Privacy Policy

We collect and use pupil and parent information under section 537A of the Education Act 1996, and section 83 of the Children Act 1989, to comply with Article 6(1)(c) and Article 9(2) (b) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

• to support pupil learning
• to monitor and report on pupil progress
• to provide appropriate pastoral care
• to assess the quality of our services
• to comply with the law regarding data sharing
• to support students, parents, and guardians in deciding which colleges or provisions would be best for our students after they leave school

• Personal information (such as name, unique pupil number and contact details)
• Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility)
• Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons)
• Assessment and attainment information (such as qualifications information and literacy, numeracy and digital competence framework progress)
• Special educational needs information (such as statements, interventions, and therapy information)
• Relevant medical information (such as medication information, levels of need and hygiene information)
• Safeguarding information (such as minutes of meetings, social services information and disclosures)
• CCTV footage (for the purposes of maintaining the safety and security of our pupils, staff, and premises)

Whilst the majority of pupil information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is provided to us on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain pupil information to us or if you have a choice in this.

Ysgol y Deri School keeps information about pupils, parents, and guardians on computer systems and also sometimes on paper. We hold educational records securely until your child changes school or leaves us. Their records will then be transferred to the new school or college, where they will be retained until 25 years after the student’s date of birth. After this date, they will be safely destroyed.

There are strict controls on who can see your or your child’s information. We will not share data if you have advised us that you do not want it shared unless we are legally required to do so or if this means that our students are safeguarded.

• We routinely share pupil information with:
• schools or colleges that our pupils attend after leaving us
• our local authority (the Vale of Glamorgan)
• the Department for Education and Skills (Wales) and the Welsh Government
• Social services
• Assessment bodies and assessment system hosts
• Qualifications boards

We do not share information about our pupils with anyone without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so. We share pupils’ data with the Department for Education and Skills (Wales), the Vale of Glamorgan Local Education Authority, the Central South Consortium Joint Education Service and the Welsh Government on a statutory basis. This data sharing underpins school funding and educational attainment policy and monitoring.

The school census takes place in January each year and is completed by every school in Wales. Each school provides information on the school, its pupils and staff. Prior to 2004 the census was a paper form and gave a school-level view of education in Wales. In that year an electronic data collection, the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC), was introduced and replaced the form for all except the Independent schools. This information is securely collected from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and awarding bodies.

We are required by law, to provide PLASC information about our pupils to the Welsh Government as part of statutory data collections such as the school census. Some of this information is then stored anonymously by Stats Wales. PLASC return is a statutory requirement under section 537A of the Education Act. 1996. 

To find out more about the pupil information we share with the Welsh Government, for the purpose of data collections, go to https://www.gov.wales/data-collection-and-information-management-for-schools 

To find out more about the statistics presented by Stats Wales, go to https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Education-and-Skills/Schools-and-Teachers/Schools-Census

• The Welsh Government may share information about our pupils with third parties who promote the education or well-being of children in Wales by:
• conducting research or analysis
• producing statistics
• providing information, advice or guidance

Under data protection legislation, parents and pupils have the right to request access to information about them that we hold. To make a request for your personal information, or be given access to your child’s educational record, contact Mr C.D. Britten, Ysgol y Deri.

• Object to the processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress
• Prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
• Object to decisions being taken by automated means
• In certain circumstances have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed; and
• Claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of data protection regulations

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your or your child’s personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance so that we may consult with you and rectify any issues arising in a sensitive and responsive way. You are also entitled to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office directly at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ .