PRIVACY NOTICE 

How do we use pupil and staff information?

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

• Personal information (such as name, unique pupil number and address)
• Personal information (such as teachers unique TRN, date of birth, address, next of kin)
• 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)
• Personal information (such as CCTV images, photos)

 
Why we collect and use this information?

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 secure the health and safety of people on school premises 

The lawful basis on which we use this information:

We need to collect and use pupil information in order to comply with the relevant legislation regulations and statutory guidance for providing education to a child, including the Education Act 2006, the Education and Inspections Act 2006, the Children’s Acts 1989 and 2004, SEND Regulations 2017, Keeping Children Safe in Education, Working Together to Safeguard Children.  

Our lawful bases for processing are therefore: 

We have a statutory obligation as defined by Article 6(1) (c) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and we need to perform a task in the public interest or exercise official authority vested in us, as defined at Article 6(1)(c).

We need to process staff data in order to comply with the relevant employment, H&S and Occupational Therapy legislation and guidance, so in addition to the above the following applies: 

Article 6(1) (b) – to enter into and perform the terms and conditions of the contract of employment. Some of the information we need to hold is classed as special category information – primarily ethnicity and any health conditions.

Our legal basis for processing this data is provided by:  

• Article 9(2) (a) consent
• Article 9(2)(b) employment obligations
• Article 9(2)(g) substantial public interest, with parallel conditions from Schedule 2 of the Data Protection Act 2018
• Prevention and detection of unlawful acts, safeguarding of children and individuals at risk

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

The School maintains records in line with the retention guidance set out by the Department for Education at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/data-protection-in-schools/record-keeping-and-management 

Who 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)
• NHS – School Nurse etc
• Other external agencies and professionals who may be involved with the child at 
  specific times of their education. For example, CAMHS, SALT, Educational 
  Psychology, Health, Together for Children Sunderland 

Why we share pupil information?

We do not share information about our pupils with anyone without agreement 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/datacollection-and-censuses-for-schools. 

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, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guide-andsupporting-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 the Headteacher, D. Walton-Jonas. 

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 the Headteacher via our school office or our designated Data Protection Officer - Nick Humphreys at data.protection@sunderland.gov.uk