How we use children’s information
Meadows Nursery processes personal information about its children and is a ‘data controller’ for the purposes of Data Protection legislation. We collect information from you and may receive information about your child from their previous setting.
The categories of child level information that we collect, hold and share include:
- Personal information (such as name and address, date of birth)
- Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility)
- Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons)
- Assessment information
- Relevant medical information
- Special educational needs information
Why we collect and use this information
We use the children’s data:
- to support children’s learning
- to monitor and report on children’s progress
- to provide appropriate pastoral care
- to assess the quality of our services
- to comply with the law regarding data sharing
- to provide funding for eligible children
The lawful basis on which we use this information
We collect and use children’s information under Article 6 and Article 9 of the GDPR legislation. We will use information in the following circumstances:-
- Consent; the individual has given clear consent to process their personal data for a specific purpose.
- Contract; the processing is necessary for a contract with the individual.
- Legal Obligation; the processing is necessary to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations)
- Vital interests; the processing is necessary to protect someone’s life
- Public task; the processing is necessary to perform a task in the public interest or for official functions and the task or function has a clear basis in law
We need all of the above categories of information in the list above primarily to allow us to comply with legal obligations. Please note that we may process information without knowledge or consent, where this is required or permitted by law.
Collecting children’s information
Whilst the majority of child level information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is provided to us on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain child level information to us or if you have a choice in this.
Storing children’s data
We hold children’s data for 2 years from the date that they leave.
Who we share children’s information with
We routinely share children’s information with:
- Settings/schools that the children attend after leaving us
- our local authority
- the Department for Education (DfE)
- Health Visitors
- ISEND team
- NHS services
Why we share children’s information
We do not share information about our children without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.
We share children’s data with the Department for Education (DfE) on a statutory basis. This data sharing underpins the settings funding and educational attainment policy and monitoring.
Data collection requirements:
To find out more about the data collection requirements placed on us by the Department for Education (for example; via the early years census) go to:
https://www.gov.uk/education/data-collection-and-censuses-for-schools.
The National Pupil Database (NPD)
The NPD is owned and managed by the Department for Education and contains information about pupils in schools in England. It provides invaluable evidence on educational performance to inform independent research, as well as studies commissioned by the Department. It is held in electronic format for statistical purposes. This information is securely collected from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and awarding bodies.
We are required by law, to provide information about our children to the DfE as part of statutory data collections such as the school census and early years’ census. Some of this information is then stored in the NPD. The law that allows this is the Education (Information about Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
To find out more about the NPD, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guide-and-supporting-information.
The department may share information about our children from the NPD with third parties who promote the education or well-being of children in England by:
conducting research or analysis
producing statistics
providing information, advice or guidance
The Department has robust processes in place to ensure the confidentiality of our data is maintained and there are stringent controls in place regarding access and use of the data. Decisions on whether DfE releases data to third parties are subject to a strict approval process and based on a detailed assessment of:
who is requesting the data?
the purpose for which it is required
the level and sensitivity of data requested: and
the arrangements in place to store and handle the data
To be granted access to pupil information, organisations must comply with strict terms and conditions covering the confidentiality and handling of the data, security arrangements and retention and use of the data.
For more information about the department’s data sharing process, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data
For information about which organisations the department has provided pupil information, (and for which project), please visit the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-requests-received
To contact DfE: https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe
Requesting access to your personal data
Under data protection legislation, parents and children have the right to request access to information about them that we hold. To make a request for your personal information, or be given access to your child’s educational record, contact Helen Hawes
You also have the right to:
- object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress
- prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
- object to decisions being taken by automated means
- in certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed; and
- claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Data Protection regulations
If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, we request that you raise your concern with us in the first instance. Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
Data Protection Officer at the nursery
Patricia Cosham
Meadows Nursery School 