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Schools and education

School Services and Admissions Privacy Notice

City of York Council (CYC) current data protection notification is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – reference Z5809563. We regularly review this privacy notice, and it was last updated in December 2023.

CYC is committed to ensuring that personal data is handled in accordance with the principles set out in data protection legislation and guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when we process your information in Schools Services and Admissions and the amount and type of information will depend on why and how you are contacting or interacting with us.
CYC is the controller for this information unless we specifically state otherwise in this privacy notice.

You can contact the council’s Data Protection Officer by email: information.governance@york.gov.uk or telephone: 01904 554145, or write to:

Data Protection Officer
City of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York
YO1 6GA

This privacy notice should be read in conjunction with other relevant CYC privacy notices and/or policies and procedures.

When appropriate we will provide a ‘just in time’ notice to cover any additional processing activities not mentioned in this document.


How we collect your information

We get information about you from the following sources: 

  • directly from you as parent or carer
  • Common Transfer Files (CTFs)
  • secure file transfers from schools or other public sector bodies
  • Census data from Office for National Statistics (ONS)

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What personal data we process and why

We process the following personal data, special categories of personal data and criminal offence data:

  • names
  • contact details such as addresses, email addresses, phone numbers etc 
  • personal identifiers such as dates of birth (DOB), National Insurance Number (NINO) etc  
  • characteristics such as ethnicity, language
  • safeguarding information such as court orders and professional involvement
  • special educational needs, including the needs and ranking
  • attendance such as sessions attended, number of absences, absence reasons and any previous schools attended
  • behavioural information such as exclusions and any relevant alternative provision placements put in place

We use your information to:

  • provide you with our services i.e., enable us to carry out the school admissions service for which we are responsible
  • free school meal eligibility checking
  • respond to general education queries etc 
  • allocating school places
  • processing school applications and appeals
  • derive statistics for reports and to inform decisions such as the funding of schools and planning of school places
  • assess performance and to set targets

We may also use the information we collect from you for reporting, research, and statistical purposes. When we do this, it will be anonymised which means the information will be turned into a form that cannot be linked back to you and does not identify individuals.

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Automated decision-making

We do not carry out any automated decision-making in Schools Services and Admissions.

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Collecting information automatically

Please see our Cookies Policy for further information about the information we collect automatically when you use our website.

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Children’s information

Where we provide services directly to children or young people, the information in the relevant parts of this notice applies to children and young people, as well as adults.

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Lawful basis for processing your personal data

Any personal data including special category data and criminal offence data that we process about individuals is done so in accordance with Article 6, 9 and 10 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

The legal basis for processing your personal data is in accordance with the following:

  • Article 6(1)(a) – your consent 
  • Article 6(1)(c) so we can comply with our legal and statutory duties 
  • Article 6(1)(e) for the performance of our public task

The legal basis for processing your special category data is in accordance with the following:

  • Article 9(2)(a) your explicit consent
  • Article 9(2)(b) which relates to carrying out our legal obligations 
  • Article 9(2)(g) – where processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest

This is supported by Schedule1, Part 2 (6) of the Data Protection Act 2018 and legislation such as: 

  • Education Act 1996 
  • Localism Act 2011 section 1(1)
  • Department for Education’s Legal Compliance Guide
  • Section 512ZB of the Education Act 1996 states: Provision of free school lunches and milk 
  • Education Act 1996 (Section 512ZB)

Where we process personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences, this is also under Article 10 UK GDPR that covers processing in relation to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures. In addition, section 11(2) of the DPA 2018 specifically confirms that this includes personal data relating to the alleged commission of offences, or proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed, including sentencing. 

Some of the Schedule 1 conditions for processing special category and criminal offence data require an Appropriate Policy Document (APD) to be in place, which sets out and explains the procedures for securing compliance with the principles in Article 5 and policies regarding the retention and erasure of such personal data. This document explains this processing and satisfies the requirements of Schedule 1, Part 4 of the DPA 2018 and supplements this privacy notice.

Our Appropriate Policy Document provides further information about this processing. 

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How long we keep your personal data

We will only keep your information for as long as it is needed. 

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Data sharing

We will share your information with:

  • other City of York council services such as our Business Intelligence Unit; Families Information Service; professionals from health, social care and Early Help teams
  • youth support services (pupils aged 13+)
  • other government departments such as Department for Education (DfE); Department of Work and Pensions DWP) etc 
  • other local authorities
  • schools, academies, and other providers of education
  • external providers of our commissioned services
  • auditing services
  • approved home to school transport providers
  • Fix Our Food 
  • Privacy Policy - Fix Our Food

We will not pass on your information to any third parties for marketing, sales, or any other commercial purposes without your prior explicit consent.

We must protect public funds and may use personal data and data-matching techniques to detect and prevent fraud, collect taxes and ensure public money is targeted and spent in the most appropriate and cost-effective way. To do this, your personal data may be shared with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, including the Department for Work and PensionsHM Revenue and Customs, the Police and other local authorities.

In some circumstances, such as under a court order or safeguarding, we are legally obliged to share information. We may also share information about you with third parties including our data processors, government agencies and external auditors. 

We will always satisfy ourselves that we have a lawful basis on which to share the information and document our decision-making.

Additionally, we are required under the Public Records Act 1958 (as amended) to transfer records to the City or National Archives (TNA) for permanent preservation. Full consideration will be given to Data Protection and Freedom of Information legislation when making decisions about whether such records should be open to the public. 

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Data processors and/or third parties

We work with a third party, The Access Group to provide parts of our services for us and we have a contract in place with them. You can find more information about them through the Access Group Privacy Notice.

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Transfers of personal data

We don’t routinely transfer personal data outside of the UK but when this is necessary we ensure that we have appropriate safeguards in place and that is done in accordance with the UK data protection and privacy legislation.

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How we protect your information

We're committed to keeping your information safe and secure. There are several ways we do this, such as:

  • IT security safeguards such as firewalls, encryption, and anti-virus software
  • on-site security safeguards to protect physical files and electronic equipment
  • training for all staff and elected councillors
  • policies and procedures

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Your rights in relation to this processing

To find out about your rights under data protection law, you can go to the Information Commissioner's Office website.

You can also find information about your rights in our Privacy Notice.

If you have any questions about this privacy notice, want to exercise your rights, or if you have a complaint about how your information has been used, please contact us on email: information.governance@york.gov.uk, or on telephone: 01904 554145, or write to:

Data Protection Officer
City of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York YO1 6GA

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Also see

Data Protection Officer

West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA

Telephone: 01904 554145