Primary Privacy Notice
Privacy Notice for Parents
Introduction
As a school we collect a significant amount of information about our pupils. This notice explains why we collect the information, how we use it, the type of information we collect and our lawful reasons to do so.
The categories of information that we collect, process, hold and share include:
personal information such as name, date of birth and address characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, disability, free school meals eligibility and language information relating to attendance, assessment, medical information, pupil behaviour, Child Protection and Safeguarding information relating to SEN & Looked After children adoptions key information such as dates, court orders and decisions
Why we collect and use this information
We use this personal data to:
· fulfil our legal obligations to safeguard and protect children and vulnerable people
enable targeted, personalised pupil learning
monitor and support pupil progress to fulfil their potential
provide appropriate pastoral care
assess the quality of our services
comply with the law regarding data sharing
evaluate and improve our policies
enable personalised finance software
keep pupils, parents and carers informed about school events and school news
The lawful basis on which we use this information
We must make sure that information we collect and use about pupils is in line with the GDPR and the Data Protection Act. This means that we must have a lawful reason to collect the data, and that if we share that with another organisation or individual we must have a legal basis to do so.
We collect and use pupil information as:
the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes; example contact details, medical conditions, ethnicity. If you wish to withdraw your consent please complete the form found on the website.
processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject ie Census Collections
processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person; example Social Care and support Services
processing is carried out in the course of its legitimate activities with appropriate safeguards by the school, on condition that the processing relates solely to the members or to former members of the body or to persons who have regular contact with it in connection with its purposes and that the personal data are not disclosed outside that body without the consent of the data subjects; example contact details, medical conditions, ethnicity, SEN data
processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity; example allegation of negligence
Collecting pupil information
Whilst the majority of pupil information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is provided to us on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain information to us or if you have a choice in this.
Who we share this information with
We also have obligations to collect data about children who are at risk of suffering harm, and to share that with other agencies who have a responsibility to safeguard children, such as the police and social care.
We also share information about pupils who may need or have an Education Health and Care Plan (or Statement of Special Educational Needs). Medical teams have access to some information about pupils, either by agreement or because the law says we must share that information, for example school nurses may visit the school.
Counselling services, careers services, occupational therapists are the type of people we will share information with, so long as we have consent or are required by law to do so.
We routinely share this information with:
schools that the pupil’s attend after leaving us
local authority services
social services
national health services (NHS)
school nurse
the Department for Education (DfE)
Education Welfare Officer
CAMHS Service
Leicester Charity Link
How we use the data
In school we use various third party software tools to track progress and attainment in the interests of the pupil’s advancement. We record details about progress, attainment and pupil development to support future planning and learning.
We use data to manage and monitor pastoral needs and attendance/absences so that suitable strategies can be planned if required.
We use systems to take electronic payments for school meals and activities. This includes financial software to manage school budgets, which may include some pupil data.
Data can be used to monitor school effectiveness, the impact of intervention and learning styles across groups of pupils as well as individual children.
We may use consultants, experts and other advisors to assist the school in fulfilling its obligations and to help run the school properly. We might need to share pupil information with them if this is relevant to their work.
We also use contact information to keep pupils, parents, carers up to date about school events.
For further details on your data please review the school's Data Protection Policy.
Storing pupil data
We will retain basic pupil registration details indefinitely (subject to legislation change).
We hold children in need and children looked after data for up to 35 years from closure.
Child protection files will be held 25 years past their d.o.b.
Why we share pupil information
We do not share information about our pupils with anyone without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.
We share pupils’ data with the Department for Education (DfE) on a statutory basis. This data is known as a ‘public task’, the sharing underpins school funding and educational attainment policy and monitoring.
The lawful basis for schools to collect information comes from a variety of sources, such as the Education Act 1996, Regulation 5 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013, Article 6 and Article 9 of the GDPR.
We must keep up to date information about parents and carers for emergency contacts.
Data collection requirements
To find out more about the data collection requirements placed on us by the Department for Education go to:
School Census: https://www.gov.uk/education/data-collection-and-censuses-for-schools
The National Pupil Database (NPD)
The NPD is owned and managed by the Department for Education and contains information about children in England. It provides invaluable information on the background and circumstances on a child’s journey and evidence on educational performance to inform independent research, as well as studies commissioned by the Department. It is held in electronic format for statistical purposes. This information is securely collected from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and awarding bodies.
We are required by law, to provide information about our pupils to the DfE as part of statutory data collections. Some of this information is then stored in the national pupil database (NPD). The law that allows this is the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
To find out more about the NPD, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guide-and-supporting-information.
The department may share information about our pupils from the NPD with third parties who promote the education or well-being of children in England by:
- conducting research or analysis
- producing statistics
- providing information, advice or guidance
The Department has robust processes in place to ensure the confidentiality of our data is maintained and there are stringent controls in place regarding access and use of the data. Decisions on whether DfE releases data to third parties are subject to a strict approval process and based on a detailed assessment of:
- who is requesting the data
- the purpose for which it is required
- the level and sensitivity of data requested: and
- the arrangements in place to store and handle the data
To be granted access to pupil information, organisations must comply with strict terms and conditions covering the confidentiality and handling of the data, security arrangements and retention and use of the data.
For more information about the department’s data sharing process, please visit:
https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data
For information about which organisations the department has provided pupil information, (and for which project), please visit the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-requests-received
To contact DfE: https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe
Requesting access to your personal data
Under data protection legislation, parents, carers and pupils have the right to request access to information about them that we hold. To make a request for your personal information, or be given access to your child’s educational record please contact the school office.
You also have the right to:
object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress
prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
object to decisions being taken by automated means
in certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed; and
claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Data Protection regulations
If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance or directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
Contact:If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact: Mr S Marsden Head Teacher via the school office.