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Privacy Policy

The school workforce: those employed to teach, or otherwise engaged to work at, a school or a local authority 

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Regulation from 25th May 2018

How we use your information

We process personal data relating to those we employ to work at, or otherwise engage to work at, our school. This is for employment purposes to assist in the running of the school and/or to enable individuals to be paid. The collection of this information will benefit both national and local users by:

  • improving the management of workforce data across the sector
  • enabling development of a comprehensive picture of the workforce and how it is deployed
  • informing the development of recruitment and retention policies
  • allowing better financial modelling and planning
  • enabling ethnicity and disability monitoring; and
  • supporting the work of the School Teachers’ Review Body

This personal data includes identifiers such as names and National Insurance numbers and characteristics such as ethnic group, employment contracts and remuneration details, qualifications and absence information.

We will not share information about you with third parties without your consent unless the law allows us to. We are required, by law, to pass on some of this personal data to:

  • our local authority
  • the Department for Education (DfE)

If you require more information about how we and/or DfE store and use your personal data please visit:

  • http://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/pages/default.aspx
  • https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data

If you want to see a copy of information about you that we hold, please contact:

  • Headteacher or School’s Business Manager
How we use pupil information

Why do we collect and use pupil information?

We collect and use pupil information under The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Regulation from 25th May 2018.

We use the pupil 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

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

  • 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
  • Medical information
  • Special educational needs information
  • Exclusions/behavioural information

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 pupil information to us or if you have a choice in this.

Storing pupil data

We hold pupil data for 25 years after their date of birth.

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)
  • The school nurse
  • Educational Psychologist
  • Speech and Language Therapy Services
  • Autism Outreach Team
  • Children and Young People Services
  • Community Paediatrician
  • Children and Mental Health Services
  • Health Visitors
  • Hearing Impaired Team
  • Physiotherapists
  • Occupational Therapists
  • GP Practices
  • NHFT's Children and Young People's Community Health Service.
  • Child and Adolescent Bereavement Services

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.

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 Headteacher or Business Manager

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:

  • Headteacher or School’s Business Manager

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