Privacy Notice
WHO WE ARE
Framingham Earl High School is a member of the Sapientia Education Trust (SET); company number 07466353. The address of Framingham Earl High School is: Framingham Earl High School, Norwich Road, Norwich, NR14 7QP. This privacy notice also covers the use of the Framingham Earl Sports Centre which is a jointly operated activity with South Norfolk District Council.
Framingham Earl High School is the data controller for the purposes of the relevant legislation (“Data Protection Law”) for the control of all data that the school handles. This privacy notice is intended to provide information about how the school will manage and handle the data in its possession.
WHAT THIS POLICY IS FOR
This policy is intended to provide information about how the school will use (or "process") personal data about individuals including: its staff; its current, past and prospective students; and their parents, carers or guardians (referred to in this policy as "parents").
This information is provided in accordance with the rights of individuals under Data Protection Law to understand how their data is used. Staff, parents and students are all encouraged to read this Privacy Notice and understand the school’s obligations to its entire community.
This Privacy Notice applies alongside any other information the school may provide about a particular use of personal data, for example when collecting data via an online or paper form.
This Privacy Notice also applies in addition to the school’s other relevant terms and conditions and policies, including:
- any contract between the school and its staff or the parents of students;
- the school’s policy on taking, storing and using images of children;
- the school’s CCTV policy;
- the school’s retention of records policy;
- the school’s safeguarding, pastoral, or health and safety policies, including as to how concerns or incidents are recorded; and
- the school’s IT policies.
Anyone who works for, or acts on behalf of, the school (including staff, volunteers, governors and service providers) should also be aware of and comply with this Privacy Notice. Staff, volunteers and governors will also have to comply with the Trust’s data protection policy for staff, which also provides further information about how personal data about those individuals will be used.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR DATA PROTECTION
The Trust has appointed Schools Choice as our Data Protection Officer who deal with all issues concerning the school’s uses of your personal data (see section on Your Rights below) and endeavour to ensure that all personal data is processed in compliance with this notice and Data Protection Law:
Schools Choice - data.protection@schoolschoice.org 01473 260700
WHY THE SCHOOL NEEDS TO PROCESS PERSONAL DATA
In order to carry out its ordinary duties to staff, students and parents, the school may process a wide range of personal data about individuals (including current, past and prospective staff, students or parents) as part of its daily operation.
Some of this activity the school will need to carry out in order to fulfil its legal rights, duties or obligations – including those under a contract with its staff, or parents of its students.
Other uses of personal data will be made in accordance with the school’s legitimate interests, or the legitimate interests of another, provided that these are not outweighed by the impact on individuals, and provided it does not involve special or sensitive types of data.
The school expects that the following uses may fall within that category of its (or its community’s) “legitimate interests”:
- For the purposes of student admission (and to confirm the identity of prospective students and their parents in accordance with the Schools Admission Code);
- To provide education services, including musical education, physical training or spiritual development, career services, and extra-curricular activities to students, and monitoring students' progress and educational needs;
- Maintaining relationships with the school community, including direct marketing or fundraising activity;
- For the purposes of management planning and forecasting, research and statistical analysis, including that imposed or provided for by law (such as diversity or gender pay gap analysis and taxation records);
- To enable relevant authorities to monitor the school’s performance and to intervene or assist with incidents as appropriate;
- To give and receive information and references about past, current and prospective students to/from any educational institution that the student attended or where it is proposed they attend; and to provide references to potential employers of past students;
- To enable students to take part in national or other assessments, and to publish the results of public examinations or other achievements of students of the school;
- To safeguard students' welfare and provide appropriate pastoral care;
- To monitor (as appropriate) use of the school's IT and communications systems in accordance with the school’s IT acceptable use policy;
- To make use of photographic images of students in the school’s publications, on the school’s website and (where appropriate) on the school's social media channels in accordance with the school’s policy on taking, storing and using images of children;
- For security purposes, including CCTV in accordance with the school’s CCTV policy; and
- Where otherwise reasonably necessary for the school’s purposes, including to obtain appropriate professional advice and insurance for the school.
In addition, the school may need to process special category personal data (concerning health, ethnicity, religion or sexual life) or criminal records information (such as when carrying out DBS checks) in accordance with rights or duties imposed on it by law, including as regards safeguarding and employment, or from time to time by explicit consent where required. These reasons will include:
- To safeguard students' welfare and provide appropriate pastoral (and where necessary, medical) care, and to take appropriate action in the event of an emergency, incident or accident, including by disclosing details of an individual's medical condition where it is in the individual's interests to do so: for example for medical advice, for social protection, safeguarding and cooperation with the police or social services, for insurance purposes or to caterers or organisers of school trips who need to be made aware of dietary or medical needs;
- To provide educational services in the context of any special educational needs of a student;
- To provide spiritual education in the context of any religious beliefs;
- In connection with employment of its staff, for example DBS checks, welfare or pensions;
- As part of any school or external complaints, disciplinary or investigation process that involves such data, for example if there are SEN, health or safeguarding elements; or
- For legal and regulatory purposes (for example child protection, diversity monitoring and health and safety) and to comply with its legal obligations and duties of care.
