Accessing information about your child

What schools and the local authority do with pupils' and children's data

Schools process personal data about pupils and are 'data controllers' in respect of this for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998. It processes this information to:

support its pupils' teaching and learning;
monitor and report on their progress;
provide appropriate pastoral care, and
assess how well a school is doing.

This information includes contact details, national curriculum assessment results, attendance information, characteristics such as ethnic group, special educational needs and any relevant medical information.

To find the contact details of your child's school use Search for schools .

From time to time the school is required to pass on some of this data to local authorities, Department for Education (DFE) and to agencies that are prescribed by law, such as the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), Ofsted, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the Department of health (DH), Primary Care Trusts (PCT), and organisations that require access to data in the Learning Records Service, previously the MIAP (Managing Information Across Partners) programme. All these are data controllers for the information they receive. The data must only be used for specific purposes allowed by law.

Local authorities, including Calderdale Council, are required to collect information on children and young people who are in need of services or who are 'looked after' by the local authority. Some of this information is sent to the DfE each year in what are called statutory returns. For example, the Children in Need Census.

The information will include some personal data and the details of services provided. The DfE does not use any identifiable information to take any action in relation to individual people.

The Local Authority and the DfE will use the information toThe Local Authority and the DfE will use the information to

assess services and look at how they can be improved
monitor and report on their progress
develop good practice in the services you receive.

Further information about what the DFE does with data:

The Local Authority (LA) uses information about children for whom it provides services, to enable it to carry out specific functions for which it is responsible, such as the assessment of any special educational needs the child may have. The Local Authority uses information about children in need of services to assess and provide appropriate services, support and pastoral care. It also uses the information to derive statistics to inform decisions on (for example) the funding of schools, and to assess the performance of schools and set targets for them. The statistics are used in such a way that individual children cannot be identified from them.

The Local Authority will use information about its school workforce for research and statistical purposes, and to evaluate and develop education policy and strategies. The statistics are used in such a way that individual staff cannot be identified from them. The LA may also use it to support and monitor schools regarding sickness and recruitment of staff.

E-mail:
cyps.icthelpdesk@calderdale.gov.uk
Telephone:
01422 392560
Address:
Mulcture House
3 Mulcture Hall Road
Halifax HX1 1SP.

Primary Care Trusts (PCT) use information about pupils for research and statistical purposes, to monitor the performance of local health services and to evaluate and develop them. The statistics are used in such a way that individual pupils cannot be identified from them. Information on the height and weight of individual pupils may however be provided to the child and its parents and this will require the PCTs to maintain details of pupils’ names for this purpose for a period designated by the Department of Health following the weighing and measuring process. PCTs may also provide individual schools and LAs with aggregate information on pupils’ height and weight.

Website:
Calderdale Primary Care Trust|
Contact:
Data Protection Officer
Address:
Calderdale Primary Care Trust(PCT)
PCT Headquarters
4th Floor
F Mill
Dean Clough
Halifax HX3 5AX
Telephone:
01422 281300.

Youth Support Services - In addition for Secondary and Middle deemed Secondary Schools

Once you are aged 13 or over, we are required by law to pass on certain information to the provider of youth support services in your area. This is the local authority support service for young people aged 13 to 19 in England. We must provide the name and address of you and your parents (and your date of birth) and any further information relevant to the support services' role.

However, until you are aged 16 or older, your parent(s) can ask that no information beyond your name, address and date of birth (and their name and address) be passed on to the youth services provider. This right transfers to you on your 16th birthday. Please inform the school if this is what you or your parents wish.

Online information, advice and support on a range of issues affecting young people can be found on the Directgov: Young People| with access to trained helpline advisers, via SMS text message, telephone, webchat and email.