Under data protection law, individuals have a right to be informed about how each school uses any personal data that we hold about them. We comply with this right by providing ‘privacy notices’ (sometimes called ‘fair processing notices’) to individuals where we are processing their personal data. This privacy notice explains how we collect, store and use personal data about Students. It is based on the Department for Education’s model privacy notice for Students amended to reflect the way we use data in our schools.
We, Bentley Wood Trust, are the ‘data controller’ for the purposes of data protection law. Our Data Protection Officers are Dr Janice Howkins (Aylward Primary), Craig Stilwell (Bentley Wood) (see ‘Contact us’ below).
The categories of student information we process include: Personal data that we may collect, use, store and share (when appropriate) about Students includes, but is not restricted to:
We may also hold data about Students that we have received from other organisations, including other schools, local authorities and the Department for Education.
This list is not exhaustive, to access the current list of categories of information we process please see each individual schools’ website for current privacy notices.
Why we collect and use student information:
We use this data to:
Our legal basis for using this data
We only collect and use Students’ personal data when the law allows us to. Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing student information are:
for the purposes of (1), (2), (3), (4), (7), (8) and (9) in accordance with the legal basis of Public task: collecting the data is necessary to perform tasks that schools are required to perform as part of their statutory function
In addition, concerning any special category data:
Less commonly, we may also process Students’ personal data in situations where:
Where we have obtained consent to use Students’ personal data, this consent can be withdrawn at any time. We will make this clear when we ask for consent, and explain how consent can be withdrawn.
Some of the reasons listed above for collecting and using Students’ personal data overlap, and there may be several grounds which justify our use of this data.
How we collect student information We obtain student information via registration forms at the start of each academic year. In addition, when a child joins us from another school we are sent a secure file containing relevant information. Student data is essential for the schools’ operational use. 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 GDPR we will inform you at the point of collection, whether you are required to provide certain student information to us or if you have a choice in this.
How we store student data We keep personal information about Students 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 see our School Records Management Policy, available from each school’s website, which sets out how long we keep information about students.
Who we share student information with Where it is legally required, or necessary (and it complies with data protection law) we routinely share personal information about students with:
Why we regularly share student information We do not share information about students with any third party without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.
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 enables them to provide services as follows:
The information shared is limited to the child’s name, address and date of birth. However, where a parent or guardian provides their consent, other information relevant to the provision of youth support services will be shared. This right is transferred to the child / student once he/she reaches the age 16.
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.
Data is securely transferred to the youth support service via a secure file transferring system and is stored within local authority software.
For more information about services for young people, please visit our local authority (Harrow) website http://www.harrow.gov.uk/
Department for Education We are required to share information about our students with the Department for Education (DfE) either directly or via our local authority for the purpose of data collections, under:
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.
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, please contact the Headteacher.
Other rights Under data protection legislation, parents and students have certain rights regarding how their personal data is used and kept safe, including the right to:
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/
Contact us
If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about anything mentioned in this privacy notice, please contact our Data Protection Officer:
How Government uses your data
The student data that we lawfully share with the DfE through data collections:
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.
To find out more about the NPD, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guide-and-supporting-information
Sharing by the Department The law allows the Department to share students’ personal data with certain third parties, including:
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
Organisations fighting or identifying crime may use their legal powers to contact DfE to request access to individual level information relevant to detecting that crime. Whilst numbers fluctuate slightly over time, DfE typically supplies data on around 600 students per year to the Home Office and roughly 1 per year to the Police.
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
To contact DfE: https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe
