Dear Parent

Re: Fair Processing Notice Data Protection Act

Schools, Local Authorities (LAs), the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the
government department which deals with education, the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority (QCA), Ofsted and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) a process information on
pupils in order to run the education system and Department of Health (DH) and Primary Care
Trusts (PCTs) process information on pupils in order to tackle the year on year rise in obesity
among children, and in doing so have to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998. This
means, among other things, that the data held about pupils must only be used for specific
purposes allowed by law. We are therefore writing to tell you about the types of data held, why
that data is held, and to whom it may be passed on.

The school holds information on pupils in order to support their teaching and learning, to
monitor and report on their progress, to provide appropriate pastoral care, and to assess how
well the school as a whole is doing. This information includes contact details, national
curriculum assessment results, attendance information, characteristics such as ethnic group,
special educational needs and any relevant medical information. From time to time schools are
required to pass on some of this data to LAs, the DfES and to agencies that are prescribed
by law, such as QCA, Ofsted, LSC, DH and PCTs.

The Local Authority uses information about children for whom it provides services to carry out
specific functions for which it is responsible, such as the assessment of any special
educational needs the child may have. It also uses the information to derive statistics to
inform decisions on (for example) the funding of schools, and to assess the performance of
schools and set targets for them. The statistics are used in such a way that individual children
cannot be identified from them, LAs have a duty under the Children Act 2004 to cooperate
with their partners in health and youth justice to improve the well-being of children in their
areas. As part of this duty they will be required to maintain the accuracy of the information
held on the Information Sharing (IS) Index about children and young people in their area (see
IS Index under Department for Education and Skills).

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority uses information about pupils to
administer national curriculum assessments throughout Key Stages 1 to 3. This
includes both assessments required by statute and those that are optional. The results
of these are passed on to DfES to compile statistics on trends and patterns in levels of
achievement. The QCA uses the information to evaluate the effectiveness of the
national curriculum and the associated assessment arrangements, and to ensure that
these are continually improved.

Ofsted uses information about the progress and performance of pupils to help inspectors
evaluate the work of schools, to assist schools in their self-evaluation, and as part of Ofsted’s
assessment of the effectiveness of education initiatives and policy. Inspection reports do not
identify individual pupils.

The Learning and Skills Council uses information about pupils for statistical purposes, to
evaluate and develop education policy and to monitor the performance of the education
service as a whole. The statistics (including those based on information provided by the QCA)
are used in such a way that individual pupils cannot be identified from them, On occasion
information may be shared with other Government departments or agencies strictly for
statistical or research purposes only. The LSC or its partners may wish to contact learners
from time to time about courses, or learning opportunities relevant to them.

The Department of Health uses aggregate information (at school year group level) about
pupils’ height and weight for research and statistical purposes, to inform, influence and
improve health policy and to monitor the performance of the health service as a whole. The
DH will base performance management discussions with Strategic Health Authorities on
aggregate information about pupils attending schools in the PCT areas to help focus local
resources and deliver the Public Service Agreement target to halt the year on year rise in
obesity among children under 11 by 2010, in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity
in the population as a whole. The Department of Health will also provide aggregate PCT level
data to the Healthcare Commission for performance assessment of the health service.

Primary Care Trusts use information about pupils for research and statistical purposes, to
monitor the performance of local health services and to evaluate and develop them. The
statistics are used in such a way that individual pupils cannot be identified from them.
Information on the height and weight of individual pupils may however be provided to the child
and its parents and this will require the PCTs to maintain details of pupils’ names for this
purpose. PCTs may also provide individual schools and LAs with aggregate information on
pupils’ height and weight.

The Department for Education and Skills uses information about pupils for research and
statistical purposes, to inform, influence and improve education policy and to monitor the
performance of the education service as a whole. The DfES will feed back to LAs and schools
information about their pupils for a variety of purposes that will include data checking
exercises, use in self-evaluation analyses and where information is missing because it was not
passed on by a former school.

The Children Act 2004 provides for the Secretary of State to issue Regulations requiring the
“governing body of a maintained school in England” to disclose information for inclusion on the
Information Sharing (IS) Index. The purposes of the index are to:

•    help practitioners working with children quickly identify a child with whom they have
  contact;

•    determine whether that child is getting the universal services (education, primary health
  care) to which he or she is entitled; and

•    enable earlier identification of needs and earlier, more effective action to address these
  needs by providing a tool to help practitioners identify which other practitioners are involved
  with a particular child; and

•    encourage better communication and closer working between practitioners.

  The index will hold for each child or young person in England:

•    basic identifying information: name, address, gender, date of birth and a unique identifying
  number based on the existing Unique Identifying Number/National Insurance Number;

•    basic identifying information about the child’s parent or carer;

•    contact details for services involved with the child: as a minimum school and GP Practice
  but also other services where appropriate; and

•    the facility for practitioners to indicate to others that they have information to share, are
  taking action or have undertaken a common assessment in relation to a child.

The index will NOT record statements of a child’s needs, academic performance, attendance
or clinical observations about a child.

All practitioners and system support staff (in LAs who will be responsible for maintaining the
data) will have to have relevant training and to have undergone rigorous checks and
appropriate security clearance procedures. To ensure high standards of accuracy, information
on the IS Index will be drawn from a number of sources including the termly School Census
from which, from January 2007, pupils’ home address will be collected.

The DfES will also provide Ofsted with pupil data for use in school inspection. Where relevant,
pupil information may also be shared with post 16 learning institutions to minimise the
administrative burden on application for a course and to aid the preparation of learning plans.

Pupil information may be matched with other data sources that the Department holds in order
to model and monitor pupils’ educational progression; and to provide comprehensive
information back to LAs and learning institutions to support their day to day business. The
DfES may also use contact details from these sources to obtain samples for statistical
surveys: these surveys may be carried out by research agencies working under contract to the
Department and participation in such surveys is usually voluntary. The Department may also
match data from these sources to data obtained from statistical surveys.

Pupil data may also be shared with other Government Departments and Agencies (including
the Office for National Statistics) for statistical or research purposes only. In all these cases
the matching will require that individualised data is used in the processing operation, but that
data will not be processed in such a way that it supports measures or decisions relating to
particular individuals or identifies individuals in any results. This data sharing will be approved
and controlled by the Department’s Chief Statistician.

The DfES may also disclose individual pupil information to independent researchers into the
educational achievements of pupils who have a legitimate need for it for their research, but
each case will be determined on its merits and subject to the approval of the Department’s
Chief Statistician.

Pupils, as data subjects, have certain rights under the Data Protection Act, including a general
right of access to personal data held on them, with parents exercising this right on their behalf
if they are too young to do so themselves. If you wish to access the personal data held about
your child, then please contact the relevant organisation in writing:

•    the school
  
•    LA’s Data Protection Officer at Buckinghamshire County Council, Old County Offices,
     Walton Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP2O 1UD
  
•    QCA’s Data Protection Officer at QCA, 83 Piccadilly, London, W1J 8QA
  
•    Ofsted’s Data Protection Officer at Alexandra House, 33 Kingsway, London WC2B 6SE
•    LSC’s Data Protection Officer at Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry,
     Warwickshire CV1 2WT
•    DfES’s Data Protection Officer at DfES, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London, SWIH
     9NA
•    DH’s Data Protection Officer at Skipton House. 80 London Road, London, SE1
     6LH
•    your local PCT
  

Separately from the Data Protection Act, regulations provide a pupil’s parent (regardless of the
age of the pupil) wth the right to view, or to have a copy of, their child’s educational record
at the school. If you wish to exercise this right you should write to the school.

Yours sincerely,