We collect and hold personal information relating to our students and may also receive information about them from their previous school. The Trust uses and processes student information within the remit of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation), referred to throughout this statement as the GDPR.

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

• Personal information (such as name, unique pupil number and address);
• Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility);
• Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons);
• Assessment information (such as internal tests, student progress information and examination results);
• Medical information (such as allergies, medication a student may require and medical incidents that have occurred inside or outside of school that may affect learning);
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities information (such as specific learning difficulties, specific medical needs and previous learning or medical needs);
• Behavioural information (such as rewards, achievements, incident slips and exclusions);
• Post-16 information (such as destinations data, UCAS applications and grants).
• Some financial information (bank details) for bursary claimants.

We also process special categories of personal data that may include:

• physical or mental health needs;
• racial or ethnic origin;
• religious or other beliefs of a similar nature.

Why we collect and use this information

We use the student data:

• to support student learning;
• to monitor and report on student progress;
• to provide appropriate care and guidance;
• to assess the quality of our services;
• to comply with the law regarding data sharing;
• to make certain payments to eligible students.

The lawful basis on which we use this information

We collect and use student information under Article 6 and Article 9 of the GDPR. This enables the Trust to process information such as assessments, Special Educational Needs requests, Departmental Censuses under the Education Act 1996 and the Education Act 2005, examination results and other such data processes that relate educational data to the individual within the requirements of the Trust to provide education for the individual.

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 General Data Protection Regulation, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain student information to us or if you have a choice in this.

How do we collect your personal data?

Information may be collected in many different ways but predominantly as set out below:

Face to Face

If you attend our school we may collect your personal data.

Telephone calls

Recordings may be used as evidence of the call and for our staff training, monitoring for abusive and quality purposes.

Emails

If you email us we may keep a record of your email address and the email as evidence of the contact. We are unable to guarantee the security of any email initiated by you and we recommend that you keep the amount of confidential information you send to us via email to a minimum.

CCTV

We have installed CCTV systems on our premises for the purposes of public, student and staff safety and crime prevention and detection. Signs are displayed notifying you that CCTV is in operation.

We will only disclose CCTV images to others who intend to use the images for the purposes stated above. CCTV images will not be released to the media for entertainment purposes or placed on the internet.

Images captured by CCTV will not be kept for longer than necessary.

Storing student data

We hold student data in line with our Data Retention Guidelines.

Who we share student information with

We routinely share student information with:

• schools and other educational environments that the students attend after leaving us;
• our Local Authority (LA);
• the Department for Education (DfE);
• the Police and Law Enforcement;
• the School Nursing Team;
• our Careers Advisory Service;
• GL Assessment;
• Examination Boards.

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.

Data collection requirements

To find out more about the data collection requirements placed on us by the DfE (for example; via the school census) go to https://www.gov.uk/education/data-collection-and-censuses-for-schools.

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:

• youth support services;
• careers advisers.

A parent or carer 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 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.

This enables them to provide services as follows:

• post-16 education and training providers;
• youth support services;
• careers advisers.

For more information about services for young people, please visit your local authority website.

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. 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 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 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 student 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 student 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

Learning Records Service (LRS)

The information you supply is used by the Learning Records Service (LRS). The LRS issues Unique Learner Numbers (ULN) and creates Personal Learning records across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is operated by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE).For more information about how your information is processed, and to access your Personal Learning Record, please refer to: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lrs-privacy-notices

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 the Trusts Data Protection Officer (DPO) dpo@robertcarretrust.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, we request that you raise your concern with us in the first instance. Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office

Contact

If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact the Trusts Data Protection Officer (DPO) dpo@robertcarretrust.uk