Privacy Notice - GDPR
Privacy Notice (How we use pupil information)
Why do we collect and use pupil information?
We collect and use pupil information under The Data Protection Act 1998, which is designed to ensure that personal data held by the council is looked after properly. We will collect, use, and store personal data about you according to the principles set down in the Data Protection Act.
The rules which govern the council's use of personal data are the Data Protection Principles which state, in accordance with article 6 of The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into force May 2018, data must be:
- Fairly and lawfully processed
- Processed for limited purposes
- Adequate, relevant and not excessive
- Accurate
- Not kept for longer than is necessary
- Processed in line with your rights
- Secure
- Not transferred to countries without adequate protection
We use the pupil / parent data:
- to support pupil learning
- to monitor and report on pupil progress
- to provide appropriate pastoral care
- to assess the quality of our services
- to comply with the law regarding data sharing
- to check eligibility for funding such as Free School Meals annually
The categories of pupil information that we collect, hold and share include:
Personal information (such as name, unique pupil number and address) - mandatory
- Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility) - voluntary
- Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons) - mandatory
- Assessment information including Special Education Needs support and assessment - mandatory
- Medical information relevant to support required in school - mandatory
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 this has been advised above.
Storing pupil data
We hold pupil data for:
Documents |
Retention |
SEND Files |
DOB + 25 years |
IEP Files |
DOB + 25 years |
Application / Birth Certificates / Proof of Address / incl appeals |
current + 1 year |
Attendance Registers |
Indefinitely (legally - 3 years) |
Child Protection File |
DOB + 25 years |
Data Collection information |
retain last years if not rec'd current |
Holiday requests |
Current + 2 years |
Pupil File |
DOB + 25 years |
School Trip Paperwork |
14 years |
School Trip Consents - no incidents |
destroy after trip |
School Trip Consents - major incident |
25 years |
Who do we share pupil information with?
We routinely share pupil information with:
- schools that the pupil’s attend after leaving us
- our local authority
- the Department for Education (DfE)
- NHS – to support medical referrals
- Suppliers – limited and under GDPR regulations – as detailed in the Data Protection policy
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 sharing underpins school funding and educational attainment policy and monitoring.
We are required to share information about our pupils with our local authority (LA) and the Department for Education (DfE) under section 3 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
The National Pupil Database (NPD)
The NPD is owned and managed by the Department for Education and contains information about pupils in schools in England. It provides invaluable 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 such as the school census and early years’ census. Some of this information is then stored in the NPD. The law that allows this is the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
To find out more about the pupil information we share with the department, for the purpose of data collections, go to https://www.gov.uk/education/data-collection-and-censuses-for-schools.
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 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, contact Mrs Nolan in the school office who will forward your request to the current Data Protection Officer based in Swinton Civic Centre.
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:
- Corporate Information Officer on 0161 793 2407 or email [email protected]
- Information Management on 0161 778 0149 or email [email protected]
- Public Communications Unit
Department for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
Tel: 0370 000 2288
Website: www.education.gov.uk
Email: [email protected]