A friend was recently shocked to receive a letter inviting her to enroll her child at a new private school and nursery.

Her youngest has just started at a private nursery in the same small town where her older children attend a state secondary school and where this new school will shortly be opening.

The implication in the wording of the letter is that the information came from the secondary school as it mentions "children at school in Blanktown" and speaks of the new school as an alternative; indeed it would seem that this is the only probable source as the family lives outside the catchment area, and the nursery is hardly likely to be promoting a rival.

Could it be possible that a school is selling (giving away?) information about pupils and their families? I often think that some of the measures taken by schools to protect children's identities are overdone (we all remember the case of the smiley yellow faces), but surely this is a step too far in the other direction?

Even if the school is not directly responsible, surely this is some sort of breach in data security. There may not be much danger in a school getting hold of such information, but who else can get lists of names and addresses of households where there are young children?