Privacy Policy

School Privacy Notice

How we use your child’s information 

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UKGDPR) we are obliged to inform you of the information which we hold about your child at our school, including what we use it for, who we share it with and how we keep it. This privacy notice aims to provide you with this information.

We, Fairford Church of England Primary School, are the Data Controller for the purposes of Data Protection law. Our Data Protection Officer is: Daniel Parker, ICT Service Application Support, Gloucestershire County Council, Block 4 First Floor, Shire Hall, Westgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2TP

The categories of pupil information that we process:

• 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 key stage 1 and phonics results)
• behavioural information (such as exclusions and any relevant alternative provision placements put in place)
• medical information and administration to keep individuals safe and plan for their needs such as doctor’s information, child health, dental health, allergies and medication information and details of dietary requirements
• contact information for parents, carers and other relatives including telephone numbers and home and email addresses
• catering, photographic and FSM management
• after school club attendance (sessions attended, sign out time and signature)
• school meals (meals ordered)
• school trips and activities (registers)
• CCTV imges captured in school

Our Privacy Notice will be reviewed regularly.

Why we collect and use this pupil information

• To enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible
• To assess performance and to set targets for the school
• To support pupil learning
• To provide appropriate pastoral care
• To monitor and report on pupil attainment progress Date of last review: 3 October 2023
• To keep children safe (food allergies or emergency contact details)
• To comply with the law on data sharing
• To assess the quality of our services
• To meet the statutory duties placed upon us for the Department for Education data collections

The legal basis on which pupil information is used

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing pupils’ information include the following.

• Article 6: (c) Processing is necessary to comply with the legal obligations of the controller and (e) Processing is necessary for tasks in the public interest or exercise of authority invested in the controller (provision of education).
• Article 9, in that some of the information is deemed to be sensitive, or special information and the following sub paragraphs in the UKGDPR apply: (a) The data subject has given explicit consent; (b) It is necessary to fulfil the obligations of controller or of data subject; (d) processing is carried out by a foundation or not for profit organisation and it is in the public interest,the Education Act 1996, Regulation 6 of the Education (Information about individual pupils) (England) Regulations 2013

Collecting pupil information

We collect pupil information via:

• registration forms at the start of the school year and updates by parents and carers during the year (digitally or on paper)
• registration forms for specific events (digitally or on paper)
• Common Transfer File (CTF)
• secure file transfer from previous schools

Pupil data is essential for the school’s day to day use. Whilst the majority of personal information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is 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 personal information to us or if you have a choice in this.

Storing pupil data

We hold data securely and for only so long as is permitted by the school’s Data Protection Policy For more information on our Data Protection Policy please visit the school website where a copy of the policy is available.

Who we share pupil information with

We routinely share pupil information with:

• the Department for Education (DfE)
• our Local Authority
• schools that pupil’s attend after leaving Fairford Church of England Primary School
• agencies and companies which provide services on our behalf
• agencies with which we have a duty to co-operate
• NHS/the school nurse

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 legally obliged to share information about our pupils with the Department for Education either directly or via our local authority under various legiislative provisions including, for example, with regard to the school census under section 3 of The Education (inforrmation 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, contact head@fairford.gloucs.sch.uk

You also have the right to:

• to ask us for access to information about you and your child that we hold
• to have such 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 or your child’s 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 go 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 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 Business Manager Mrs K. Somers, at finance@fairford.gloucs.sch.uk

Last updated

This version was last updated in September 2023

Contact

If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact the School Business Manager, Mrs K. Somers, at finance@fairford.gloucs.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 for Education

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 for Education

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 the DfE to request access to individual level information relevant to detecting that crime.

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 or your child’s personal data
• for a description of the data they hold about you or your child
• the reasons they’re holding it and any recipient it may be disclosed to
• for a copy of your or your child’s personal data and any details of its source

If you want to see the personal data held about you or your child 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:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/personal-information-charter

To contact DfE: https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe