Privacy Policy

Oatlands School Privacy Notice - How we use pupil information

Under data protection law, individuals have a right to be informed about how the school uses any personal data that we collect and hold about them. We comply with this right by providing a 'privacy notice'. This privacy notice explains how we collect, store and use personal data about our pupils.

Why do we collect and use pupil information?

We collect and use pupil information only when data prtection law allows us to.  Most commonly, we process it as set out in Article 6 of the GDPR (from 25th May 2018 where: 

  • We have obtained clear consent to use the information in a certain way
  • We have to comply with a legal obligation
  • We need to perform an official task in the public interest

We will also process special category data as set out in Article 9 of the GDPR where we have obtained explicit consent.

We use the pupil data:

  • to support pupil learning
  • to monitor and report on pupil progress
  • to provide appropriate pastoral care
  • to assess the quality of our services
  • to comply with the law regarding data sharing

The categories of pupil information that we collect, hold and share include but this is not restricted to:

  • Personal information, such as name, unique pupil number and address
  • Characteristics, such as ethnicity, language, nationality and free school meal eligibilty
  • Attendance information, such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons
  • Assessment information
  • Behavioural/exclusion information
  • Relevant medical information
  • Special educational needs information
  • Safeguarding information
  • Photographs

Collecting pupil information

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

Storing pupil data

We hold pupil data while they are attending our school. We may also keep it beyond their attendance at our school if this is necessary in order to comply with our legal obligations.  Please refer to the Information and Records Management Society's toolkit for schools for further information.

Who do we share pupil information with?

We routinely share pupil information with:

  • schools that the pupils attend after leaving us
  • our local authority
  • the Department for Education (DfE)
  • the pupil's family and representatives
  • our regulator (Ofsted)
  • service providers; to enable them to provide the service we have contracted them for
  • health authorities eg the school nurses
  • health and social welfare organisations

Why we 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.

We share pupils’ 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 pupils with our local authority (LA) and the Department for Education (DfE) under section 3 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.

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. 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 pupils 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 NPD. The law that allows this is the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.

To find out more about the pupil 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 pupils 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 or 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: and
  • 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

Requesting access to your personal data

Under data protection legislation, parents and pupils have the right to request access to information the school holds about them. To make a request for your personal information, or be given access to your child’s educational record, contact the school's Data Protection Officer on info@oatlands.surrey.sch.uk

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
  • 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 at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

Complaints

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 concren about our data processing, please raise this with us in the first instance.

To make a complaint, please contact our Data Protection Officer on info@oatlands.surrey.sch.uk

Contact:

If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact us at info@oatlands.surrey.sch.uk