School Privacy Notice 

How we use pupil information 

Mrs Field is the Data Controller at our school and is responsible for the use of personal data in this privacy notice.

The categories of pupil information that we process include: 

• personal identifiers and contacts (such as name, unique pupil number, contact  

details and address) 

• characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, and free school meal eligibility) 

• safeguarding information (such as court orders and professional involvement) 

• special educational needs (including the needs and ranking) 

• medical and administration (such as doctors’ information, child health, dental  

health, allergies, medication and dietary requirements) 

• attendance (such as sessions attended, number of absences, absence reasons 

and any previous schools attended) 

• assessment and attainment (such as key stage 1 and phonics results, post 16  

courses enrolled for and any relevant results) 

• behavioural information (such as exclusions and any relevant alternative provision  

put in place) 

This list is not exhaustive, to access the current list of categories of information we  

process please see  

Information Governance - GDPR | Birchanger Church of England VC Primary School 

 

Why we collect and use pupil information 

The personal data collected is essential, for the school to fulfil their official functions and  

meet legal requirements. 

We collect and use pupil information, for the following purposes: 

a) to support pupil learning 

b) to monitor and report on pupil attainment progress 

c) to provide appropriate pastoral care 

d) to assess the quality of our services 

e) to keep children safe (food allergies, or emergency contact details) 

f) to meet the statutory duties placed upon us by the department for education 

 

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely  

on for processing pupil information are: 

• for the purposes of (a), (b), (c) & (d) in accordance with the legal basis of Public  

task: collecting the data is necessary to perform tasks that schools are required to  

perform as part of their statutory function 

• for the purposes of (e) in accordance with the legal basis of Vital interests: to keep  

children safe (food allergies, or medical conditions) 

• for the purposes of (f) in accordance with the legal basis of Legal obligation: data  

collected for DfE census information  

• Section 537A of the Education Act 1996 

• the Education Act 1996 s29(3) 

• the Education (School Performance Information)(England) Regulations 2007 

• regulations 5 and 8 School Information (England) Regulations 2008 

• the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013  

In addition, concerning any special category data 

 

Collecting pupil information 

We obtain pupil information via registration forms at the start of each academic year. In  

addition, when a child joins us from another school, we are sent a secure file containing  

relevant information. 

Pupil data is essential for the schools’ operational use. Whilst most of the pupil  

information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is provided to us on a voluntary  

basis. In order to comply with UK GDPR we will inform you at the point of collection,  

whether you are required to provide certain pupil information to us or if you have a choice  

in this and we will tell you what you need to do if you do not want to share this  

information with us. 

 

Storing pupil data 

We hold pupil data securely for the set amount of time shown in our data retention  

schedule. For more information regarding our data retention schedule and how we keep  

your data safe, please visit the Policies section of our website. 

 

Who we share pupil information with 

We routinely share pupil information with: 

• school that the pupil attends after leaving us 

• our local authority 

• the Department for Education (DfE) 

• Local Authorities 

Why we routinely share pupil information 

We do not share information about our pupils with anyone without consent unless the law  

and our policies allow us to do so. 

 

Department for Education 

We are required to share information about our pupils with the Department for Education  

(DfE) either directly or via our local authority for the purpose of data collections, under:  

• Section 537A of the Education Act 1996 

• the Education Act 1996 s29(3) 

• the Education (School Performance Information)(England) Regulations 2007 

• regulations 5 and 8 School Information (England) Regulations 2008 

• the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 

All data is transferred securely and held by DfE under a combination of software and  

hardware controls, which meet the current government security policy framework.  

For more information, please see ‘How Government uses your data’ section. 

 

Local Authorities 

We may be required to share information about our pupils with the local authority to  

ensure that they can conduct their statutory duties under  

• the Schools Admission Code, including conducting Fair Access Panels. 

 

Requesting access to your personal data 

Under UK GDPR, parents and pupils 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 Mrs Field who is our Data Protection Officer on 01279 812362 or email admin@birchanger.essex.sch.uk  

 

Depending on the lawful basis above, you may 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 

• a right to seek redress, either through the ICO, or through the courts 

 

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you  

should raise your concern with us in the first instance or directly to the Information  

Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ 

 

Withdrawal of consent and the right to lodge a complaint  

Where we are processing your personal data with your consent, you have the right to  

withdraw that consent. If you change your mind, or you are unhappy with our use of your  

personal data, please let us know by contacting Mrs Field on 01279 812362 or email admin@birchanger.essex.sch.uk 

 

Last updated 

We may need to update this privacy notice periodically, so we recommend that you  

revisit this information from time to time. This version was last updated on 27.08.24. 

 

Contact 

If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact: 

• Mrs Field on 01279 812362 or email admin@birchanger.essex.sch.uk  

• Our local authority Complaints and compliments - Essex County Council 

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