Petition · past parliament
We call on the government to scrap the plans to collect passport data in schools
Rejected
15 signatures
What the petition asks
From 2016/17 every individual child starting school and early years are being ask to give identifiable information for school censuses. This includes their country-of-birth, adding to the nationality and ethnicity data already collected.
Schools have already started demanding parents bring in copies of passports.
There has been no public consultation and many parents and teachers are very concerned about these plans.
If the Department is only interested in statistics, it should use the statistical information already available.
We are concerned to learn data has already been given from this database to the Home Office without any public transparency.
Confidential and identifiable data have been given out since 2012
There has been no public consultation and many parents and teachers are very concerned about these plans.
If the Department is only interested in statistics, it should use the statistical information already available.
We are concerned to learn data has already been given from this database to the Home Office without any public transparency.
Confidential and identifiable data have been given out since 2012
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
The Department for Education has made it clear that schools are not required to request or see passports for the purposes of compiling information for the 2016-17 school census.
The Department has published "School census 2016 to 2017: Guide, version 1.2" (August 2016):
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/544214/2016_to_2017_School_Census_Guide_V1_2.pdf
This states as follows:
"The country of birth would be expected to appear on – or be derived from – the child’s birth certificate or passport. However, there is no requirement for the school to request, or see, a copy of the birth certificate or passport." (p. 64)
"Pupil nationality would be expected to appear on – or be derived from – the passport or European economic area (EEA) identity card. However, there is no requirement for the school to request, or see, a copy of the passport or identity card." (p. 65)
The Department has published "School census 2016 to 2017: Guide, version 1.2" (August 2016):
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/544214/2016_to_2017_School_Census_Guide_V1_2.pdf
This states as follows:
"The country of birth would be expected to appear on – or be derived from – the child’s birth certificate or passport. However, there is no requirement for the school to request, or see, a copy of the birth certificate or passport." (p. 64)
"Pupil nationality would be expected to appear on – or be derived from – the passport or European economic area (EEA) identity card. However, there is no requirement for the school to request, or see, a copy of the passport or identity card." (p. 65)
Timeline
| 3 Aug 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 8 Aug 2016 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
15
Status
Rejected
Rejected
8 Aug 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.