Privacy Notice for Parents and Pupils

Your privacy is important to us and we take our responsibility regarding the security of your personal information very seriously. We are committed to protecting your personal information and to being transparent about the information we are collecting and how we store it, how long we keep it and how we dispose of it.

The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) is a positive step towards you having more control over how your data is used. The changes will also help to better protect your personal data.  In order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, we will inform you whether you have to provide certain information to us or if you have a choice in this.

Privacy Notice (How we use pupil information)

We collect and use pupil information under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) according to the following articles: Article 6 - Public task: the processing is necessary for you to perform a task in the public interest or for your official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law and Article 9 Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, on the basis of law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject;

We use pupil data:

• To support pupil learning
• To monitor and report on pupil progress
• To provide appropriate pastoral care
• To provide appropriate health support
• To assist with the safeguarding of our pupils
• 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)
• Information relating to Safeguarding
• Relevant medical information regarding pupil’s health 
• Assessment information
• Special Educational needs 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 data securely for the set amount of time shown in our retention and disposal schedule.

https://cdn.ymaws.com/irms.site-ym.com/resource/collection/8BCEF755-0353-4F66-9877CCDA4BFEEAC4/2016_IRMS_Toolkit_for_Schools_v5_Master.pdf   

Who do we share pupil information with?

We share relevant pupil information with providers including (but not limited to) those below. All data is only shared once we have been provided with GDPR compliance confirmation:

• Schools that the pupil’s attend after leaving us;
• Our local authority including SIMS (Capita); 
• The Department for Education (DfE);
• Liverpool Archdiocese and the local parish office;
• Health organisations including NHS, the school nurse, the dental service, audiology, Chatterbug Speech and Language, school counselling service, Educational psychologist;
• School photographers;  
• Osborne technology; 
• Sports providers including but not limited to Progressive Sports and Widnes Vikings;
• Assessment and data providers including Target Tracker and Rising Stars;

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/datacollection-and-censuses-for-schools. To find out more about the NPD, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guideand-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 the school office. 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:

• Paul Loughran, St Michael’s Catholic Primary School, St Michael’s Road, Widnes, WA8 8TD. Telephone number 0151 424 4468
• If you need information about how the Halton Borough Council and DfE store and use your information, then please go to the following websites:  

http://www4.halton.gov.uk/Pages/Home.aspx https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data  If you cannot access these websites, please contact Halton Borough Council or the DfE as follows: 

Janet Johnson – Information Governance – ICT Services – Halton Borough Council  

Direct Dial Tel: 0151 511 7059 or via email janet.johnson@halton.gov.uk 

DfE - Public Communications Unit Department for Education Sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT Website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education 

Email:  http://www.education.gov.uk/help/contact us: Telephone: 0370 000 2288 Peter Richmond  Divisional Manager - Service Improvement / Governance

Resources, ICT Services, Halton Borough Council, Municipal Building, Kingsway, Widnes, WA8 7QF, Email: peter.richmond@halton.gov.uk 

(for person identifiable data please use peter.richmond@halton.gcsx.gov.uk, Direct line - 0151 511 7003, Switchboard 0303 333 4300)