IRM

Practitioner Certificate

Information & Records Management Practitioner Certificate

Effective information and records management is vital for all organisations. It ensures compliance with legal requirements, enhances decision-making, mitigates risks, preserves institutional memory, supports accountability and facilitates efficiency.

The Act Now Certificate in Information and Records Management equips you with practical skills to navigate the full information and records lifecycle. Our comprehensive syllabus, designed by leading records management specialists, covers everything from legal frameworks and terminology to data auditing, retention schedules, and digital preservation. Whether you are a records manager, Freedom of Information Officer or Data Protection Officer this practitioner level certificate will teach you the theory of records management alongside practical hands-on application. Personal tutor support is available throughout the course as well as a comprehensive set of learning materials.

Structure

Day 1

BASICS AND PRINCIPLES OF RM

  • Why do we do records management?
  • Basics of Records Management and what is a record
  • Basics of Information Management and what is information
  • Basics of Data Management and what is Data
  • Key terms, Legal & Other Frameworks and Standards

Day 2

CAPTURE & STORAGE OF RECORDS

  • Information/Records Lifecycle
  • Data Audits & Process Mapping
  • Methods of records capture
  • Document management
  • Designing file plans
  • Classification schemes
  • Record Owners

Day 3

RETAINING, DESTROYING AND PRESERVING RECORDS

  • Retention & Retention schedules
  • Digital Preservation
  • Archiving
  • Deletion and Destruction
  • Offsite storage & migration

Day 4

IMPLEMENTING AN RM PROGRAMME

  • Running an RM programme
  • Risk Management
  • Sustainability & Governance Frameworks
  • Information Governance
  • Information Asset Management
  • Role of the Records Manager & Professional Standards

Upcoming dates

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4  
Online 22 Oct 2024 31 Oct 2024 06 Nov 2024 11 Nov 2024
Online 22 Jan 2025 29 Jan 2025 05 Feb 2025 12 Feb 2025
Online 14 Apr 2025 21 Apr 2025 28 Apr 2025 06 May 2025
Online 15 Jul 2025 22 Jul 2025 29 Jul 2025 05 Aug 2025
Online 13 Oct 2025 20 Oct 2025 27 Oct 2025 03 Nov 2025

Dates & Cost

Online

£2,150 plus VAT

Classroom

£2,350 plus VAT

The fee includes:

  • 4 days of live training
  • Hard copies of all materials
  • RM Code of Practice
  • 40 CPD Credits

Timings: 9:30am to 4:30pm

 
Location: Online
Day 1: 22 Oct 2024
Day 2: 31 Oct 2024
Day 3: 06 Nov 2024
Day 4: 11 Nov 2024
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Location: Online
Day 1: 22 Jan 2025
Day 2: 29 Jan 2025
Day 3: 05 Feb 2025
Day 4: 12 Feb 2025
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Location: Online
Day 1: 14 Apr 2025
Day 2: 21 Apr 2025
Day 3: 28 Apr 2025
Day 4: 06 May 2025
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More dates
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Skills Taught

Basic principles of managing records
Understanding of what is and what is not a record
Understanding of what ‘Information’ is
Understanding of what ‘data’ is
Awareness of key frameworks and terms
Understanding of the value and impact of keeping key records for longer periods of time.
Understanding of the value and impact of ensuring systems can create and manage records effectively

Mapping out the information lifecycle
Data Auditing
Understanding how records are created/captured
Identifying and assessing applicable data subjects’ rights in a data processing situation
Dealing with rights in a timely manner

Understanding retentions and where they come from
Building a retention schedule
Key elements of digital preservation
Archiving records
Practical elements of destroying records
Practical concerns for managing offsite storage and migration

Identifying risks to records
Building and maintaining an RM programme
Running an Information Asset Management Programme
How to sustain a framework
Role of RM in wider IG frameworks
Role of the DPO and professional bodies

Key
Features

Cost

Online

£2,150 plus VAT

Classroom

£2,350 plus VAT

Duration

4 Day Course

  • 4 days of live training
  • Practical Assessment
  • Live Tutor Support
  • Comprehensive learning Materials
  • 40 CPD Credits

Course tutors

All our associates are experienced information governance professionals who have been training and advising in this field for many years.