TYPES OF PERSONAL DATA PROCESSED BY THE SCHOOL
This will include by way of example:
- names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and other contact details;
- car details (about those who use our car parking facilities);
- bank details and other financial information, e.g. users of the sports centre;
- past, present and prospective students’ academic, disciplinary, admissions and attendance records (including information about any special needs), and examination scripts and marks;
- where appropriate, information about individuals' health, and contact details for their next of kin;
- personnel files, including in connection with academics, employment or safeguarding;
- correspondence with and concerning staff, students and parents past and present;
- references given or received by the school about students, and information provided by previous educational establishments and/or other professionals or organisations working with students; and
- images of students (and occasionally other individuals) engaging in school activities, and images captured by the school’s CCTV system (in accordance with the school’s policy on taking, storing and using images of children);
HOW THE SCHOOL COLLECTS DATA
Generally, the school receives personal data from the individual directly (including, in the case of students, from their parents). This may be via a form, or simply in the ordinary course of interaction or communication (such as email or written assessments).
However in some cases personal data may be supplied by third parties (for example another school, or other professionals or authorities working with that individual).
WHO HAS ACCESS TO PERSONAL DATA AND WHO THE SCHOOL SHARES IT WITH
Occasionally, the school will need to share personal information relating to its community with third parties, such as
- professional advisers (e.g. lawyers, insurers and accountants);
- government authorities (e.g. HMRC, police or the local authority);
- appropriate regulatory bodies (e.g. Ofsted, Independent Schools Inspectorate, Charity Commission, Information Commissioners Office);
For the most part, personal data collected by the school will remain within the school, and will be processed by appropriate individuals only in accordance with access protocols (i.e. on a ‘need to know’ basis). Particularly strict rules of access apply in the context of:
- pastoral or safeguarding files.
However, a certain amount of any SEN student’s relevant information will need to be provided to staff more widely in the context of providing the necessary care and education that the student requires.
Staff, students and parents are reminded that the school is under duties imposed by law and statutory guidance (including Keeping Children Safe in Education) to record or report incidents and concerns that arise or are reported to it, in some cases regardless of whether they are proven, if they meet a certain threshold of seriousness in their nature or regularity. This may include file notes on personnel or safeguarding files, and in some cases referrals to relevant authorities such as the LADO or police. For further information about this, please view the school’s Safeguarding Policy.
Finally, in accordance with Data Protection Law, some of the school’s processing activity is carried out on its behalf by third parties, such as IT systems, web developers or cloud storage providers. This is always subject to contractual assurances that personal data will be kept securely and only in accordance with the school’s specific directions.
HOW LONG WE KEEP PERSONAL DATA
The school will retain personal data securely and only in line with how long it is necessary to keep for a legitimate and lawful reason. Typically, the legal recommendation for how long to keep ordinary staff and student personnel files is up to 7 years following departure from the school. However, incident reports and safeguarding files will need to be kept much longer, in accordance with specific legal requirements. If you have any specific queries about how this policy is applied, or wish to request that personal data that you no longer believe to be relevant is considered for erasure, please contact the Headteacher in writing (Headteacher, Framingham Earl High School, Norwich Road, Norwich, NR14 7QP). However, please bear in mind that the school may have lawful and necessary reasons to hold on to some data even following such a request.
A limited and reasonable amount of information will be kept for archiving purposes, for example; and even when you have requested we no longer keep in touch with you, we will need to keep a record of the fact in order to fulfil your wishes (called a “suppression record”)
The school retains documents in accordance with its Records Retention Policy. The following principles apply to that policy:
- all information held by the school is justifiable by reference to its purpose:
- information will not be held for any time period over and above that specified in the Records Retention Policy; and
- Information will be securely disposed of as outlined in the Records Retention Policy.
KEEPING IN TOUCH AND SUPPORTING THE SCHOOL
The school will use the contact details of parents and other members of the school community to keep them updated about the activities of the school and parent events of interest, including by sending updates and newsletters, by email and by post. Unless the relevant individual objects, the school may also:
- Contact parents and/or alumni by post and email in order to promote and raise funds for the school and, where appropriate, other worthy causes;
YOUR RIGHTS
Rights of Access
Individuals have various rights under Data Protection Law to access and understand personal data about them held by the school, and in some cases ask for it to be erased or amended or have it transferred to others, or for the school to stop processing it, but subject to certain exemptions and limitations.
Any individual wishing to access or amend their personal data, or wishing it to be transferred to another person or organisation, should put their request in writing to the Headteacher, (Framingham Earl High School, Norwich Road, Norwich, NR14 7QP).
The school will endeavour to respond to any such written requests as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event within statutory time-limits, which is one month in the case of requests for access to information. The school will be better able to respond quickly to smaller, targeted requests for information. If the request is manifestly excessive or similar to previous requests, the school may ask you to reconsider or charge a proportionate fee, but only where Data Protection Law allows it.
Requests that cannot be fulfilled
You should be aware that the right of access is limited to your own personal data, and certain data is exempt from the right of access. This may include information which identifies other individuals (and parents need to be aware this may include their own children, in certain limited situations – please see further below), or information which is subject to legal privilege (for example legal advice given to or sought by the school, or documents prepared in connection with a legal action).
