Data Protection Privacy Notices
Organisations that use pupil data have to comply with the Data
Protection Act 1998. This means that the data held about pupils
must only be used for specific purposes allowed by law. We are
therefore telling you about the types of data held, why that data
is held, and to whom it may be passed on.
A number of organisations require access to data in the Learner
Registration Scheme in order to run their education system and
process information on pupils.
These include:
- Schools
- Local Authorities (LAs)
- Department for Education (DfE)
- Ofsted
- Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA)
The Department of Health (DoH) and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs)
process information on pupils in order to tackle the year on year
rise in obesity among children.
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
- public examination results
- attendance information
- characteristics (such as ethnic group)
- special educational needs
- any relevant medical information
From time to time schools are required to pass on some of this
data to
LA
s, the
DfE
and to agencies that are
prescribed by law, such as Ofsted,
YPLA
,
DoH
and
PCT
s.
Local Authority
The Local Authority uses information about children for
whom it provides services to carry out specific functions for which
it is responsible, such as the assessment of any special
educational needs the child may have. It also uses the information
to derive statistics to inform decisions on (for example) the
funding of schools, and to support teaching and learning. The
statistics are used in such a way that individual children cannot
be identified from them. The LA have a duty under the Childrens Act
2004 to co-operate with their partners in health and youth justice
to improve the well being of children in their areas
Contact:
Information Protection and Assurance
Email: foi@rochdale.gov.uk
Department for Education (DfE)
The Department for Education 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. This includes the Key Stage
assessments for pupils in primary and secondary schools. They will
feed back to LAs 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 DfE will also provide Ofsted with pupil 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 LAs and learning institutions to support their day to day
business. The DfE 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 DfE Chief
Statistician.
The DfE 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.
Contact:
Data and Statistics
Division (DSD) Helpdesk
1st Floor Mowden Hall, Staindrop Road, Darlington DL3 9BG
Tel: 01325 392626
Email: dsd.helpdesk@education.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.education.gov.uk/
Pupils under 12 years old as data subjects have 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, please contact the relevant organisation in
writing.
Pupils over 12 years old as data subjects, have certain rights
under the Data Propection Act, including a general right of
access to personal data held on them. If you wish to access
your personal data, or you wish your parents to do so on
your behalf, then please contact the relevant organisation in
writing.
Providing information to Connexions services providers and the
right to opt out
Connexions is the government's support service for all young
people aged 13 to 19 in England. It also provides support up to the
age of 25 for young people who have learning difficulties or
disabilities (or both).
For pupils of 13 years and over (and normally in Year 8), the
school is legally required to pass on certain information to
Connexions services providers on request. This information includes
the name and address of the pupil and parent, and any further
information relevant to the Connexions services’ role. However
parents, or the pupils themselves if aged 16 or over, can ask that
no information beyond name, address (for pupil and parent)and pupil
date of birth be passed on to Connexions. If as a parent, or
as a pupil aged 16 or over, you wish to opt-out and do not want
Connections to receive from the school information beyond name,
address and pupil date of birth, then please contact the
school.
The
LA
and
DfE
may supply to Connexions
services providers information which they have about children, but
will not pass on any information they have received from the school
if parents (or the children themselves if aged 16 or over) have
notified the school that Connexions should not receive information
beyond name, address and pupil date of birth.
Ofsted
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. Ofsted also uses information about the views of children
and young people, to inform children’s services inspections in
local authority areas. Inspection reports do not identify
individual pupils.
Contact:
Data Protection Officer, Alexandra House, 33 Kingsway, London WC2B
6SE
Learning Records Service (LRS)
The Learning Records Service provides a free service to
students, for all areas of secondary education and work based
learning. It works in conjunction with the Skills Funding Agency
which allocates learners a Unique Learner Number known as the
ULN
. The
ULN
is the key to a learner’s own
information and data which builds up to become a Personal Learning
Record, held on the Learning Records Service secure website.
Learners can view their Personal Learning Record when aged 16 and
over, using their
ULN
and a personal email address.
The Personal Learning Record stores details of formal school and
further educational learning, including apprenticeships; and it can
provide formal evidence when applying to study, seeking employment
or employment advice.
For students of 14 years and over, schools will pass on certain
identification information to the Schools Funding Agency to create
and maintain the Unique Learner Number. Achievement information,
such as GCSE’s, A levels and other academic or vocational
qualifications will be added to the Personal Learning Record.
The Skills Funding Agency shares (with the learner’s agreement)
the content of the Personal Learner Record with partner
institutions and organisations. Details of how an individual
may opt-out of sharing achievement data in their learner record
with those organisations can be foundon the Learning Records
Service website.
Contact:
Data Protection Officer, Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry,
Warwickshire CV1 2WT
Tel: 0845 602 2589 (customer helpdesk)
Primary Care Trust
Primary Care Trusts (PCT) use information about pupils for
research and statistical purposes, to monitor the performance of
local health services and to evaluate and develop them. The
statistics are used in such a way that individual pupils cannot be
identified from them. Information on the height and weight of
individual pupils may however be provided to the child and its
parents and this will require the
PCT
s to maintain details of pupils’
names for this purpose for a period designated by the Department of
Health following the weighing and measuring process.
PCT
s may also provide individual
schools and
LA
s with aggregate
information on pupils’ height and weight.
Contact:
Email: haveyoursay@hmrpct.nhs.uk
The Department of Health
The Department of Health (DoH) uses aggregate information (at
school year group level) about pupils' height and weight for
research and statistical purposes, to inform, influence and improve
health policy and to monitor the performance of the health service
as a whole. The
DoH
will
base performance management discussions with Strategic Health
Authorities on aggregate information about pupils attending schools
in the
PCT
areas to help
focus local resources and deliver the Public Service Agreement
target to halt the year on year rise in obesity among children
under 11 by 2010, in the context of a broader strategy to tackle
obesity in the population as a whole. The Department of Health will
also provide aggregate
PCT
level data to the Healthcare Commission for performance assessment
of the health service.
Contact:
Data Protection Officer, Skipton House, 80 London Road, London SE1
6LH
