The learning and achievement service process personal information in order to facilitate different statutory and additional tasks relating to schools and learning either directly or jointly with partners and commissioned private and third sector providers. This includes:

• Behaviour and Attendance Services
• careers advice and guidance
• children in employment and entertainment
• conferences
• CPD online
• Early Years and Childcare Services for professionals
• Early Years Inclusion Team
• Educational Psychology Services
• exclusion from school
• free school meals
• Governor Services
• Gypsy Roma traveller education
• home education
• Newly Qualified Teacher Services
• not in training, education or employment
• Nursery Education funding
• school admissions
• school notes of visits/project board notes
• school organisation and provision
• SEND School provision and education health care plans
• Specialist Teaching Teams
• statutory assessment
• training
• virtual school
• Worcestershire school’s forum

The service processes personal information which is relevant to individual cases which may include, but is not limited to, the following personal data:

• attainment data
• attendance patterns
• communication and language preferences
• contact information – e.g. telephone numbers/email address
• details of police involvement
• education setting details
• employment details
• financial details
• gender
• health reports/diagnostic and clinical assessment information
• lifestyle and social circumstances
• maladministration investigations
• National Insurance number or NASS number
• opinions and decisions
• personal details – e.g. name/age/address/and family details
• personal reference numbers
• records of complaints
• records of moderation and monitoring visit outcomes
• safeguarding reports
• visual images, personal appearance and behaviour

We may also process some special category (sensitive) information, which is relevant to individual cases but may include some but is not limited to:

• biometric information
• offences (including alleged offences), criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences
• physical or mental health details
• racial or ethnic origin
• religious or other beliefs
• special educational needs and disabilities

The legal bases for processing this personal information are:

• necessary for a public task
• necessary for compliance with a legal obligation e.g.
  •  Education and Skills Act 2008
  •  The Children and Families Act 2014
  •  The Education Act 2002
  •  The Education and Inspections Act 2006
  •  The Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998
• necessary for a contract for the supply of services
• necessary to protect the vital interests of the individual or another individual
• consent of the individual or their legal representative

The conditions for processing special category personal data are:

• necessary for substantial public interest (statutory etc and government purposes)
• necessary for purposes of the provision of health or social care or the treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services
• necessary for the establishments, exercise or defence of legal claims
• necessary to protect the vital interests of the individual or another individual
• made public by the data subject
• explicit consent of the individual or their legal representative

We may need to share the personal information you have given to us or we’ve collected about you with partner organisations where relevant to the individual and/or their care provision. These include but are not limited to:

• academies and academy trusts
• Capita
• Department for Education
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Education and Skills Funding Agency
• Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
• Office of the Schools Adjudicator
• other local authorities
• other local authority schools
• Regional Schools Commissioner
• Standards and Testing Agency
• Worcestershire County Council
• Worcestershire Early Years Settings
• Worcestershire Health Services
• Worcestershire Schools

Information will only ever be shared when it is strictly necessary to help us provide effective services and you may have the right to refuse. We will not pass it onto any other parties unless required to do so by law or in all reasonable circumstances the disclosure is fair and warranted for the purposes of processing or subject to a data protection exemption.

We have specific data sharing agreements in place with local agencies and sometimes the law requires that we may have to pass your details on to a third party, for example, to prevent crime.

Automated Decisions

Applications for free school meals will be processed using an automated decision making tool. Manual checks can also be requested if and when necessary.

Applications for school admissions will be processed using an automated decision making tool. Prior to the automated decision makings, manual checks and data validation are completed on all of the information collated to ensure accuracy when the decision making automated process is completed.

• child performance/exemption licences, chaperone licences and child work permits are held for 3 years
• free school meal data is held for the eligible period plus 4 years; unsuccessful applications are held for 1 month
• Governor information is held for 3 years from the end of post
• NQT information is held for 6 years
• safeguarding records (in line with Social Care teams)
• school admissions data is held for 7 years
• school notes of visits and project board notes are held for 3 years
• SEND assessment information for date of birth plus 30 years
• statutory moderation and monitoring records for EYFS, Phonics, KS1 and KS2 are kept for 4 years

There are a range of other retention periods affecting different types of information and service. More information about retention periods can be found in the summary Disposal Schedule (Excel file).

Please note stated retention periods may be subject to any legal holds imposed under the Inquiries Act 2005 that may concern the information and override standard retention periods.

You are entitled to a copy, or a description, of the personal data we hold that relates to you, subject to lawful restrictions.  Please go to our Make a Data Protection Request page to find out how to make a request.

You may be entitled to rectification, restriction, objection, and erasure of your personal information depending on the service and legal basis. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your data please email Schoolservices@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk.

Please also see the Worcestershire County Council overarching Privacy Notice.

We keep this Privacy Notice under regular review and we will place any updates on this web page. This Notice was last updated on 1 June 2020.