The school is also not required to disclose any student examination scripts (or other information consisting solely of student test answers), provide examination or other test marks ahead of any ordinary publication, not share any confidential reference given by the school itself for the purposes of education, training or employment of any individual.
Parents may be aware that GDPR allows for the ‘right to be forgotten’. However, please be aware that the school will sometimes have compelling reasons to refuse specific requests to amend, delete or stop processing your (or your child’s) personal data: for example, a legal requirement or where it falls within a legitimate interest identified in the Privacy Notice. All requests will be considered on their own merits.
Student Requests
Students can make subject access requests for their own personal data, provided that, in the reasonable opinion of the school, they have sufficient maturity to understand the request they are making (see section Whose Rights below). Indeed, while a person with parental responsibility will generally be expected to make a subject access request on behalf of younger students, the information in question is always considered to be the child’s at law. A student of any age may ask a parent or other representative to make a subject access request on his/her behalf, and moreover (if of sufficient age) their consent or authority may need to be sought by the parent. Students aged 13 are generally assumed to have this level of maturity, although this will depend on both the child and the personal data requested, including any relevant circumstances at home. Children younger than 13 may be sufficiently mature to have a say in this decision. All subject access requests from students will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.
Parental Requests
It should be clearly understood that the rules on subject access are not the sole basis on which information requests are handled. Parents may not have a statutory right to information, but they and others will often have a legitimate interest or expectation in receiving certain information about students without their consent. The school may consider there are lawful grounds for sharing with or without reference to that student.
Parents will in general receive educational and pastoral updates about their children. Where parents are separated, the school will, in most cases, aim to provide the same information to each person with parental responsibility, but may need to factor in all the circumstances including the express wishes of the child.
All information requests from, on behalf of or concerning students – whether made under subject access or simply as an incidental request – will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.
Consent
Where the school is relying on consent as a means to process personal data, any person may withdraw this consent at any time (subject to similar age considerations as above). Examples where we do rely on consent are: e.g. certain types of uses of images, certain types of fundraising activity. Please be aware however that the school may have another lawful reason to process the personal data in question even without your consent.
That reason will usually have been asserted under this Privacy Notice or may otherwise exist under some form of contract or agreement with the individual e.g. an employment or parent contract, or because a purchase of goods, services or membership of an organisation such as the Parents Staff Association has been requested.
Whose Rights
The rights under Data Protection Law belong to the individual to whom the data relates. However, the school will often rely on parental authority or notice for the necessary ways it processes personal data relating to students. Parents and students should be aware that this is not necessarily the same as the school relying on strict consent (see section on consent above)
Where consent is required, it may in some cases be necessary or appropriate – given the nature of the processing in question, and the student’s age and understanding - to seek the student’s consent. Parents should be aware that in such situations they may not be consulted depending on the interests of the child, the parents’ rights at law or under their contract, and all the circumstances.
In general, the school will assume that students’ consent is not required for ordinary disclosure of their personal data to their parents, e.g. for the purposes of keeping parents informed about the student’s activities, progress and behaviour, and in the interests of the student’s welfare, unless, in the school’s opinion, there is a good reason to do otherwise.
However, where a student seeks to raise concerns confidentially with a member of staff and expressly withholds their agreement to their personal data being disclosed to their parents, the school may be under an obligation to maintain confidentiality unless, in the school’s opinion, there is a good reason to do otherwise; for example where the school believes disclosure will be in the best interests of the student or other students, or if required by law.
Students are required to respect the personal data and privacy of others, and to comply with the school’s relevant policies, e.g. IT acceptable use policy, IT Code of Conduct and the school’s rules. Staff are under professional duties to do the same covered under the relevant staff policy.
DATA ACCURACY AND SECURITY
The school will endeavour to ensure that all personal data held in relation to an individual is as up to date and accurate as possible. Individuals must please notify the Headteacher (for academic and pastoral matters) or the SET Director of HR (Staff matters) of any changes to information held about them.
An individual has the right to request that any out-of-date, irrelevant or inaccurate information about them is erased or corrected (subject to certain exemptions and limitations under Data Protection Law): please see above for details of why the school may need to process your data, of who you may contact if you disagree.
The school will take appropriate technical and organisational steps to ensure the security of personal data about individuals, including policies around use of technology and devices, and access to school systems. All staff and governors will be made aware of this policy and their duties under Data Protection Law and receive relevant training.
THIS POLICY
The school will update this Privacy Notice from time to-time. Any substantial changes that affect your rights will be provided to you as far as is reasonably practicable.
QUERIES AND COMPLAINTS
Any comments or queries on this policy should be directed to the Headteacher in writing at Framingham Earl High School, Norwich Road, Norwich, NR14 7QP. If an individual believes that the school has not complied with this policy or acted otherwise than in accordance with Data Protection Law, they should utilise the school complaints procedure (Trust grievance procedure for a member of staff) and should also notify the Headteacher (see address above). You can also make a referral to or lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), although the ICO recommends that steps are taken to resolve the matter with the school before involving the regulator.
