Data Protection

Privacy Notice (How we use personal information)

Why do we collect and use personal information?

We collect and use personal information:

  • to fulfil statutory responsibilities, legislative duties or duty of care
  • to support pupil learning
  • to monitor and report on pupil progress
  • to provide appropriate pastoral care
  • to assess the quality of our services and how well our school is doing
  • Statistical forecasting and planning
  • to comply with the law regarding data sharing
  • to comply with our Safeguarding procedures
  • for the protection of vital interests
  • for the provision of health and wellbeing
  • for the performance of a contract

The categories of personal information that we collect, hold and share include:

  • Personal information (such as name, unique pupil number and address)
  • Characteristics (such as religion, ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility)
  • Family and contact details
  • Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons) and exclusions
  • Assessment information
  • Modes of travel
  • Relevant medical, special educational needs and behavioural information

The General Data Protection Regulation allows us to collect and use pupil information where we are complying with a legal requirement; where processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of a data subject or another person; where processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest; in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller or otherwise with the consent of the data subject. When the personal information is Special Category Information we may rely on processing being in the substantial public interest in addition to consent of the data subject and the vital interests of the data subject or another.

Our requirement for this data and our legal basis for processing this data includes the Education Act 1996, 2002 and 2011, The Childrens Act 1989 and 2004, Education and Skills Act 2008, Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 and the Equalities Act 2010.

Collecting personal information

Whilst the majority of personal 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 personal information to us or if you have a choice in this. Where we are using your personal information only on the basis of your permission you may ask us to stop processing this personal information at any time.

Storing personal data

We hold pupil data in accordance with our retention schedule (link).

Who do we share pupil information with?

We routinely share pupil information with:

  • schools that the pupils attend after leaving us
  • our local authority
  • the Department for Education (DfE)
  • School health

Why we share pupil information

We do not share personal information 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.

Data collection requirements:

To find out more about the data collection requirements placed on us by the Department for Education (for example; via the school census) go to 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 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 Miss V Ryan, Data Protection Officer.

You also have the right, subject to some limitations 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:

  • Miss V Ryan, Data Protection Officer on 01252 542511 or by e-mail, v.ryan@st-patricks.hants.sch.uk