Students Privacy Notice

Students Privacy Notice Further Information

How we use student information

 

St John’s collects and holds data on the students that enables us to provide education services to meet their needs of its students. The information supports the tracking of student attainment and progress, attendance and behaviour. Curriculum, examination and timetabling decisions are based on the data we collect and ensure the appropriate support is given to specific groups of students.

 

The categories of student 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 key stage 1 and phonics results, post 16 courses enrolled for and any relevant results)

  • Behavioural information (such as exclusions and any relevant alternative provision put in place)

  • Trips and activities (such as day trips or residential visits)

  • Biometric data (in relation to catering and finance)

  • Financial information (such as parent/carers’ bank details)

  • Banking information for Student Bursary payments

Why we collect and use student information

We collect and use student information, for the following purposes:

  • To support student learning

  • To monitor and report on student attainment progress

  • To monitor your behaviour and attendance

  • 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 for DfE data collections

  • To enter students for exams

  • To contact parents/carers

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing student information are:

We collect and use student information under GDPR, Article 6(1), where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation on the academies to educate the data subject OR that the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes. Under Article 9(2) of the GDPR, student’s personal data will only be processed for the purposes of carry out our obligations as an educational establishment.

How we collect student information

 

Whilst the majority of the information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is provided 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 information or if you have a choice in this.

How we store student data

 

We hold student data securely for the set amount of time shown in our data retention schedule. Our retention schedule is based on the ‘IRMS Information Management Toolkit for Schools’.  More information on this can be found at http://irms.org.uk/page/SchoolsToolkit

Who we share student information with

We routinely share student information with:

  • Durham local authority

  • Department for Education (DfE)

  • Other educational establishments and alternative education

  • Ofsted

  • Examination Boards

  • Employers (References)

  • Child Health Services

  • Educational Psychologists

  • One Point Services

  • Police Service

  • Employers (References)

We also share student information with 3rd Party Applications and Services such as:

  • Local authority services including the Music Service

  • Microsoft

  • Google

  • Capita Sims

  • Evolve

  • Fisher Family Trust

  • Class Charts

  • Sisra

  • MyEd

  • CPOMs

  • My Maths

  • Educake

  • Sam Learning

  • ParentPay

Why we regularly share student information

 

We do not share information about our students with anyone without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.  We share your 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 students with the (DfE) under regulation 5 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013

 

Youth support services:  Students aged 13+

Once our students reach the age of 13, we also pass student information to our local authority and/or provider of youth support services as they have responsibilities in relation to the education or training of 13-19 year olds under section 507B of the Education Act 1996. This enable them to provide services as follows:

  • Youth Support services

  • Careers advisors

A parent/carer can request that only their child’s name, address and date of birth is passed to their local authority or provider of Youth Support services by informing us. This right is transferred to the pupil once he/she reaches the age of 16.

Once our students reach the age of 13, we also pass student information to our local authority and / or provider of youth support services as they have responsibilities in relation to the education or training of 13-19 year olds under section 507B of the Education Act 1996.

A parent/carer can request that only their child’s name, address and date of birth is passed to their local authority or provider of Youth Support services by informing us.  This right is transferred to the student once he/she reaches the age of 16.

Youth support services:  Students aged 16+

We will also share certain information about students aged 16+ with our local authority and/or provider of youth support services as they have responsibilities in relation to the education or training of 13-19 year olds under section 507B of the Education Act 1996.

This enables them to provide services as follows:

  • Post-16 education and training providers

  • Youth support services

  • Careers advisers

For more information about services for young people, please visit our local authority website.

 

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 regulation 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.

 

How Government uses your data

The student 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 Student 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 students 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 students 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 (Education - Information about Individual Pupils England - Regulations 2013), to provide information about our students to the DfE as part of statutory data collections such as the school census.  Some of this information is then stored in the NPD.

To find out more about the NPD, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guide-and-supporting-information

The law allows the Department to share information about our students from the NPD with third parties who promote the education or well-being of children in England by:

  • Research or analysis

  • Statistics

  • Providing information, advice or guidance

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

 

The Department has robust processes in place to ensure the confidentiality of our data is maintained and have stringent controls in place regarding access and use of data. A strict approval process is in place by the DFE regarding which third parties data is released to and is 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 student 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.  To contact DfE: https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe

For information about which organisations the Department has provided student 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

 

Requesting access to your personal data

 

Under data protection legislation, parents and students 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 Vicky Howard (01388 603246)

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

  • a right to seek redress, either through the ICO, or through the courts

We take any complaints about our collection and use of personal information very seriously.  If you think that our collection or use of personal information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate, or have any other concern about our data processing, please raise this with us in the first instance.  Alternatively you can contact 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: Chris Parker (Deputy Headteacher) at St John’s School and Sixth Form College, Woodhouse Lane, Bishop Auckland, DL14 6JT

(01388 603246)