

...SO THERE YOU HAVE IT

[rickysmiths]

It actually does state in the new Welfare requirements that you have to be aware of how to keep your data safe. They may consider that being registered with ico is part of this?

[sarah707]

When EYFS was first released in 2008 Ofsted spoke to ICO about the requirement for childminders to register because we were handling data - digital photos and information on computers.

ICO said yes we have to register as we are data handlers and we are bound by the Data Protection Act.

The message has been very slow to filter through with LAs giving out mixed messages and many childminders not knowing about the requirement.

However, if you speak to ICO they are clear that childminders fall under their remit.

The EYFS - written by DfE (not Ofsted) - just says we must ensure we meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act so Ofsted cannot say 'the Eyfs says you must register with ICO'.

However one of the requirements of the Data Protection Act is that data handlers are registered with ICO.

Hth :D

[Maza]

Is the fee a one off or dod we have to pay it annually? x

[rickysmiths]

It is an annual fee of £35

[bunyip]

It's paid annually.

Previous members are correct in saying the EYFS does not directly state that "you must register with ICO" - possibly cos not everyone needs to under the terms of the Data Protection Act. Instead, section 3.68 states: "Providers must be aware of their responsibilities under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 and where relevant the Freedom of Information Act 2000." Fulfilling your responsibilities under the Acts depends on how you operate in relation to what the acts say, so EYFS can't really say what each CM must do, without in effect copying the whole of the act into the EYFS document.

To give one of my (similar, but not exactly the same) analogies: I cannot find anywhere in the EYFS that states a CM must hold a driver's licence in order to use a car, so obviously DfE didn't feel the need to spell everything out to the letter when they wrote it.

I think we all realise that individual inspectors do things differently, so perhaps some check for a certificate, others don't? They also seem to have a "don't ask - don't tell" approach to certain requirements, eg. planning permission, but may take an entirely different approach when following up a specific complaint or incident.

Sadly, it boils down to whether a CM is the kind of person who will behave badly just because they can get away with it. :(