File uploads and storage: limits, formats, and data retention

What file formats and sizes School Vault accepts across all upload points, how long files are retained, and how to manage storage when your school approaches its limit.

Before you begin

  • You are logged in as any staff role.

Upload points and their limits

Files can be uploaded from several places in School Vault. Each upload point has its own size limit and accepted formats:

Upload pointAccepted formatsMax size per file
Daily report photosJPEG, PNG5 MB
Learning Journal observation photosJPEG, PNG5 MB
Health record attachments (sick notes, vaccination cards)PDF, JPEG, PNG10 MB
Incident report attachmentsPDF, JPEG, PNG10 MB
Student profile documents (birth certificate, passport copy)PDF, JPEG, PNG10 MB
Resource library filesPDF, DOCX, XLSX, JPEG, PNG20 MB
Homework attachments (teacher uploads)PDF, DOCX, JPEG, PNG, MP320 MB
School logoPNG, SVG2 MB
Class and school photosJPEG, PNG5 MB

Storage allocation

Each school subscription includes storage as follows:

  • Up to 50 students: 10 GB total storage
  • 51–150 students: 25 GB total storage
  • 151–300 students: 50 GB total storage
  • 301+ students: 100 GB total storage

To check current usage, contact support@schoolvault.ng to request a storage usage summary.

Photos use the most storage. Daily report photos accumulate quickly, at 1 photo per child per day, a 100-child school generates ~3,000 photos per 30-day month. Compress photos before uploading (use the camera's standard quality setting, not "original" or "raw"). School Vault automatically creates a web-optimised version for display, but the original file is also retained.

File security

  • All uploaded files are stored in encrypted object storage (article 8.1).
  • Files cannot be accessed by direct URL, every file requires an authenticated session token to download.
  • Files are scanned for malware during upload. Files that fail the scan are rejected with an error message.

Data retention

  • Active students: all files are retained indefinitely while the child is enrolled.
  • Archived/withdrawn students: files are retained for 3 years after the withdrawal date, then permanently deleted.
  • Deactivated schools: if a school's subscription lapses and the school is deactivated, files are retained for 90 days before deletion. Reactivating within 90 days restores all data.
  • School Vault backups: daily backups are retained for 30 days. Backup restoration is available on request to support@schoolvault.ng.
There is no manual delete for uploaded files. If you need a specific file deleted (e.g. a document uploaded by mistake containing sensitive data), contact support@schoolvault.ng with the file location. Support will confirm the deletion and record it in the audit log.

Managing storage approaching the limit

  1. Contact support@schoolvault.ng to request a storage usage breakdown. The team can identify which category is using the most space and advise on next steps.
  2. Archive students who have left — their files move to the "Archived" bucket and are not counted against the active storage alert threshold.
  3. If your school is consistently above 80% usage, contact support@schoolvault.ng to discuss a storage upgrade.

Common mistakes

  • Uploading photos in "original" or uncompressed format, a single iPhone RAW photo can be 25 MB. Use the standard camera quality setting (not "pro" or "RAW") when taking photos for School Vault.
  • Uploading DOCX or XLSX files as homework attachments without checking that parents can open them, not all parents have Microsoft Office on their phone. Upload a PDF version for reliable viewing.
Version history
v1.0 23 Jul 2026 Article published for Academy v1.0.
v1.1 10 Aug 2026 Fixed navigation: "Settings → Storage" and "Settings → Storage → Usage Breakdown" do not exist in Settings. Updated both references to direct users to contact support@schoolvault.ng for storage usage information.