The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) came into effect on 25th May 2018.  This has brought higher standards for handling data and greater expectations for improved transparency, enhanced data security and increased accountability for processing personal data.  All schools have a legal duty to comply with the GDPR.

The new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has replaced the Data Protection Act (DPA) and is set to strengthen and unify all data held within an organisation. For schools, GDPR brings a new responsibility to inform parents and stakeholders about how they are using pupils’ data and who it is being used by.

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 is not 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.

 For more information, you can review our Data Protection and GDPR Policy here and our GDPR Privacy Notice below.

How we ensure we are compliant?

We ensure we are compliant by:

• Reviewing and updating our policies and procedures on a regular basis to ensure they are compliant with the new regulations.
• Training for staff and governors on the requirements of the GDPR legislation.
• Privacy Notices for pupils, staff and governors.
• Data Audit to record what data is shared with what organisations and how we made the decision to do so.
• Data Protection Impact Assessments for all changes in procedures and the use and processing of data.
• Checks for all our third party suppliers.

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 school office or the Headteacher.  The school will, on an annual basis, share individual Data Collection Sheets with you in order to ensure that our records are accurate and up to date.

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, 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/