School Appeals Service (Appellants) Privacy Notice

City of York Council (CYC) current data protection notification is registered with the Information Commission’s Office (ICO) - reference Z5809563. We regularly review this privacy notice, and it was last updated in May 2026.

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

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when we process your information and how it applies to the School Appeals Service (Appellants).

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 at:

West Offices
Station Rise
York
YO1 6GA

Telephone: 01904 555719.

Email: information.governance@york.gov.uk.

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
  • NHS records, any police information
  • from third parties acting on your behalf such as family members, advocates, councillors, MPs
  • from the relevant School, Academy or in-house Education Team

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What personal data we process and why

The School’s Appeals Service is part of the Council’s Legal Services team. By law if you are refused a place at your preferred school or if your child is permanently excluded from school and if the governors at that school uphold the head teacher's decision, then you have the right to appeal against that decision to an independent panel.

The School Appeals Service supports the work of the independent appeals panel (for admissions and exclusions).

When we process information relating to criminal convictions and offences, this includes details of any past criminal convictions or offences.

When you complete an online form on the council’s website and you have provided your email address, we will send you a copy of your completed online form.

We process the following personal and special category data such as:

  • name
  • address
  • age/date of birth
  • details of current school/allocated school
  • reasons for submitting an appeal
  • additional supporting information, which can include supporting letters and details of academic achievement
  • disability information
  • medical information
  • your comments, feedback and opinions if you choose to take part in our surveys, consultations

You can withdraw your consent to these at any time by contacting us on email: appealsclerksadmin@york.gov.uk.

When we process information relating to criminal convictions and offences, this includes details of any past criminal convictions or offences.

We will ask for your consent:

If attending an event at a council venue that is covered by our public space CCTV you can find details in the CCTV Privacy Notice.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to support or enhance council services. Where AI is involved in a process that directly affects your interaction with us, we will inform you before your user journey begins. This ensures transparency and helps maintain trust in how we use AI.

Our use of AI complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), including the principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, accountability, and accuracy. We conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) where AI systems are likely to result in high risks to individuals’ rights and freedoms, such as automated decision-making or profiling.

If generative AI tools are used, we do not use personal or end-user data to train AI models. This helps ensure compliance with the purpose limitation and data minimisation principles under UK GDPR.

AI for Staff Productivity and Accessibility

Where AI tools are used solely by staff to assist with drafting, research, or accessibility - for example, to improve writing efficiency or summarise information - these uses do not form part of a business process that affects service delivery or decision-making. As such, no specific notification will be provided for these internal productivity uses.

These uses are considered low-risk and do not involve automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects. They are also subject to internal governance and safeguards to ensure responsible use.

Examples include:

  • drafting internal reports or meeting notes
  • summarising lengthy documents for quicker review
  • assisting with spelling, grammar, or formatting tasks

We may use your information to create reports and statistics that are anonymous and cannot be linked back to you or individuals, such as:

  • for statistical analysis
  • for statutory returns
  • for audit framework
  • to see how the council and its partners are supporting individuals
  • to help design better services
  • to inform funding decisions

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Automated decision-making

We do not carry out any automated decision-making in the School Appeals Team.

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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, special category data and criminal offence data that we process about individuals is done so in accordance with one or more of the following Articles 6 and 9 and 10 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

  • Article 6(1)
    • (a) Consent: the individual has given clear consent for the council to process their personal data for a specific purpose.
    • (c) Legal obligation: the processing is necessary for the council to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations).
  • Article 9(2)
    • (a) Explicit consent
    • (g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)

This is supported by Schedule1, Part 2 (6) of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the following legal framework:

  • Admission Appeals:
    • s.94 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (the SSFA);
    • the School Admission Appeals Code issued under s.84 of the SSFA; and
    • the School Admissions Code issued under s.84 of the SSFA
  • Exclusion Reviews:
    • The School Discipline (Pupil Exclusions and Reviews) (England) Regulations 2012;
    • s.51A of the Education Act 2002;
    • statutory guidance - School Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions

Where we process information relating to criminal convictions and offences, this is 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 then it will be securely and confidentially deleted or disposed of.

You can find more details about how long the council keeps records in the council retention schedule.

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Data sharing

To deliver the School Appeals Service, we will need to share your personal data, using secure methods, with:

  • the school
  • the Admission Authority - for example, the relevant Academy Trust or Governing Body
  • the members of the independent panel
  • any other parents (with parental responsibility) or named carers of the child on whose behalf an appeal has been made
  • other City of York council services
  • the Department for Education (DfE)
  • other local authorities - where appropriate and necessary
  • professionals from health, social care and Early Help teams - where appropriate and necessary
  • our Business Intelligence Unit
  • auditing services

In some circumstances, such as under a court order or safeguarding, we are legally obliged to share your information.

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

When we have third parties providing parts or all of our services for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them. These include:

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Transfers of personal data

We do not routinely transfer personal data, special categories of personal data or criminal offence 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 Commission'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 555719, 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 555719

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