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Records must be retained for the following time scales:

Looked After Child: 
75 years from the 18th birthday of the child or 15 years from the date of death in the case of a child who dies before the age of 18

Adoption Case Records: 
100 years from the date of the Adoption Order

Private Foster Placements: 
As for Looked After children

Child subject to Supervision Order: 
21 years from the child’s date of birth.

Child in Need subject to a Child Protection Enquiry:
35 years from file closure

Child in Need subject to an Initial Assessment only:
5 years from file closure

Child in Need (not subject to Child Protection Enquiry and not Looked After): 
10 years from file closure.

Unaccompanied minor, for example an Asylum Seeker:
10 years from file closure.

Child known to Youth Offending Service: 
25 years from date of birth or 10 years from last contact, whichever is later.

Assessment and approval of adoptive parents/foster carers:
25 years from the date approval is terminated or refused or the date of death of adoptive/foster carer

Files on approved foster carers:
35 years from date foster carer ceased fostering

Children in receipt of family support services:
7 years from file closure

Children where domestic violence is an issue: 
10 years from file closure.

Children and families in receipt of family assessment:
25 years from date of birth of youngest child

Systems to manage children in need of protection in summary form, for example Record of Children with a Child Protection Plan or children’s homes’ registers, must be retained permanently and transferred to the Archivist after their administrative use has ended.

Documents relating to the operation of children’s homes, for example, diaries, daily logs:  25 years from closure of file.

Managers may decide to retain records for longer than the minimum periods specified above.

There is a discretion to specify a longer period where the circumstances warrant this, for example if a person is known to be violent, records may be retained for longer to indicate the potential risk posed by such a person or if litigation is possible. 

Whenever there is the possibility of litigation, the records and information likely to be affected should not be amended or destroyed until the threat of litigation has ended.

When records identified for destruction are destroyed, a register of such records should be kept with sufficient detail to identify the record and the date destroyed.

In all cases, file destruction should be coordinated with the deletion of any electronic corresponding records.

End