Specialist Learning and Employment Adviser Service 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 July 2026.

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 collect personal information about you. It applies to Specialist Learning and Employment Adviser Service.

However, the information we will process about you will vary depending on your needs and the service you require.

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:

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, your parents or carers by post, email or phone conversation
  • your school, college or other education setting
  • the Councils secure system which is shared with North Yorkshire Council
  • your local authority
  • your Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
  • the Special Educational Needs (SEN) department
  • professional/relevant service reports
  • consultation with other professionals
  • partners who we work with to deliver our services

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What personal data we process and why

We process the following personal/‘special category data':

  • your name, date of birth, contact details for both you, your parents/carers
  • ethnicity information
  • any special educational needs information
  • your current situation, for example whether you are in education, training or employment
  • where appropriate any relevant medical information for either you, your parents or carers
  • relevant information regarding your status as a young person who is in care of the local authority
  • any additional information that is necessary for us to assess and provide you with the service you require including any involvement with specialist services

The information you give us ensures that we can provide guidance regarding special educational provision, transition planning arrangements and post-16 provision (including facilitating Supported Internships). It also enables us to support children and young people 13 to 19 years and for young people with an EHCP up to the age of 25, and their families to meet our legal responsibilities in accordance with the Children and Families Act (2014) and the SEND Code of Practice (2015) and so is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation.

We may use the information to create statistics that are anonymous and cannot be linked back to your family or individuals. We could use these statistics to see how the Targeted Interventions Service, the wider Council and its partners are supporting families and individuals, to help design better services and to contribute to national surveys and government returns for example to the Department for Education.

We will ask for your consent to take part in surveys, consultation or other events to get your feedback, comments and opinions about the service and support you have received. Where this is done online and you have provided your email address, we will send you a copy of your completed online form.

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

When we ask for equalities, diversity and inclusion (EDI) information sometimes called “About you” information, this may include some or all of the following:

  • age
  • gender
  • if the gender you identify with is the same as your sex registered at birth
  • how you think of yourself
  • religion or belief
  • ethnic group
  • if you consider yourself disabled
  • if you are a carer
  • if you have experience of being in care

EDI information is only used to help us understand the EDI makeup of our customers and will be anonymised which means it cannot be linked back to you or individuals.

If attending an event at a council venue that is covered by our public space CCTV, you can find details in our 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 frameworks
  • 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 Specialist Learning and Employment Adviser service.

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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 that we process about individuals is done so in accordance with Article 6 and 9 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.
    • (e) Public task: the processing is necessary for the council to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.
    • (f) Legitimate interests: the processing is necessary for the council’s legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, unless there is a good reason to protect the individual’s personal data which overrides those legitimate interests (this cannot apply if you are a public authority processing data to perform your official tasks).
  • Article 9(2)
    • (a) Explicit consent
    • (c) Vital interests
    • (g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)
    • (h) Health or social care (with a basis in law)

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

Some of the Schedule 1 conditions for processing special category 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 details on how long the council keeps records in the council retention schedule.

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Data sharing

We will only share your information with:

  • other council services
  • other organisations, agencies, partners such as contractors who undertake work on our behalf
  • government departments, where it is appropriate to

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

Where we have third parties providing parts or all of our services for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them. Some of these are listed below:

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Transfers of personal data

We do not 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 555719, or write to:

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

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Also see

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