How we use student information

The purpose of this privacy notice is to give students, parents and carers an insight on how information about students is used at the Community College Bishops Castle.

Why do we collect and use student information?

We collect and use student information under the Education Act 1996.  The UK general data protection regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) was implemented on 25th May 2018 including Article 5 ‘lawfulness of processing’ and Article 9 ‘Processing of special categories of personal data’. In addition the EU GDPR has been incorporated into UK legislation Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

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.

Collecting student information

Whilst the majority of student information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is provided to us on a voluntary basis.  In order to comply with the UK GDPR, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain student information to us or if you have a choice in this.

We use student data to:

  • support student learning
  • provide appropriate pastoral care
  • monitor, track and report on student progress
  • assess the quality of our services
  • comply with the law regarding data sharing
  • to monitor and improve attendance
  • to monitor and support behaviour strategies
  • to keep students safe (food allergies or emergency contact details)
  • to meet the statutory duties placed upon us by the Department for Education (DfE)

The categories of student information that we collect, hold and share include:

  • personal information (such as name, unique pupil number, date of birth and address)
  • characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility)
  • any relevant medical information
  • special educational needs information
  • attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons)
  • exclusions and behavioural information
  • assessment information (such as progress scores, examination results)
  • post 16 learning information
  • photos and videos
  • safeguarding information (such as court orders and professional involvement).
  • trips and activities

Storing student data

We hold student data for 6 years following a student’s last entry which would be when they reach 25 years or 35 years if they are considered to be of special educational need.

Who do we share student information with?

We routinely share student information with:

  • the Department of Education (DfE)
  • our local authority
  • schools that the student’s attend after leaving us
  • school nurse
  • transport – Private bus emergency contact list for the emergency services
  • examination boards
  • learning software such as SIMs, CPOMS, WONDE, Go4Schools, Seneca, GL Assessment, Telford and Wrekin IDT, Blue Runner Solutions, Know it all ninja, School Cloud, MLS-Eclipse, Parentpay, Unifrog, Medical tracker

On occasions we may share information with the following when it is deemed necessary:

  • Police
  • Safeguarding team or social workers when we have concerns relating to child protection
  • Outside agencies including BeeU (previously CAMHS), targeted youth support, Enhance, counsellors only with specific parental consent, to access support for the student or their family.

Why we 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 students’ data with the 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.

It may sometimes be necessary to transfer personal information outside of the UK. Any transfers of data will be made in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

What is different about students aged 13+?

Once our students reach the age of 13, we also pass student information to our local authority 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 the local authority to provide:

  • youth support services
  • careers advisors

A parent/guardian 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 child/student once he/she reaches the age of 16.

 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 Mrs G L Medlicott medlicott.g@ccbcshropshire.com

You also have the right to:

  • prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
  • in certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed
  • object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress
  • object to decisions being taken by automated means
  • claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Data Protection regulations.

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance or directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

Contact:

If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact Mrs G L Medlicott medlicott.g@ccbcshropshire.com

The National Pupil Database (NPD)

The NPD is owned and managed by the DfE 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, to provide information about our students to the DfE as part of statutory data collections such as the school census and early years’ census.  Some of this information is then stored in the NPS.  The law that allows this is the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.

To find out more about the student information we share with the department, for the purpose of data collections, go to https://www.gov.uk/education/data-collection-and-censuses-for-schools

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

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

  • conducting research or analysis
  • producing statistics
  • providing information, advice and guidance

The department has robust processes in place to ensure the confidentiality of our data is maintained and there are stringent controls in place regarding access and use of the data.  Decisions on whether DfE releases data to third parties are subject to a strict approval process and 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
  • the arrangements in place to store and handle the data

To be granted access to pupil 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.

For more information about the department’s data sharing process, please visit:

https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data

For information about which organisations the department has provided pupil information, (and for which project), please visit the following website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-requests-received

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

This version was last updated on 20th September 2024.