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GDPR Privacy Notices

PRIVACY NOTICE – PARENTS

The personal data we hold

Personal data that we may collect, use, store and share (when appropriate) about pupils includes, but is not restricted to:

Contact details, contact preferences, date of birth, identification documents
Results of internal assessments and externally set tests
Pupil and curricular records
Characteristics, such as ethnic background, eligibility for free school meals, or special educational needs
Exclusion information
Details of any medical conditions, including physical and mental health
Attendance information
Safeguarding information
Details of any support received, including care packages, plans and support providers
Photographs
CCTV images captured in school

We may also hold data about pupils that we have received from other organisations, including other schools, local authorities and the Department for Education.

Why we use this data

We use this data to:

Support pupil learning
Monitor and report on pupil progress
Provide appropriate pastoral care
Protect pupil welfare
Assess the quality of our services
Administer admissions waiting lists
Carry out research
Comply with the law regarding data sharing

Our legal basis for using this data

We only collect and use pupils’ personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we process it where:

We need to comply with a legal obligation
We need it to perform an official task in the public interest

Less commonly, we may also process pupils’ personal data in situations where:

We have obtained consent to use it in a certain way
We need to protect the individual’s vital interests (or someone else’s interests)

Where we have obtained consent to use pupils’ personal data, this consent can be withdrawn at any time. We will make this clear when we ask for consent, and explain how consent can be withdrawn.

Some of the reasons listed above for collecting and using pupils’ personal data overlap, and there may be several grounds which justify our use of this data.

Collecting this information

While the majority of information we collect about pupils is mandatory, there is some information that can be provided voluntarily.

Whenever we seek to collect information from you or your child, we make it clear whether providing it is mandatory or optional. If it is mandatory, we will explain the possible consequences of not complying.

How we store this data

We keep personal information about pupils while they are attending any school within out Multi-Academy Trust (WHMAT). We may also keep it beyond their attendance in our Trust, if this is necessary, in order to comply with our legal obligations.

Data sharing

We do not share information about pupils with any third party without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.

Where it is legally required, or necessary (and it complies with data protection law) we may share personal information about pupils with:

Pupils’ destinations upon leaving the school
The LA
The NHS
The DfE
Ofsted
Washwood Heath Multi-Academy Trust

National Pupil Database

We are required to provide information about pupils to the Department for Education as part of statutory data collections such as the school census and early year’s census

Some of this information is then stored in the National Pupil Database (NPD), which is owned and managed by the Department and provides evidence on school performance to inform research.

The database is held electronically so it can easily be turned into statistics. The information is securely collected from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and exam boards.

The Department for Education may share information from the NPD with other organisations which promote children’s education or wellbeing in England. Such organisations must agree to strict terms and conditions about how they will use the data.

For more information, see the Department’s webpage on how it collects and shares research data.

You can also contact the Department for Education with any further questions about the NPD.

Transferring data internationally

Where we transfer personal data to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area, we will do so in accordance with data protection law.

Parents and pupils’ rights regarding personal data

Individuals have a right to make a ‘subject access request’ to gain access to personal information that the school holds about them.

Parents/carers can make a request with respect to their child’s data where the child is not considered mature enough to understand their rights over their own data (usually under the age of 12), or where the child has provided consent.

Parents also have the right to make a subject access request with respect to any personal data the Trust holds about them.

If you make a subject access request, and if we do hold information about you or your child, we will:

Give you a description of it
Tell you why we are holding and processing it, and how long we will keep it for
Explain where we got it from, if not from you or your child
Tell you who it has been, or will be, shared with
Let you know whether any automated decision-making is being applied to the data, and any consequences of this
Give you a copy of the information in an intelligible form

Individuals also have the right for their personal information to be transmitted electronically to another organisation in certain circumstances.

If you would like to make a request, please contact our data protection officer.

Parents/carers also have a legal right to access to their child’s educational record. Please refer to the Trust policy for further details.

Other rights

Under data protection law, individuals have certain rights regarding how their personal data is used and kept safe, including the right to:

Object to the use of personal data if it would cause, or is causing, damage or distress
Prevent it being used to send direct marketing
Object to decisions being taken by automated means (by a computer or machine, rather than by a person)
In certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data corrected, deleted or destroyed, or restrict processing
Claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the data protection regulations

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our data protection officer.

