Using mstore, schools are able to process, maintain and dispose of records as needed with minimal time and manpower. It also allows staff to keep a record of destroyed documents as required. Space issues can be addressed by scanning paper files and storing them electronically. Provided that staff have a system that enables compliance with BS10008 (a standard and code of practice which ensures the evidential weight of documents stored electronically), they can destroy the original paper documents and still have a legally admissible record.

“mstore has made the processing of our pupil records much more efficient,” said Ian Parnaby, business and community leader at York High School. “We’ve gained valuable time and storage space, we are dealing with less paper and we feel confident that our documents are very secure.”

According to Arena, an efficient EDRMS will apply retention rules to each part of a classification of documents stored in the system. Documents are stored against the appropriate classification (eg attendance, admission, parental permission forms, SEN statements). The system can then apply rules to dispose of documents or present them for review on a set date - possibly with reference to pupil specific information, such as date of birth. Those documents with a fixed disposal date can be automatically weeded from the files, keeping schools compliant with their policies. This approach can reduce the management time associated with retention, and completely eliminates the issues associated with large physical paper archives.

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