Data Protection Policy

CHARD SCHOOL - DATA PROTECTION POLICY

CHARD SCHOOL - DATA PROTECTION POLICY

Schools hold information on pupils in order to run the education system, and in so doing have to follow 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. This policy tells you about the types of data held, why that data is held, and to whom it may be passed.

The school holds information on pupils in order to:

(a) support their teaching and learning
(b) to monitor and report on their progress
(c) to provide appropriate pastoral care
(d) to assess how well the school as a whole is doing

This information includes contact details, National Curriculum assessment results (where appropriate), attendance information, characteristics such as ethnic group, special educational needs and any relevant medical information.

In order to administer the National Curriculum tests, we are required to pass on some of this data to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) which is responsible for the National Curriculum and associated assessment arrangements.

QCA uses information about pupils to administer the National Curriculum tests and assessments for Key Stages 1 to 3. The results of these are passed on to the DfES in order 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 ensure that these are continually improved.

Pupils, as data subjects, have certain rights under the Data Protection Act, including the 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 personal data held about your child, this can be done through a subject access request. This is a formal procedure which is started in the first instance by contacting the school. If you believe QCA holds personal data then the data protection officer for these organisations should be contacted to initiate a subject access request process.

Although the school holds information on pupils (as outlined above), there will also, by necessity, be information held on their parents - names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, etc.

Chard School has its own website, to showcase the School and its activities, provide a source of information to parents (existing, prospective and past) and to develop links with the wider community. There are aspects of this website that may be covered by data protection legislation.

JOHN STOTESBURY
(updated October 2006) Back to top