Complaints

We take any complaints about our collection and use of personal information very seriously.

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, we ask that you raise your concern with us in the first instance.

Alternatively, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Report a concern online at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
Call 0303 123 1113
Or write to: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Privacy Notice – Pupils

Who processes your information?

Washwood Heath Multi-Academy Trust (WHMAT) is the data controller of the personal information you provide to us. This means the Trust determines the purposes for which, and the manner in which, any personal data relating to pupils and their families is to be processed.

In some cases, your data will be outsourced to a third party processor; however, this will only be done with your consent, unless the law requires the Trust to share your data. Where the Trust outsources data to a third party processor, the same data protection standards that the Trust upholds are imposed on the processor.

James Plant (Services4Schools) is the data protection officer. Their role is to oversee and monitor the school’s data protection procedures, and to ensure they are compliant with the GDPR. The data protection officer can be contacted on dpo@whmat.academy

Why do we collect and use your information?

WHMAT holds the legal right to collect and use personal data relating to pupils and their families, and we may also receive information regarding them from their previous school, LA and/or the DfE. We collect and use personal data in order to meet legal requirements and legitimate interests set out in the GDPR and UK law, including those in relation to the following:

Article 6 and Article 9 of the GDPR
Education Act 1996
Regulation 5 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013

In accordance with the above, the personal data of pupils and their families is collected and used for the following reasons:

To support pupil learning
To monitor and report on pupil progress
To provide appropriate pastoral care
To assess the quality of our service
To comply with the law regarding data sharing
To safeguard pupils

Which data is collected?

The categories of pupil information that the Trust collects, holds and shares include the following:

Personal information – e.g. names, pupil numbers and addresses
Characteristics – e.g. ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility
Attendance information – e.g. number of absences and absence reasons
Assessment information – e.g. national curriculum assessment results
Relevant medical information
Information relating to SEND
Behavioural information – e.g. number of temporary exclusions

Whilst the majority of the personal data you provide to the Trust is mandatory, some is provided on a voluntary basis. When collecting data, the Trust will inform you whether you are required to provide this data or if your consent is needed. Where consent is required, the Trust will provide you with specific and explicit information with regards to the reasons the data is being collected and how the data will be used.

How long is your data stored for?

Personal data relating to pupils within the Trust and their families, is stored in line with the Trust Data Protection Policy.

In accordance with the GDPR, the Trust does not store personal data indefinitely; data is only stored for as long as is necessary to complete the task for which it was originally collected.

Will my information be shared?

Academies within the Trust are required to share pupils’ data with the DfE on a statutory basis.

The National Pupil Database (NPD) is managed by the DfE and contains information about pupils in schools in England. The Trust is required by law to provide information about our pupils to the DfE as part of statutory data collections, such as the school census; some of this information is then stored in the NPD. The DfE may share information about our pupils from the NDP with third parties who promote the education or wellbeing of children in England by:

Conducting research or analysis.
Producing statistics.
Providing information, advice or guidance.

The DfE has robust processes in place to ensure the confidentiality of any data shared from the NDP is maintained.

WHMAT will not share your personal information with any third parties without your consent, unless the law allows us to do so. The Trust routinely shares pupils’ information with:

Pupils’ destinations upon leaving the school
The Local Authority
The National Health Service
The Department for Education
Ofsted
Washwood Heath Multi-Academy Trust

What are your rights?

Parents and pupils have the following rights in relation to the processing of their personal data.

You have the right to:

Be informed about how the Trust uses your personal data.
Request access to the personal data that Trust holds.
Request that your personal data is amended if it is inaccurate or incomplete.
Request that your personal data is erased where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing.
Request that the processing of your data is restricted.
Object to your personal data being processed.

Where the processing of your data is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time.

If you have a concern about the way WHMAT and/or the DfE is collecting or using your personal data, you can raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO can be contacted on 0303 123 1113, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

PRIVACY NOTICE – PUPILS