Privacy Notice for parents (How we use pupil information)
This document provides insight into how information about pupils is used in our school.
To view the Pupil Privacy Policy – please click here
The categories of pupils’ 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)
• attendance (such as sessions attended, number of absences, absence reasons and any previous schools attended)
• assessment and attainment (such as EYFS, key stage 1 and phonics results)
• behavioural information (such as exclusions and any relevant alternative provision placements put in place)
Why we collect and use pupils’ information
We use pupils’ data to:
• to support pupil learning
• to monitor and report on pupil progress
• to provide appropriate pastoral care
• to keep pupils safe and healthy (e.g food allergies or emergency contact details)
• to assess the quality of our services
• to comply with the law regarding data sharing
• to meet the statutory duties placed upon us (e.g DfE data collections)
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing pupils’ information are:
• for the purposes of a), b), c) and d) in accordance with the legal basis of Public task: collecting the data is necessary to perform tasks that schools are required to perform as part of their statutory function
• for the purposes of e) in accordance with the legal basis of Vital interests: to keep children safe (food allergies or medical conditions)
• for the purposes of f) in accordance with the legal basis of Legal obligation: data collected for DfE census information:
o section 537A of the Education Act 1996,
o the Education Act 1996 s29(3)
o the Education (School Performance Information)(England) Regulations 2007
o regulations 5 and 8 School Information (England) Regulations 2008
o the Education (Pupil Registration)(England)(Amendment) Regulations 2013
Collecting pupils’ information
Pupil data is essential for the school’s operational use. Whilst the majority of pupil information provided is mandatory, some of it is provided to us 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 or if you have a choice.
Storing pupils’ data
We hold pupil data on local and cloud based computer systems as well as on paper. There are strict controls on who can see the information. We hold our pupil information securely until the pupils change school. Their records will then be transferred to their new school where they will be retained until they reach the age of 25 after which they are securely destroyed.
Who we share pupils’ information with
We routinely share pupil information with:
• the schools pupils attend after leaving our school
• our Local Authority
• the Department for Education (DfE)
• services that support teaching, learning, assessment, safeguarding and school management
• catering services
• parental communication services e.g Tucasi
• health services
• providers of extra-curricular services
Why we regularly share pupils’ information
We only share information about pupils with others where the law and our policies allow us to, or where we have obtained any necessary consent. We will not share your data if you have advised us that you do not want it shared, unless it is the only way we can make sure our pupils stay safe, or we are legally required 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:
• section 537a of the Education Act 1996
• the Education Act 1996 s29(3)
• the Education (School Performance Information)(England) Regulations 2007
• regulations 5 and 8 School Information (England) Regulations 2008
• the Education (Pupil Registration)(England)(Amendment) Regulations 2013
• 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.
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, please contact the school using the details provided in this document.
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
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 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/.
If you would like to obtain a copy of the information about you that the local authority shares with the DfE or how they use the information, please contact:
Data Protection Officer, Wokingham Borough Council, Shute End, Wokingham, RG40 1WH.
More information and an on-line form are available via this link:
https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/council-and-meetings/information-and-data-protection/
Contact
If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact:
Mrs Meghna Tibrewal
Data Protection Officer
Shinfield Infant and Nursery School
School Green
Shinfield
Reading
RG2 9EH
Email:dpo@shinfield.wokingham.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