Privacy Notice (How we use pupil information)
- Controller: Educational Diversity
- Address: 278A Whitegate Dr, Blackpool FY3 9JW
- Data Protection Officer: SchoolsDPO@blackpool.gov.uk
- The categories of pupil information that we process include:
- personal identifiers and contacts (such as name, unique pupil number, contact details and address)
- characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, and free school meal eligibility)
- safeguarding information (such as court orders and professional involvement)
- special educational needs (including the needs and ranking)
- medical and administration (such as doctors information, child health, dental health, allergies, medication)
- attendance (such as sessions attended, number of absences, absence reasons and any previous schools attended)
- assessment and attainment (such as key stage 1 and phonics results, WRAT, GL Tests, teacher assessments, resilience, post 16 courses enrolled for and any relevant results)
- behavioural information (such as exclusions and any relevant alternative provision put in place)
- trips and activities (personal identifies, medical, food allergies)
- catering (personal identifiers, dietary requirements, food allergies)
- free school meal management (such as personal identifiers, eligibility, financial information)
This list is not exhaustive, to access the current list of categories of information we process please contact the school office or email enquiries@eddiversity.blackpool.sch.uk
Why we collect and use pupil information
We collect and use pupil information, for the following purposes:
- to support pupil learning
- to monitor and report on pupil attainment progress
- to provide appropriate pastoral care
- to assess the quality of our services
- to keep children safe (food allergies, CCTV or emergency contact details)
- to meet the statutory duties placed upon us for DfE data collections
- to administer the school’s Management Committee
- to deliver health services
- to provide transport services
- to assist with further education
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for the majority of processing including pupil learning and pastoral care is:
(e) processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;
However, the organisation will on occasion rely on:
(a) the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes; (e.g. publication of photographs)
(c) processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject; (e.g. Health & Safety, Safeguarding)
(d) processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person; (e.g. medical emergencies)
(f) processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child. (e.g. school photographs)
When processing special categories of personal data the organisation will engage an additional condition from Article 9(2)(a) of the GDPR.
Collecting pupil information
We collect pupil information from a number sources including but limited to registration forms, the LA, other education settings, data subjects, family members or representatives and medical professionals.
Pupil data is essential for the schools’ operational use. Whilst the majority of pupil information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it requested on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with the data protection legislation, we will inform you at the point of collection, 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 securely for the set amount of time shown in our data retention schedule. For more information on our data retention schedule and how we keep your data safe, please contact the school office or email enquiries@eddiversity.blackpool.sch.uk
Who we share pupil information with
We routinely share pupil information with:
- source schools
- schools that the pupils attend after leaving us
- our local authority
- youth support services (pupils aged 13+)
- the Department for Education (DfE)
- medical professionals (e.g. school nurses)
Why we regularly 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. The legislation the school shares data under includes but is not limited limited to:
- Education Act 2011
- Education and Skills Act 2008
- The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014
- Children and Families Act 2014
- Children’s Act 1989
- Children’s Act 2004
- The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
Youth support services
Pupils aged 13+
Once our pupils reach the age of 13, we also pass pupil 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 advisers
The information shared is limited to the child’s name, address and date of birth. However where a parent or guardian provides their consent, other information relevant to the provision of youth support services will be shared. This right is transferred to the child / pupil once they reach the age 16.
Pupils 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 advisers
For more information about services for young people, please visit our local authority website.
Department for Education
The Department for Education (DfE) collects personal data from educational settings and local authorities via various statutory data collections. We are required to share information about our pupils with the Department for Education (DfE) either directly or via our local authority.
All data is transferred securely and held by DfE under a combination of software and hardware controls, which meet the current government security policy framework.
For more information, please see ‘How Government uses your data’ section.
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 school office or email enquiries@eddiversity.blackpool.sch.uk.
You also have the right to:
- to ask us for access to information about you that we hold
- to have your personal data rectified, if it is inaccurate or incomplete
- to request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing
- to restrict our processing of your personal data (i.e. permitting its storage but no further processing)
- to object to direct marketing (including profiling) and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics
- not to be subject to decisions based purely on automated processing where it produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you
If you have a concern or complaint 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/
For further information on how to request access to personal information held centrally by DfE, please see the ‘How Government uses your data’ section of this notice.
Withdrawal of consent and the right to lodge a complaint
Where we are processing your personal data with your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent. If you change your mind, or you are unhappy with our use of your personal data, please let us know by contacting the school office or email enquiries@eddiversity.blackpool.sch.uk.
Contact
If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact: contact the school office on 01253 476660 or email enquiries@eddiversity.blackpool.sch.uk.
How Government uses your data
The pupil data that we lawfully share with the DfE through data collections:
- underpins school funding, which is calculated based upon the numbers of children and their characteristics in each school.
- informs ‘short term’ education policy monitoring and school accountability and intervention (for example, school GCSE results or Pupil Progress measures).
- supports ‘longer term’ research and monitoring of educational policy (for example how certain subject choices go on to affect education or earnings beyond school)
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)
Much of the data about pupils in England goes on to be held in 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.
To find out more about the NPD, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guide-and-supporting-information
Sharing by the Department
The law allows the Department to share pupils’ personal data with certain third parties, including:
- schools and local authorities
- researchers
- organisations connected with promoting the education or wellbeing of children in England
- other government departments and agencies
- organisations fighting or identifying crime
For more information about the Department’s NPD data sharing process, please visit:
https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data
Organisations fighting or identifying crime may use their legal powers to contact DfE to request access to individual level information relevant to detecting that crime. Whilst numbers fluctuate slightly over time, DfE typically supplies data on around 600 pupils per year to the Home Office and roughly 1 per year to the Police.
For information about which organisations the Department has provided pupil information, (and for which project) or to access a monthly breakdown of data share volumes with Home Office and the Police please visit the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-external-data-shares
How to find out what personal information DfE hold about you
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 2018, you are entitled to ask the Department:
- if they are processing your personal data
- for a description of the data they hold about you
- the reasons they’re holding it and any recipient it may be disclosed to
- for a copy of your personal data and any details of its source
If you want to see the personal data held about you by the Department, you should make a ‘subject access request’. Further information on how to do this can be found within the Department’s personal information charter that is published at the address below:
To contact DfE: https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe