Privacy Notice for Pupils
Gilbert Inglefield Academy is the Data Controller for the use of personal data in this privacy notice.
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 and dietary requirements)
- attendance (such as sessions attended, number of absences, absence reasons and any previous schools attended)
- assessment and attainment (such as test data, key stage 1 and phonics results, key stage 2 results)
- behavioural information (such as exclusions and any relevant alternative provision put in place)
- free school meal information
- catering information
Why we collect and use pupil information
The personal data collected is essential, for the school to fulfil their official functions and meet legal requirements.
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, or emergency contact details)
- to meet the statutory duties placed upon us by the Department for Education
We collect and use pupil information under Article 6 and Article 9 of the European General Data Protection Regulation from 25 May 2018. Under Article 6(1)(e) our lawful basis for processing data is that it is a Public task and the processing is necessary for us to perform a task in the public interest. Under Article 9(2)(g) our lawful basis for processing sensitive data is that processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest. We also collect and use data under section 537A of the Education Act 1996 and section 83 of the Children’s Act 1989.
Collecting pupil information
We collect pupil information via Data Collection Sheets at the start of term.
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 and we will tell you what you need to do if you do not want to share this information with us.
Storing pupil data
We hold pupil data securely for the set amount of time shown in our data retention schedule.
Who we share pupil information with
We routinely share pupil information with:
- other schools when your child transfers to our school and transfers to their next school
- local authorities
- youth support services (pupils aged 13+)
- the Department for Education (DfE)
- NHS
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.
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 for the purpose of those data collections, under 5 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
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.
Local Authorities
We may be required to share information about our pupils with the local authority to ensure that they can conduct their statutory duties under the Schools Admission Code, including conducting Fair Access Panels.
Requesting access to your personal data
Under GDPR, 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 our School Manager.
Depending on the lawful basis above, you may 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
- a right to seek redress, either through the ICO, or through the courts
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/
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 our School Manager.
Last updated
We may need to update this privacy notice periodically so we recommend that you revisit this information from time to time. This version was last updated on 11th May 2021.
Contact
Our data protection lead is Samantha Sibley dpo@gilbertinglefield.com .
Our data protection officer is:
HFL Education
Robertson House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, SG1 2FQ
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
- 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
