DATA PROTECTION ACT

The School processes personal data about its pupils and is a “data controller” in respect of this for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998. It processes this data to:

·        support its pupils’ teaching and learning;

·        monitor and report on their progress;

·        provide appropriate pastoral care, and

·        assess how well the school as a whole is doing.

This data includes contact details, national curriculum assessment results, attendance information, characteristics such as ethnic group, special educational needs and any relevant medical information.

This data may only be used or passed on for specific purposes allowed by law.  From time to time the school is required to pass on some of this data to local authorities, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and to agencies that are prescribed by law, such as the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), Ofsted, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the Department of Health (DH), Primary Care Trusts (PCT), and organisations that require access to data in the Learner Registration System as part of the MIAP (Managing Information Across Partners) programme and Connexions (see below).  All these are data controllers in respect of the data they receive, and are subject to the same legal constraints in how they deal with the data.