Privacy Notice for Parents/Carers – Pupil Information

Under data protection law, individuals have a right to be informed about how the 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 pupils.

We, St. George and St. Martin Catholic Academy, Boulton Street, Birches Head, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 2NQ, are the ‘data controller’ for the purposes of data protection law.

Personal data that we may collect, use, store and share (when appropriate) about pupils includes, but is not restricted to:

• Contact details, contact preferences, date of birth, identification documents
• Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility)
• Attendance & exclusion information
• Assessment information
• Medical information
• Special Education Needs information
• Behavioural information
• Safeguarding information
• Photographs & CCTV images captured in school

Why we collect & use this information

We use the pupil data:

• To support pupil learning
• To monitor and report on pupil progress
• To provide appropriate pastoral care
• To assess the quality of our services
• To administer admissions waiting lists
• To comply with the law regarding data sharing

The lawful basis for using this data

We only collect and use pupils’ personal data when the law allows us to.  Most commonly, we process it where:

• We need to comply with a legal obligation
• We need it to perform an official task in the public interest

Less commonly, we may also process pupils’ personal data in situation where:

• We have obtained consent to use it in a certain way
• We need to protect the individual’s vital interests (or someone else’s interests)

Where we have obtained consent to use pupils’ personal data, this consent can be withdrawn at any time.  We will make this clear when we ask for consent, and explain how consent can be withdrawn.

Collecting this information

While the majority of information we collect about pupils is mandatory, there is some information that can be provided voluntarily.

Whenever we seek to collect information from you or your child, we make it clear whether providing it is mandatory or optional.

How we store this data

We keep personal information about pupils 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.  We hold data for up to 25 years.  For further information regarding record keeping please refer to Information and Records Management Society’s toolkit for schools -

Data sharing

We do not share information about pupils with any third party without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.

Where it is legally required, or necessary (and it complies with data protection law) we may share personal information about pupils with:

• Our local authority – to meet our legal obligations to share certain information with it, such as safeguarding concerns and exclusions
• The Department for Education
• The pupil’s family and representatives
• Educators and examining bodies
• Ofsted
• Suppliers and service providers – to enable them to provide the service we have contracted them for
• Financial organisations
• Central and local government
• Our auditors
• Health authorities
• Health and social welfare organisations
• Professional advisers and consultants
• Police forces, courts, tribunals
• Professional bodies

National Pupil Database

We are required to provide information about pupils to the Department for Education as part of statutory data collections such as the school census.

Some of this information is then stored in the National Pupil Database (NPD), which is owned and managed by the Department and provides evidence on school performance to inform research.

The database is held electronically so it can easily be turned into statistics.  The information is securely collected from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and exam boards.

The Department for Education may share information from the NPD with other organisations which promote children’s education or wellbeing in England. Such organisations must agree to strict terms and conditions about how they will use the data.

You can also contact the Department for Education with any further questions about the NPD.

Parents and pupils’ rights regarding personal data

Individuals have a right to make a ‘subject access request’ to gain access to personal information that the school holds about them.

Parents/carers can make a request with respect to their child’s data where the child is not considered mature enough to understand their rights over their own data (usually under the age of 12), or where the child has provided consent.

If you make a subject access request, and if we do hold information about you or your child, we will:

• Give you a description of it
• Tell you why we are holding and processing it, and how long we will keep it for
• Explain where we got it from, if not from you or your child
• Tell you who it has been, or will be, shared with
• Let you know whether any automated decision-making is being applied to the data, and any consequences of this
• Give you a copy of the information in an intelligible form

Individuals also have the right for their personal information to be transmitted electronically to another organisation in certain circumstances.

If you would like to make a request please contact Mrs. J. Bedson (Academy Manager).

Contact us

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about anything mentioned in this privacy notice, please contact Mrs. J. Bedson via sgsmcp@sgsmnewman.co.uk or 01782 234384