The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) came into effect on 25th May 2018. It brought higher standards for handling data and greater expectations for improved transparency, enhanced data security and increased accountability for processing personal data. Schools will have a legal duty to comply with the GDPR.
What does GDPR mean for schools?
A great deal of the processing of personal data undertaken by schools will fall under a specific legal basis, ‘in the public interest’. As it is in the public interest to operate schools successfully, it will mean that specific consent will not be needed in the majority of cases in schools.
GDPR will ensure data is protected and will give individuals more control over their data, however this means schools will have greater accountability for the data:
- Under GDPR, consent must be explicitly given to anything that isn’t within the normal business of the school, especially if it involves a third party managing the data. Parents (or the pupil themselves depending on their age) must express consent for their child’s data to be used outside of the normal business of the school.
- Schools must appoint a Data Protection Officer and be able to prove that they are GDPR compliant.
- Schools must ensure that their third party suppliers who may process any of their data is GDPR compliant and must have legally binding contracts with any company that processes any personal data. These contracts must cover what data is being processed, who it is being processed by, who has access to it and how it is protected.
- It will be compulsory that all data breaches which are likely to have a detrimental effect on the data subject are reported to the ICO within 72 hours
At St Anne’s school we are required to collect data about you and your child. More information about why we collect your data and how it is processed is available in our Data Protection policy below. Other policies that include data protection are:
- Data protection policy
- Privacy Notice for Pupils
- Privacy Notice for the School Workforce
- Subject Access Request policy
Parent/carers are asked for consent at the beginning of the academic year and privacy notices for children and the workforce are issues at this time too.
Requesting access to your personal data
Under data protection legislation, 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 the Headteacher / Data Protection Officer.
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 and
- In certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed
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/
Our school’s data protection officer is the school’s business manager.
Further information can be found below.
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/in-your-sector/education/education-gdpr-faqs/