Privacy Policy

Information for students and parents/carers on how information about students is used at Caldew School.

Introduction

This notice is to help you understand how and why we collect personal information about you and what we do with that information.

What is personal information?

Personal information is information that identifies you as an individual and relates to you. This includes your contact details, next of kin and financial information. We may also hold information such as your religion or ethnic group. CCTV, photos and video recordings of you are also personal information.

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

• Personal information (such as name, unique pupil number, address and parents/carers details). CCTV photos and video recordings are also personal information. CCTV is not used in private areas such as toilets and changing rooms.
• 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 (such as targets, data collections, reports, test and examination results)
• Relevant medical information (such as medication details, allergies, medical conditions and notes from meetings/GPs/other health care professionals)
• Special Education Needs information (such as Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs), Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and notes from review meetings and professional assessments)
• Behaviour information (such as behaviour logs, achievement points, exclusions)
• Safeguarding information
• Biometric data (measurements from fingerprint)
• Post 16 learning information and destination data

Why we collect and use this information:

We use the student information:

• to support student learning
• to monitor and report on student progress
• to provide appropriate pastoral care
• to provide appropriate careers advice and guidance
• to assess the quality of our services
• to ensure students are safe
• to monitor attendance
• to contact next of kin in case of emergency
• to comply with the law regarding data sharing
• to enable access to catering facilities
• to celebrate students’ achievements

The lawful basis on which we use this information

We collect and use personal data in order to meet legal requirements and legitimate interests set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK law, including those in relation to the following:

• Article 6 and Article 9 of the GDPR
• Education Act 1996
• Regulation 5 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013

Collecting student information

Whilst the majority of student information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is provided to us on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with the GDPR, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain student information to us or if you have a choice in this.

Storing student data

Personal data relating to students is stored in line with the school’s GDPR Policy. In accordance with the GDPR, the school does not store personal data indefinitely; data is only stored for as long as is necessary to complete the task for which it was originally collected.

Who we share student information with

We routinely share student information with:

• Schools, colleges and universities that students attend after leaving us
• Employers when requesting references
• Cumbria Local Authority and Children’s Services (this includes Social Services, the SEND team and Targeted Youth Support), under strict information sharing protocols and policies. We may be required to share this information with other public sector partners such as other Local Authorities or local Children Centres
• Department for Education (DfE)
• Examination boards
• Police
• NHS (this includes Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
• Pupil Referral Unit (this includes Hospital and Home Tuition Service)
• INSPIRA

Why we share student information

We do not share information about our students with anyone without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.

We share students’ 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 students 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) go to https://www.gov.uk/education/data-collection-and-censuses-for-schools.

Youth Support Services

Students aged 13+

Once our students reach the age of 13, we also pass student 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 as follows:

• youth support services
• careers advice

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 on the Consent Form. This right is transferred to the child/student once he/she reaches the age 16.

Students 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 as follows:

• post-16 education and training providers
• youth support services
• careers advice

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 DfE and contains information about students 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 collect ed from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and awarding bodies.

We are required by law, to provide information about our students to the DfE as part of statutory data collections such as the school 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, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guide-and-supporting-information.

The department may share inform ation about our students 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 student 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 student 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 students have the right to request access to information about them that we hold. Any person who has parental responsibility for a child or who has care of them has the right to access their child’s educational record. Any person who has parental responsibility for a child or who has care of them will be able to access all the personal information about the child if the child is unable to act on their own behalf or gives their written permission. As a general guide, a child of 12 or older is expected to be mature enough to make this kind of request.

To make a request, contact Mrs Lisa Hollywood, Business Manager. We may withhold information in certain circumstances, such as where serious harm may be caused to the child’s physical or mental health or another individual, or where the request is for an exam script or for exam marks before they are officially announced.

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 at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

Contact

If you would like to discuss anything in this Privacy Notice, please contact:

Mrs Lisa Hollywood
Business Manager
01228 710044
lisa.hollywood@caldew.cumbria.sch.uk