Privacy Notice - SEN and Safeguarding
How we use looked after children’s and safeguarding information
We collect your information to
- Support these children and monitor their progress
- Provide them with pastoral care
- Assess the quality of our services
- Evaluate and improve our policies on children’s social care
- Monitor welfare and progress of LAC pupils
- To safeguard our students
- Personal information such as;
- Data of birth, address, contact information
- Special categories of information such as;
- Notes of concern, attendance data, information relating to a child in need (such as referral information, assessment information, Section 47 information, Initial Child Protection information and Child Protection Plan information, outcomes for looked after children (such as whether health and dental assessments are up to date, strengths and difficulties questionnaire scores and offending), adoptions (such as dates of key court orders and decisions), care leavers (such as their activity and what type of accommodation they have), Education Health Care Plans.
The lawful basis on which we use this information
Legal obligation
We are required to process pupil data when undertaking our legal obligations and to comply with our statutory functions. We are either legally required to have this information or alternatively we process the information via our legal obligation as there is a high risk to our pupils.
We follow statutory guidance on;
- Keeping children safe in education 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2
- Working together to safeguard children 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
Whilst the majority of looked after children and safeguarding information we process is mandatory, some of it may be provided to us on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with the data protection legislation, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain information to us or if you have a choice in this.
This information is obtained by the school from both the admissions forms, the relevant local authorities and safeguarding leads and relevant notes of concern.
The information will be handled internally by the safeguarding leads, LAC Designated Teacher, pastoral staff and the Headteacher.
Storing this information
We hold data securely for the set amount of time shown in our data retention schedule, which is available on the school website.
Who we share this information with
We routinely share this information with:
- the Department for Education (DfE)
- the local authority (Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council)
- other local authorities where necessary
- other schools or education settings
- Health specialists including the school nurse, safeguarding and Looked After Children nurse
- The NHS and services supporting pupil needs
Why we share this information
We share children in need and looked after children data with the Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and other placing Authorities. This is for the purpose of the children accessing the correct services and support, for example, Children’s Social Care, Special Educational Needs support services and School Health. This information is shared in line with our statutory duties.
We do not share information about our children in need or looked after children with anyone without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.
Department for Education (DfE) - We share children in need and looked after children data with the Department on a statutory basis, under Section 83 of 1989 Children’s Act, Section 7 of the Young People’s Act 2008 and also under section 3 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
This data sharing helps to develop national policies, manage local authority performance, administer and allocate funding and identify and encourage good practice.
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.
The National Pupil Database (NPD)
The NPD is owned and managed by the Department for Education and contains information about children in England. It provides invaluable information on the background and circumstances on a child’s journey and 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 children to the DfE as part of statutory data collections. Some of this information is then stored in the national pupil database (NPD). The law that allows this is the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
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 dataUnder 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, please contact Mrs Newson via the school office to make a request or alternatively you can view our Data Subject Rights Policy via the school website.
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
ContactIf you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact:
Mrs E Newson
Banks Lane Infant & Nursery School
Hempshaw Lane
Offerton
SK1 4PR