  • Philip Jones

    Course Tutor


    Philip has 40 years of information management experience in the public and private sectors both as a practitioner and at a senior management level. He was Head of Information Governance at Staffordshire Council. Philip holds a masters degree in information management and an MBA. He is a senior associate for Act Now and Chair of the Exam Panel.

  • Scott Sammons

    Course Tutor


    Scott is an information governance specialist with over 15 years of experience. He has delivered a number international projects for Act Now Training and is a senior tutor on the Advanced Certificate in GDPR Practice. His previous roles include European Data Protection Lead for a bank and GDPR Implementation lead for a council. Scott is a former Chair of the IRMS.

  • Susan Wolf

    Course Tutor


    Susan holds a judicial position as a Fee Paid Member of the Upper Tribunal (Information Rights). She spent ten years teaching the LLM in Information Rights Law at Northumbria University and developed their Postgraduate Certificate in Data Protection Law and Information Governance. Susan is one of the senior curriculum developers for Act Now Training.

  • Lynn Wyeth

    Course Tutor


    Lynn is the Head of Information Governance for a large local authority and has over 20 years of experience as a practitioner. She holds a post graduate diploma in Information Rights, the CISMP certificate and is an accredited HSCIPP privacy practitioner. She is the author of two books and is currently undertaking a PhD. Her experience is across GDPR, FOI and RIPA.

  • Iain Harrison

    Course Tutor


    Iain is currently an Information Governance Risk Manager for large local authority and has over 20 years of experience. He has been delivering training for Act Now for over seven years in GDPR and FOI for public, private and charitiable organisations. His extensive experience in planning and implementation of Information Rights legislation allows him to bring training sessions to life.

  • Craig Geddes

    Course Tutor


    Craig is a certified archivist and records manager with 28 years of experience in information governance. He has served as an Archivist, Records Manager, and Senior Information Officer for numerous Scottish local administrations. Craig has spent many years developing and delivering training on records management, freedom of information and data protection.

  • Kirsty Squires

    Course Tutor


    Kirsty is currently a DPO for a number of local authorities and has over 15 years of experience in Data Governance. She has led the IG Project Team on transformation projects to deliver local government restructure in Northamptonshire, dealing with issues including information sharing, data protection by design and leading on training and policy development.

  • Naomi Matthews

    Course Tutor


    Naomi is a local authority lawyer and holds a judicial position as a Fee Paid Member of the Upper Tribunal (Information Rights). She has extensive experience in all areas of information compliance and RIPA. Her training has been commended by RIPA inspectors and her advice has helped many local authorities understand the law and practicalities of covert surveillance.

What our clients say about us

    I attended the FOI Practitioner Course. I found the course literature very user friendly and appreciated receiving hard copies of these alongside the online Resource Lab. The course delivery was at a pace that didn’t overly dwell where it was unnecessary but, time was given for delegates to check their understanding and for questions. Both tutors were clearly FOI
    professionals of excellent standing and were able to provide helpful real life context to the theory, but while keeping the depth of learning at an appropriate level for learners of different levels of experience. I would recommend this course to FOI professionals and those wishing to better understand FOI as part of their Info Governance / DP obligations. MG, Surrey County Council

    The course was informative and the vast and detailed knowledge of the Tutor was highly evident.
    SW, Lancashire Constabulary

    Very informative course presented in an engaging manner. The course
    material is excellent and very useful to have to hand when dealing with FOI and EIR. I would recommend this course for all FOI officers. RS, Flintshire County Council

    An excellent course taught by someone with all the relevant knowledge and experience to impart to the delegates. Also very useful course materials which have proved to be helpful to me on a day to day basis in my job. I would really recommend this course to anyone who is dealing with FOI in their job. JC, DEFRA

    FOI Practitioner Certificate is a new and thoroughly
    enjoyable course. The tutor is extremely
    experienced and encourages full participation. If like
    me you struggle with examinations, this is the course
    for you! It is very practical based and is useful to
    those new to FOIA and those with some experience. MP, Dudley CCG