DATA PROTECTION ACT

Schools, Local Authorities (LAs), the Department for Children, Schools and Families  (DCSF), the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), Ofsted, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and organisations that require access to data in the Learner Registration Scheme as part of the MIAP (Managing Information Across Partners) Programme all process information disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes">  We are therefore writing to tell you about the types of data held, why that data is held, and to whom it may be passed on.

The school holds information disabledscript="on">North Yorkshire. LS25 6DB

The Local Authority (LA), North Yorkshire County Council, 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 disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes">  Data will be shared with other local authorities where necessary to assist them to fulfil their duties, e.g. to ensure that children are not missing education.

Further information is available disabledscript="on">DL7 8AL

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) uses information about pupils to administer the national curriculum assessments portfolio throughout Key Stages 1 to 3.  This includes both assessments required by statute and those that are optional.  The results of these are passed disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

Further information is available via www.qca.org.uk or from

Data Protection Officer, QCA, 83 Piccadilly, LONDON, W1J 8QA;

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. 

Ofsted includes the Adult Learning Inspectorate  which  reports, both to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, and the public, disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes">  The ALI is responsible for inspecting all publicly funded work-based training for people over 16 and learning for post-19s.

ALI inspectors are also responsible for inspecting learning in prisons, all adult and community education, area inspections of provision for 16-19 year olds in support of OfSTED, and e-learning via learn direct provided disabledscript="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">

Further information is available via www.ofsted.gov.uk or from

Data Protection Officer, Alexandra House, 33 Kingsway, London WC2B 6SE;

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) uses information about pupils for statistical purposes, to evaluate and develop education policy and  monitor the performance of the education service as a whole.  The statistics (including those based disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

Further information is available via www.lsc.gov.uk or from

Data Protection Officer, Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry, Warwickshire CV1 2WT

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 disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes">  Where appropriate, PCTs will receive from schools information on individual pupils changing school (or address) and use it to ensure continuity of health care.

Further information is available via

http://www.nhs.uk/England/AuthoritiesTrusts/Pct/Default.aspx or www.nyypct.nhs.uk or from North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust  Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) offices at Harrogate, Northallerton, Malton or York. The respective postal addresses are

§         FREEPOST RRJA-TUUB-XCSC, North Yorkshire and York PCT, The Hamlet, Hornbeam Park, Harrogate, HG2 8RE

§         PALS Officer, Hambleton and Richmondshire PALS, Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, DL6 1JG

§         PALS, Freepost, Swinton Grange, Malton, YO17 6QR

§         PALS, Freepost, NEA 13107, York, YO31 7ZX

The Department of Health (DH) 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 DH will base performance management discussions with Strategic Health Authorities disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

Further information is available via

www.dh.gov.uk or from

Data Protection Officer at Skipton House, 80 London Road, London, SE1 6LH.

The Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) 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.  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 Children Act 2004 provides for the Secretary of State to issue Regulations requiring the “governing body of a maintained school in England” to disclose information for inclusion disabledscript="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB">

·       help practitioners working with children quickly identify a child with whom they have contact;

·       determine whether that child is getting the universal services (education, primary health care) to which he or she is entitled;  

·       enable earlier identification of needs and earlier, more effective action to address these needs by providing a tool to help practitioners identify which other practitioners are involved with a particular child;  and

·       encourage better communication and closer working between practitioners.

ContactPoint will hold for each child or young person in England (up to their 18^th birthday):

·       basic identifying information:  name, address, gender, date of birth and an identifying number;

·       name and contact details for a child’s parent or carer;

·       contact details for services involved with a child:  as a minimum educational setting (e.g. school) and primary medical practitioner (e.g. GP Practice) but also other services where appropriate;  and

·       the facility to indicate if a practitioner is a lead professional for a child and/or if an assessment under the Common Assessment Framework has been completed.

ContactPoint will NOT contain any case information (such as case notes, assessments, attendance, exam results, medical records or subjective observations).

Access will be strictly limited to those who need it to do their job.  All authorised users must have undergone relevant mandatory training, have security clearance and have a user name, a password, a PIN and a security token to access ContactPoint.  To ensure high standards of accuracy, information on ContactPoint will be drawn from a number of existing systems, including the termly School Census from which pupils’ home address will be collected.

For further information go to <www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/contactpoint>

The DCSF 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 disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

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 DCSF 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 disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes">  This data sharing will be approved and controlled by the DCSF’s Chief Statistician.

The DCSF 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.

The Fair Processing Notice has been prepared at a time of change with the restructuring of the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Trade and Industry into three new Departments:  the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulator Reform (DBERR).  It may be that, [during the period covered by this FPN], steps will be taken to enable the DCSF to match individual pupil information with higher and further education attainment data held by the DIUS.

Further information is available via www.dcsf.gov.uk or from

Data Protection Officer, DCSF, Caxton House, Tothill Street, LONDON, SW1H 9NA:

Pupils, as data subjects, have certain rights under the Data Protection Act, including a general right of access to personal data held disabledscript="mso-spacerun: yes">  If you wish to access the personal data held about your child, then please contact the relevant organisation in writing.

In order to fulfil their responsibilities under the Act the organisation may, before responding to this request, seek proof of the requestor’s identity and any further information required to locate the personal data requested.

Separately from the Data Protection Act, regulations provide a pupil’s parent (regardless of the age of the pupil) with the right to view, or to have a copy of, their child’s educational record at the school.  If you wish to exercise this right you should write to the school.