Schools Privacy Notices

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, schools are known as Data Controllers. They collect, receive and hold personal data about their pupils and their school workforce.

Under the Act, the information held by schools about their pupils and their workforce must only be used for specific purposes. Schools are required to write to parents/pupils and their workforce to tell them about the types of data held, why it is held and to whom it may be passed. This is referred to as a 'Privacy Notice'. Privacy Notices for pupils and the school workforce can be accessed on the right-hand side of this page.

The Data Protection Act imposes obligations on those responsible for processing personal data. It gives individuals rights to access their personal information, with parents exercising this right on behalf of their children if the children are too young to do so themselves.

For further information relating to Privacy Notices and the Data Protection Act 1998 generally please visit the Information Commissioners website (opens in a new window).

Schools are required by law to pass certain pupil and school workforce information to the Local Authority (LA) and to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

Personal Data : Pupils

The personal data held by a school about its pupils is used to support pupils' teaching and learning, to monitor and report on pupils' progress, to provide appropriate pastoral care and to assess how well the school is doing.

The information held includes pupils' contact details, national curriculum assessment results, attendance information (for pupils aged 5 and over at maintained schools), characteristics such as ethnic group, special educational needs and any relevant medical information.

From January 2009, schools are legally required to supply basic information to ContactPoint. ContactPoint is an online directory which will help people who work with children to quickly find out who else is working with the same child, making it easier to deliver more coordinated support. The basic information which needs to be supplied only includes the name and address of the child, contact details for their parents or carers (with parental responsibility) and the contact details of the school. Parents are invited to check and update the information held about themselves by getting in touch with the school.

The Local Authority uses information about children for whom it provides services, to enable it 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 assess the performance of schools and set targets for them. The statistics are used in such a way that individual children cannot be identified from them. The LA is also required to maintain the accuracy of the information held on ContactPoint about children and young people in their area.

Under Section 11 of the Childcare Act 2006, the Local Authority has a statutory duty to assess, every three years, the demand for childcare places against the supply of places in order to identify and address gaps in the market.  This process involves parental consultation and the Local Authority will use address information to randomly stratify a sample of parents.

For pupils aged 13 years and over, schools are legally required to pass on certain information to Connexions Services Providers on request (the Local Authority makes a return on behalf of all its schools). Connexions is the government's information and advice service for all young people aged 13 to 19 in England. 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 and address (for pupil and parent) 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 Connexions to receive from the school information beyond name, address and date of birth then please contact the school.

The Primary Care Trust (PCT)uses 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 PCTs to maintain details of pupils' names for this purpose for a period designated by the Department of Health following the weighing and measuring process. PCTs may also provide individual schools and LAs with aggregate information on pupils' height and weight.

For information regarding what the DCSF does with pupils' data, please see TeacherNet - What the DCSF does with pupils' and children's data (opens in a new window).

If pupils wish to access the personal data held on them (or their parents are to do so on their behalf), the relevant organisation should be contacted. Some postal addresses of relevant organisations are provided below with links to websites given on the right-hand side of this page. Further links are provided to websites of relevant organisations by accessing the above DCSF document.

Dorset County Council Data Protection Officer, Records Management, Dorset County Council, Colliton Park, DORCHESTER, Dorset, DT1 1XJ

ContactPoint (Dorset LA), ContactPoint Manager, Planning and Performance Team, Children's Services, Dorset County Council, Colliton Park, DORCHESTER, Dorset, DT1 1XJ

Trust Records Manager, Dorset PCT, Forston Clinic, Near Charminster, DORCHESTER, Dorset, DT2 9TB

Personal Data : School Workforce

The personal data held by a school about those employed or otherwise engaged to work at the school is used to assist in the smooth running of the school and/or to enable individuals to be paid.

The information held includes some or all of the following: identifiers such as name, National Insurance Number; characteristics such as ethnic group; employment contract and remuneration details; post 'A' Level qualifications; absence information.

The Local Authority will use information about its school workforce for research and statistical purposes, and to evaluate and develop education policy and strategies. The statistics are used in such a way that individual staff cannot be identified from them. The LA may also use information to support and monitor schools regarding sickness and recruitment of staff.

For information regarding what the DCSF does with school workforce data, please see TeacherNet - What the DCSF does with school workforce data (opens in a new window)

If members of the school workforce wish to access the personal data held on them, they should contact their employer in the first instance or the relevant organisation. Links are provided to websites of relevant organisations by accessing the DCSF document TeacherNet - What the DCSF does with school workforce data (opens in a new window)