Privacy Notice
How we use pupil information
The categories of pupil information that we collect, hold and share
- Personal information (such as name, unique pupil number and address)
- Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility)
- Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons)
- Assessment information
- Relevant medical information
- Special educational needs information
- Exclusions / behavioural information
- Post 16 learning information.
Why we collect and use this information
- 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
Storing pupil data
At present we hold pupil data until the subject is 25 years old.
The lawful basis on which we use this information
We collect and use pupil information under the submission of the school census returns, including a set of named pupil records, is a statutory requirement on schools under Section 537A of the Education Act 1996.
Putting the school census on a statutory basis:
- Means that schools do not need to obtain parental or pupil consent to the provision of information
- Ensures schools are protected from any legal challenge that they are breaching a duty of confidence to pupils
- Helps to ensure that returns are completed by schools
The six main criteria for a legal basis to store data are set out in Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). When we keep personal data, one of these criteria should always apply.
- Consent: the individual has given clear consent for us to process their personal data for a specific purpose.
- Contract: the processing is necessary for a contract we have with the individual, or because they have asked us to take specific steps before entering into a contract.
- Legal obligation: the processing is necessary for us to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations).
- Vital interests: the processing is necessary to protect someone’s life.
- Public task: the processing is necessary for us to perform a task in the public interest and the task or function has a clear basis in law.
- Legitimate interests: the processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party unless there is a good reason to protect the individual’s personal data which overrides those legitimate interests.
Who we share pupil information with
We routinely share pupil information with:
- Our local authority
- The Department for Education (DfE)
- Our Academy Chains
- School Nurse
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 the (DfE) under regulation 5 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) please see the government page on Data collection and censuses for schools.
Youth Support Services
Pupils aged 13+
Once our pupils reach the age of 13, we also pass pupil information to our local authority and / or provider of youth support services as they have responsibilities in relation to the education or training of 13-19 year olds under section 507B of the Education Act 1996.
This enables them to provide services such as:
Youth support services
Careers advisers
A parent or guardian can request that only their child’s name, address and date of birth is passed to their local authority or provider of youth support services by informing us. This right is transferred to the child / pupil once he/she reaches the age 16.
Pupils aged 16+
We will also share certain information about pupils aged 16+ with our local authority and / or provider of youth support services as they have responsibilities in relation to the education or training of 13-19 year olds under section 507B of the Education Act 1996.
This enables them to provide services:
post-16 education and training providers
youth support services
careers advisers
For more information about services for young people, please visit our local authority website
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 NPD, please visit the government page regarding How to access Department for Education (DfE) data extracts .
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 the government site for data protection: how we share pupil and workforce data
Contact DfECollecting Personal Data
We will only process personal data where we have one of 6 'lawful bases' (legal reasons) to do so under data protection law:
- The data needs to be processed so that the school can fulfill a contract with the individual, or the individual has asked the school to take specific steps before entering into a contract
- The data needs to be processed so that the school can comply with a legal obligation
- The data needs to be processed to ensure the vital interests of the individual e.g. to protect someone's life
- The data needs to be processed so that the school, as a public authority, can perform a task in the public interest, and carry out its official functions
- The data needs to be processed for the legitimate interests of the school or a third party (provided the individual's rights and freedoms are not overridden)
- The individual (or their parent/carer when appropriate in the case of a pupil) has freely given clear consent
For special categories of personal data, we will also meet one of the special category conditions for processing which are set out in the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.
If we offer online services to pupils, such as classroom apps, and we intend to rely on consent as a basis for processing, we will get parental consent where the pupil is under 13 (except for online counselling and preventive services).
Whenever we first collect personal data directly from individuals, we will provide them with the relevant information required by data protection law.
Limitation, Minimisation and Accuracy
We will only collect personal data for specified , explicit and legitimate reasons. We will explain these reasons to the individuals when we first collect their data.
If we want to use personal data for reasons other than those given when we first obtained it, we will inform the individuals concerned before we do so, and seek consent where necessary.
Staff must only process personal data where it is necessary in order to do their jobs.
When staff no longer need the personal data they hold, they must ensure it is deleted or anonymised.
for more details on how we collect and use personal data, see our Data Protection policy below
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 our Data Protection Officer (see below).
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, we request that you raise your concern with us in the first instance. Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Contact
If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact our Data Protection Officer.
Sophia Radford, Data Protection Officer
Wessex Multi-Academy Trust
Suite A, Paceycombe House
Paceycombe Way
Poundbury
Dorchester
DT1 3WB
Privacy Policies
| Data Protection Policy May 19 | 08/10/2019 | 1,539 KB |
| Privacy Notice - THS Students (Large Text) | 08/05/2018 | 132 KB |
| Privacy Notice - THS Students | 08/05/2018 | 124 KB |
