Data Protection Policy
The School collects and uses personal information about staff, pupils, parents and other individuals who
come into contact with the school. This information is gathered in order to enable the school to provide
education and other associated functions. In addition, there may be a legal requirement to collect and
use information to ensure that the school complies with its statutory obligations.
Purpose
This policy is intended to ensure that personal information is dealt with correctly and securely and in
accordance with the County Data Protection Act, and other related legislation. It will apply to
information regardless of the way it is collected, used, recorded, stored and destroyed, and irrespective
of whether it is held in paper files or electronically.
All staff involved with the collection, processing and disclosure of personal data will be aware of their
duties and responsibilities by adhering to these guidelines.
What is Personal Information?
Personal information or data is defined as data which relates to a living individual who can be identified
from that data, or other information held.
Data Protection Principles
Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully;
Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purpose(s);
Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive;
Personal data shall be accurate and where necessary, kept up to date;
Personal data processed for any purpose shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose
or those purposes;
Personal data shall be kept secure i.e. protected by an appropriate degree of security;
Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area,
unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of data protection.
General Statement
The school is committed to maintaining the above principles at all times. Therefore the school will:
Inform individuals why the information is being collected when it is collected
Inform individuals when their information is shared, and why and with whom it was shared
Check the quality and the accuracy of the information it holds
Ensure that information is not retained for longer than is necessary
Ensure that when obsolete information is destroyed that it is done so appropriately and securely
Ensure that clear and robust safeguards are in place to protect personal information from loss, theft and
unauthorised disclosure, irrespective of the format in which it is recorded
Share information with others only when it is legally appropriate to do so
Set out procedures to ensure compliance with the duty to respond to requests for access to personal
information, known as Subject Access Requests
Ensure our staff are aware of and understand our policies and procedures
Privacy Notice
The school will inform parents / carers of pupils of the data they hold on the pupils, the purposes for
which the data is held and the third parties to whom it may be passed.
Complaints
Complaints will be dealt with in accordance with the school’s complaints policy. Complaints relating to
information handling may be referred to the statutory regulator.
Appendix 1
Procedures for responding to subject access requests made under the Data Protection Policy
Rights of access to information:
There are two distinct rights of access to information held by schools about pupils.
Any individual has the right to make a request to access the personal information held about them.
The right of those entitled to have access to curricular and educational records as defined
Actioning a Subject Access Request
Requests for information must be made in writing; which includes email, and be addressed to the School
head. If the initial request does not clearly identify the information required, then further enquiries will
be made.
The identity of the requestor must be established before the disclosure of any information, and checks
should also be carried out regarding proof of relationship to the child. Evidence of identity can be
established by requesting production of:
Passport,driving licence,identity card
Any individual has the right of access to information held about them.
The school may make a charge for the provision of information, dependent upon the following:
Third party information is that which has been provided by another, such as the Police, Local Authority,
Health Care professional or another school. Before disclosing third party information consent should
normally be obtained.
Any information which may cause serious harm to the physical or mental health or emotional condition
of the pupil or another should not be disclosed, nor should information that would reveal that the child
is at risk of abuse, or information relating to court proceedings.
If there are concerns over the disclosure of information then additional advice should be sought.
Information disclosed should be clear, thus any codes or technical terms will need to be clarified and
explained. If information contained within the disclosure is difficult to read or illegible, then it should be
retyped.
Appendix 2
PRIVACY NOTICE – Children & Young People
We collect information from pupils and may receive information about pupils from previous schools. We
hold this personal data and use it to:
Support pupils teaching and learning;
Monitor and report on pupils progress;
Provide appropriate pastoral care, and
Assess how well the school is doing.
This information includes contact details, assessment results, attendance information and personal
characteristics such as ethnic group, special educational needs and relevant medical information.
We will not give information about you to anyone outside the school without your consent unless the
law and our rules allow us to do so.
We are required by law to pass some information about you to the Local Authority and the Department
for Education
If you want to see a copy of the information about you that we hold and/or share, please contact the
School Office.
Appendix 3
PRIVACY NOTICE – School Workforce
Personal data is held by the school / Local Authority about those employed or otherwise engaged to
work at the school. This is to assist in the smooth running of the school and/or enable individuals to be
paid. The collection of this information will benefit both national and local users by:
Improving the management of school workforce data across the sector;
Enabling a comprehensive picture of the workforce and how it is deployed to be built up;
Informing the development of recruitment and retention policies;
Allowing better financial modeling and planning;
Enabling ethnicity and disability monitoring; and
Supporting the work of the School Teacher .
This personal data includes some or all of the following – identifiers such as name and NRC Number and
characteristics such as ethnic group; employment contract and remuneration details, qualifications and
absence information.
We will not give information about you to anyone outside the school or Local Authority without your
consent unless the law and our rules allow us to do so.
We are required by law to pass on some of this data to the Department for Education ,Police