Under data protection law, individuals have a right to be informed about how the College uses any personal data that we hold about them. We comply with this right by providing ‘privacy notices’ (sometimes called ‘fair processing notices’) to individuals where we are processing their personal data.

This privacy notice explains how we collect, store and use personal data about students. We, KITE College, are the ‘data controller’ for the purposes of data protection law.

The personal data we hold

Personal data that we may collect, use, store and share (when appropriate) about students includes, but is not restricted to:

• Name
• Contact details, contact preferences, date of birth, identification documents
• Parental, sibling and extended family details
• Children who are adopted from care, looked after children, under special guardianship
• Results of internal assessments and externally set tests
• Learner and curricular records
• Characteristics, such as ethnic background, language, eligibility for free College meals, or special educational needs
• Details of any medical conditions, including physical and mental health
• Attendance information
• Safeguarding information
• Details of any support received, including care packages, plans and support providers
• Photographs of your child
• Carefully chosen and vetted educational apps
• CCTV images

We may also hold data about students that we have received from other organisations, including other Colleges, schools, local authorities and the Department for Education.

Why we use this data

We use this data to:

• Support learning
• Monitor and report on learner progress
• Provide appropriate pastoral care
• Protect learner welfare
• Assess the quality of our services
• Consider admissions
• Carry out research
• Comply with the law regarding data sharing

In order to meet statutory requirements around appropriate education provision and to fulfil safeguarding requirements, we share information about College history and the latest known learner and parent address and contact details in the event of a Child Missing Education.

Our legal basis for using this data

We only collect and use learners’ personal data when the law allows us to. 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 learner’s 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 learner 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 reasons listed above for collecting and using learner personal data overlap and there may be several grounds which justify our use of this data.

Collecting this information

While the majority of information we collect about students is mandatory, there is some information that can be provided voluntarily.
Whenever we seek to collect information from you or your child, we make it clear whether providing it is mandatory or optional. If it is mandatory, we will explain the possible consequences of not complying.

How we store this data

Children’s records are stored securely in paper files and on the College’s secure server.
We keep personal information about students while they are attending our College. We may also keep it beyond their attendance at our College if this is necessary in order to comply with our legal obligations. We will adhere to the Information Management Toolkit for Colleges Document.

Data sharing

We do not share information about students with any third party without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.
Where it is legally required, or necessary (and it complies with the General Data Protection Regulation, otherwise known as the GDPR) we may share personal information about students with:

• Our local authority (e.g. admissions)
• The Department for Education (e.g. attainment)
• The pupil’s family and representatives (e.g. attendance)
• Educators and examining bodies (e.g. test papers)
• Our regulators Ofsted, DFE and the ESFA (e.g. learner data)
• Suppliers and service providers (e.g. sports coaches)
• Central and local government (e.g. attainment)
• Health authorities (e.g. immunisations)
• Health and social welfare organisations (e.g. social services)
• Professional advisers, bodies and consultants (e.g. Educational psychologist)
• Police forces, courts, tribunals (in relation to safeguarding)
• Collaborating Colleges for moderating purposes

Please see Appendix 1 for complete list.

National Pupil Database

We are required to provide information about students to the Department for Education as part of statutory data collections such as the College census. Some of this information is then stored in the National Pupil Database (NPD), which is owned and managed by the Department and provides evidence on College performance to inform research.

The database is held electronically so it can easily be turned into statistics. The information is securely collected from a range of sources including Colleges, local authorities and exam boards. The Department for Education may share information from the NPD with other organisations which promote children’s education or wellbeing in England. Such organisations must agree to strict terms and conditions about how they will use the data.

For more information, see the Department’s webpage on how it collects and shares research data. You can also contact the Department for Education with any further questions about the NPD.

Transferring data internationally

Where we transfer personal data to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area, we will do so in accordance with data protection law.

Parents and students’ rights regarding personal data

Individuals have a right to make a ‘subject access request’ to gain access to personal information that the College holds about them.
Parents/carers can make a request with respect to their child’s data where the child is not considered mature enough to understand their rights over their own data (usually under the age of 12), or where the child has provided consent. Parents also have the right to make a subject access request with respect to any personal data the College holds about them. If you make a subject access request and if we do hold information about you or your child, we will:

• Give you a description of it
• Tell you why we are holding and processing it and how long we will keep it for
• Explain where we got it from, if not from you or your child
• Tell you who it has been, or will be, shared with
• Let you know whether any automated decision-making is being applied to the data and any consequences of this
• Give you a copy of the information in an intelligible form

Individuals also have the right for their personal information to be transmitted electronically to another organisation in certain circumstances.

Parents/carers also have a legal right to access to their child’s educational record.

If you require access to the above, please apply in writing, citing your reasons to the Principal.

Your other rights regarding your data

Under data protection law, individuals have certain rights regarding how their personal data is used and kept safe, including the right to:

• Object to the use of personal data if it would cause, or is causing, damage or distress
• Prevent it being used to send direct marketing
• Object to decisions being taken by automated means (by a computer or machine, rather than by a person)
• In certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data corrected, deleted or destroyed, or restrict processing
• Claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the data protection regulations

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Principal.

Complaints

We take any complaints about our collection and use of personal information very seriously. If you think that our collection or use of personal information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate, or have any other concern about our data processing, please raise this with the College in the first instance.

To make a complaint, please contact our Principal. Alternatively, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office:
• Report a concern online at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
• Call 0303 123 1113
• Or write to: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Contact us

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about anything mentioned in this privacy notice, please contact our College Data Lead/Data Protection Officer via principal@kite-college.org

This notice is based on the Department for Education’s model privacy notice for the College workforce, amended to reflect the way we use data in this College.