Fair processing notice – primary age
DATA PROTECTION ACT
Schools, Local Education
Authorities (LEAs), the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the
government department which deals with education, the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority (QCA), Ofsted and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) all process information on pupils in
order to run the education system, and in doing so have to comply with the Data
Protection Act 1998. This means, among other things, that the data held about
pupils must only be used for specific purposes allowed by law. We are therefore
writing to tell you about the types of data held, why that data is held, and to
whom it may be passed on.
The school holds information on pupils in order to support their
teaching and learning, to monitor and report on their progress, to provide
appropriate pastoral care, and to assess how well the school as a whole
is doing. This information includes contact details, National Curriculum
assessment results, attendance information, characteristics such as ethnic
group, special educational needs and any relevant medical information. From
time to time schools are required to pass on some of this data to LEAs, the
DfES and to agencies, such as QCA, Ofsted and LSC, that are prescribed by law.
The Local Education Authority uses information about pupils to carry
out specific functions for which it is responsible, such as the assessment of
any special educational needs the pupil may have. It also uses the information
to derive statistics to inform decisions on (for example) the funding of
schools, and to assess the performance of schools and set targets for them. The
statistics are used in such a way that individual pupils cannot be identified
from them.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority uses information about
pupils to administer the National Curriculum tests and assessments for Key
Stages 1 to 3. The results of these are passed on to DfES in order for it to
compile statistics on trends and patterns in levels of achievement. The QCA
uses the information to evaluate the effectiveness of the National Curriculum
and the associated assessment arrangements, and to ensure that these are
continually improved.
Ofsted
uses information about the progress and performance of pupils to help
inspectors evaluate the work of schools, to assist schools in their
self-evaluation, and as part of Ofsted’s assessment of the effectiveness
of education initiatives and policy. Inspection reports do not identify individual pupils.
The Learning and Skills Council uses information about pupils for
statistical purposes, to evaluate and develop education policy and to monitor
the performance of the education service as a whole. The statistics (including
those based on information provided by the QCA) are used in such a way that
individual pupils cannot be identified from them. On occasion information
may be shared with other Government departments or agencies strictly for
statistical or research purposes only.
The Department for Education and Skills
(DfES) uses information about pupils for research and statistical purposes, to
inform, influence and improve education policy and to monitor the performance
of the education service as a whole. The DfES will feed back to LEAs and
schools information about their pupils for a variety of purposes that will
include data checking exercises, use in self-evaluation analyses and where
information is missing because it was not passed on by a former school. The
DfES will also provide Ofsted with pupil level data for use in school
inspection. Where relevant, pupil information may also be shared with post 16
learning institutions to minimise the administrative burden on application for
a course and to aid the preparation of learning plans.
Pupil information
may be matched with other data sources that the Department holds in order to
model and monitor pupils’ educational progression; and to provide
comprehensive information back to LEAs and learning institutions to support
their day to day business. The DfES may also use contact details from these
sources to obtain samples for statistical surveys: these surveys may be carried
out by research agencies working under contract to the Department and
participation in such surveys is usually voluntary. The Department may also
match data from these sources to data obtained from statistical surveys.
Pupil data may
also be shared with other Government Departments and Agencies (including the
Office for National Statistics) for statistical or research purposes only. In all
these cases the matching will require that individualised data is used in the
processing operation, but that data will not be processed in such a way that it
supports measures or decisions relating to particular
individuals or identifies individuals in any results. This data sharing will
be approved and controlled by the Department’s Chief Statistician.
The DfES may
also disclose individual pupil information to independent researchers into the
educational achievements of pupils who have a legitimate need for it for their
research, but each case will be determined on its merits and subject to the
approval of the Department’s Chief Statistician.
Pupils, as data subjects,
have certain rights under the Data Protection Act, including a general right of
access to personal data held on them, with parents exercising this right on
their behalf if they are too young to do so themselves. If you wish to access
the personal data held about your child, then please contact the relevant
organisation in writing:
-
the school office
-
the LEA’s
Data Protection Officer at The County Office,
-
the QCA’s
Data Protection Officer at QCA, 83 Piccadilly,
-
Ofsted’s
Data Protection Officer at Alexandra House, 33 Kingsway,
-
LSC’s Data Protection
Officer at Cheylesmore House,
-
the DfES’s
Data Protection Officer at DfES, Caxton House,
In order to fulfil their
responsibilities under the Act the organisation may, before responding to this
request, seek proof of the requestor’s identity and any further
information required to locate the information requested.
Separately from the Data
Protection Act, regulations provide a pupil’s parent (regardless of the
age of the pupil) with the right to view, or to have a copy of, their
child’s educational record at the school. If you wish to exercise this
right you should write to the school.