contracts

[debbie]

hi how long do we have to keep old contracts for. i still have some children that i had 7 years ago and have updated them regularly now have a folder full. at last inspection was told i could shred all the old ones and just keep the up to date ones. have also been told i need to keep for some years. does anyone know which way to go.

[cathtee]

I have all mine from years gone by, I will shred them when we get a definate time scale

[Kiddleywinks]

Ofsted don't have anything to do with contracts do they? So I doubt they should have said to shred the older ones!

My understanding is that we need to keep all relevant paperwork till the child hits 21 and 6 months in case of a future claim.
If you shred some, how are you going to prove what the original contract was, or whether a particular child was present on a particular day?

I'm going to file everything in the loft, out of the way

[bunyip]

I can only guess Ofsted might be concerned that the contracts might contain personal data, so shouldn't be held any longer than necessary.

OTOH, such data might be needed for insurance purposes until the child has become an adult. Personally I'd ask my insurer or legal team at my professional body.