Terms of Use
Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website [our ‘Site’] you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use.
- The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.
- This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.
- Unauthorised use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and be a criminal offence.
- From time to time this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website. We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).
- Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of England and Wales.
Privacy Policy
The Ferrars Academy
Privacy Notice (How we use pupil information)
The Ferrars Academy is the data controller. We collect and use your data and that of your child. This notice explains what we collect, why and how we use it.
The categories of pupil information that we collect, hold and share include:
- Personal information (such as name, unique pupil number and address)
- Results of internal assessments and externally set tests
- Assessment and attainment information, including special educational needs information, if relevant
- Pupil and curricular records
- Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth, special needs and free school meal eligibility)
- Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons)
- Safeguarding information, where necessary
- Details of any support received, including care packages, plans and support providers
- Photographs
- We may also hold data about pupils that we have received from other organisations, including other schools, local authorities and the Department for Education.
Why we collect and use this information
We use the pupil data:
- to support pupil learning
- to monitor and report on pupil progress
- to provide appropriate pastoral care
- to protect pupil welfare
- to assess the quality of our services
- to comply with safeguarding obligations
- Administer admissions waiting lists
- Carry out research
- Comply with the law regarding data sharing
The lawful basis on which we use this information
We collect and use pupil information under the lawful basis of public interest and for special category data (such as religion, ethnicity and medical information) because it is necessary for a reason of substantial public interest.
Most commonly, we process it where:
- We need to comply with a legal obligation
- We need it to perform an official task in the public interest
Less commonly, we may also process pupils’ personal data in situations where:
- We have obtained consent to use it in a certain way
- We need to protect the individual’s vital interests (or someone else’s interests)
- Where we have obtained consent to use pupils’ personal data, this consent can be withdrawn at any time. We will make this clear when we ask for consent, and explain how consent can be withdrawn.
Some of the information we collect and use is provided with your consent and that is the lawful basis for us processing it. For example, your permission to process your child’s data for school trips and for access to online providers of educational materials. We will make it clear where we are asking for your consent and why, and provide you with the opportunity to refuse to provide us with that information, explaining what the consequence of that will be.
Collecting pupil information
We collect pupil information via various methods including but not limited to:
- Registration forms
- Common Transfer files (CTF) or secure file from previous school
- Secure file from the local authority
Pupil data is essential for the schools’ operational use. Whilst the majority of pupil information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it requested on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with the data protection legislation, 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 on our data retention schedule and how we keep your data safe, please visit https://irms.org.uk/page/AcademiesToolkit
Who we share pupil information with
We routinely share pupil information with:
- The Department for Education and/or Our local authority – to meet our legal obligations and/or for funding purposes. Certain information will be shares such as pupil data, safeguarding concerns and exclusions
- The pupil’s family and representatives – to meet our legal obligations to report to parents
- Our regulator, Ofsted for inspection purposes to meet our legal obligations
- Suppliers and service providers – to enable them to provide the service we have contracted them for
- Financial organisations
- Central and local government
- Our auditors
- Survey and research organisations
- Health authorities
- Security organisations
- Health and social welfare organisations
- Professional advisers and consultants
- Charities and voluntary organisations
- Police forces, courts, tribunals
- Professional bodies
- Online education providers
Why we regularly share pupil information
We share pupils’ data with the Department for Education (DfE) on a statutory basis. This data sharing underpins school funding and educational attainment policy and monitoring. We share other pupil data to ensure that they receive the most appropriate educational and pastoral support for their needs.
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
The Department for Education (DfE) collects personal data from educational settings and local authorities via various statutory data collections. 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 those data collections, under regulation 5 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) 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 Academy’s Business Manager.
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/
For further information on how to request access to personal information held centrally by DfE, please see the ‘How Government uses your data’ section of this notice.
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 the school office on 01582 573641.
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 27th September 2024.
Contact
If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact the Business Manager.
Further Information
How Government uses your data
The pupil data that we lawfully share with the DfE through data collections:
- underpins school funding, which is calculated based upon the numbers of children and their characteristics in each school.
- informs ‘short term’ education policy monitoring and school accountability and intervention (for example, school GCSE results or Pupil Progress measures).
- supports ‘longer term’ research and monitoring of educational policy (for example how certain subject choices go on to affect education or earnings beyond school)
Data collection requirements
To find out more about the data collection requirements placed on us by the Department for Education (for example; via the school census) go to https://www.gov.uk/education/data-collection-and-censuses-for-schools
The National Pupil Database (NPD)
Much of the data about pupils in England goes on to be held in the National Pupil Database (NPD).
The NPD is owned and managed by the Department for Education and contains information about pupils in schools in England. It provides invaluable evidence on educational performance to inform independent research, as well as studies commissioned by the department.
It is held in electronic format for statistical purposes. This information is securely collected from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and awarding bodies.
To find out more about the NPD, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guide-and-supporting-information
Sharing by the Department
The law allows the Department to share pupils’ personal data with certain third parties, including:
- schools
- local authorities
- researchers
- organisations connected with promoting the education or wellbeing of children in England
- other government departments and agencies
- organisations fighting or identifying crime
For more information about the Department’s NPD data sharing process, please visit:
https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data
Organisations fighting or identifying crime may use their legal powers to contact DfE to request access to individual level information relevant to detecting that crime. Whilst numbers fluctuate slightly over time, DfE typically supplies data on around 600 pupils per year to the Home Office and roughly 1 per year to the Police.
For information about which organisations the Department has provided pupil information, (and for which project) or to access a monthly breakdown of data share volumes with Home Office and the Police please visit the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-external-data-shares
How to find out what personal information DfE hold about you
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 2018, you are entitled to ask the Department:
- if they are processing your personal data
- for a description of the data they hold about you
- the reasons they’re holding it and any recipient it may be disclosed to
- for a copy of your personal data and any details of its source
If you want to see the personal data held about you by the Department, you should make a ‘subject access request’. Further information on how to do this can be found within the Department’s personal information charter that is published at the address below:
To contact DfE: https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe