The evolution of children's data in education
31/10/2025 | Privacy International
A blog article by Privacy International (PI) examines the growth and maturity of children's data use within England's education system. What began as traditional paper records has evolved into a complex infrastructure of digital systems, databases, and analytics tools managed by the state and private companies, including for the purposes of artificial intelligence (AI) and surveillance.
From birth to age 25, a child's background, behaviour, health, and predicted performance are logged, shared, and sometimes resold through networks of schools, local authorities, and commercial vendors. The act of attending school now generates data streams that may shape how children are understood and categorised by institutions, often without the families' knowledge.
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