Privacy Policy

How we collect and use pupil information

We must make sure that information we collect and use about pupils is in line with the UK GDPR (UK General Data Protection Regulation) and Data Protection Act. This means that we must have a lawful reason to collect the data, and that if we share that with another organisation or individual we must have a legal basis to do so.

The lawful basis for schools to collect information comes from a variety of sources, such as the Education Act 1996, Regulation 5 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013, Article 6 and Article 9 of the UK GDPR.

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. To comply with the UK 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.

The Department for Education and Local Authorities require us to collect certain information and report back to them. This is called a ‘public task’ and is recognised in law as it is necessary to provide the information.

We do this to:

Enable good quality, targeted learning for individuals
Provide suitable care and support for pupils
Assess and monitor pupil progress
Monitor our effectiveness as a school
To protect and safeguard pupils
Comply with the law regarding data sharing

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.

We also have obligations to collect data about children who are at risk of suffering harm, and to share that with other agencies who have a responsibility to safeguard children, such as the police and social care. Where a child is at risk, we have a duty to share the information we hold with these agencies.

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, Leeds
The Department for Education (DfE)

We also share information about pupils who may need or have an Education Health and Care Plan (or Statement of Special Educational Needs). Medical teams have access to some information about pupils, either by agreement or because the law says we must share that information, for example school nurses may visit the school. Counselling services, careers services, occupational therapists are the type of people we will share information with, so long as we have consent or are required by law to do so.

In school we also use various third-party tools to make sure that pupils’ best interests are advanced. This includes financial software to manage school budgets, which may include some pupil data. We use third-party systems to take electronic payments for school meals; host our pastoral monitoring system; provide online education services such as Study Ladder and Timetables Rock Stars. The school seeks assurances from third-party providers that they comply with GDPR and Data Protection regulations.

Who do we share pupil information with?

The DfE and government requires us to collect a lot of data by law, so that they can monitor and support schools more widely, as well as checking on individual school’s effectiveness.

The categories of pupil information that the school collects, holds and shares include the following:

Personal information – e.g. names, pupil numbers, addresses and emergency contact details
Characteristics – e.g. ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility
Attendance information – e.g. number of absences and absence reasons
Assessment information – e.g. national curriculum assessment results
Relevant medical information
Information relating to SEND and health needs
Behavioural information – e.g. number of temporary exclusions

Who do we share pupil information with?

We hold pupil data for varying periods of time, dependent on the nature of the data. Our retention periods are detailed in the Information Management Toolkit for Schools, produced by the Information and Records Management Society. A copy of the toolkit can be viewed by going to http://irms.org.uk/page/SchoolsToolkit

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
Assessment information – e.g. national curriculum assessment results
Relevant medical information
Information relating to SEND and health needs
Behavioural information – e.g. number of temporary exclusions

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 Longden, contact details 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
Information relating to SEND and health needs
Behavioural information – e.g. number of temporary exclusions

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/

If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact:

Megan Furness

Megan Furness, PA to the Head Teacher, who will be happy to assist you. Miss Furness can be contacted on 0113 2821344 or finance@oulton.leeds.sch.uk

J A Walker Solicitors

The school’s Data Protection Officer role is provided by Schools Legal Support- part of J A Walker Solicitors. Contact: info@jawalker.co.uk

Data Protection Policy