Privacy notice - School admissions and transport
Overview
This privacy notice covers information collected for the allocation of school places, the provision of free school transport, free school meals, and 'Early Years' funding, and 'Early Years Pupil Premium' (EYPP) eligibility.
If your personal details change, please help us to keep your information up to date by notifying us.
We may change the terms of this privacy statement from time to time. If we do so, we will post the changes here. Much of the information collected is via the Parent Portal. By continuing to use the Parent Portal you will be deemed to have accepted such changes.
East Sussex County Council takes data protection seriously. Please be assured that your information will be used appropriately in line with data protection legislation, will be stored securely and will not be processed unless the requirements for fair and lawful processing can be met.
What information is being used?
We collect the following information in order to allocate school places and to assess any entitlement to transport services:
- child’s name
- child’s date of birth
- child’s gender
- child’s home address
- details of child’s school-aged brothers or sisters
- if the child is ‘Looked after’ or ‘Previously looked after’
- if the child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
- parent’s name
- parent’s address
- parent’s contact details
We collect the following information in order to assess free school meals and Early Years funding entitlement:
- child’s name
- child’s date of birth
- parent’s name
- parent’s date of birth
- parent’s National Insurance Number
How will your information be used?
It will be used to enable East Sussex County Council to administer school admissions policies to ensure children are correctly allocated school places in accordance with our statutory duties.
To allow the Council to assess school transport eligibility in line with statutory duties and council policy to the benefit of pupils.
To allow the Council to perform eligibility checks for Early Years funding and/or free school meals.
This information will be stored and held and may be used for more than one purpose, for example, if you supply data for eligibility checking at age two this may be saved and used, if appropriate, to check for EYPP eligibility, verification of 30 Hours childcare eligibility, and/or free school meals eligibility at a later date.
If we authorise your child for home to school transport services, the Transport Privacy Notice will apply.
We aim to maintain high standards, adopt best practice for our record keeping and regularly check and report on how we are doing. Your information is never sold for direct marketing purposes.
Our staff are trained to handle your information correctly and protect your confidentiality and privacy.
Your information is processed in the UK or in a country with an adequacy agreement with the UK.
What is the legal basis for processing your information?
The purpose of providing the information allows the council to allocate school places to those entitled to it by law as well as to determine those who are eligible for free school meals and home to school transport, administered by the County Council under Article 6(1)(c) UK GDPR and Article 6(1)(e) UK GDPR.
How long will your information be kept for?
The information provided as part of the school application process will be retained for 7 years from the start of the school year to which the application is made.
For free school meal applications this information is retained for a maximum of 6 years, or your details will be held until your child leaves compulsory education or school sixth form, whichever comes first.
You can find more information on Managing records and information.
Sharing your information
Information will only be shared with those involved in the application process or to provide transport services.
Any sharing of personal data is always done:
- on a case-by-case basis
- using the minimum personal data necessary
- with the appropriate security controls in place
- in line with legislation.
Information is only shared with those agencies and bodies who have a "need to know" or where you have consented to the sharing of your personal data to such persons.
We may use the information we hold about you to assist in the detection and prevention of crime or fraud. We may also share this information with other bodies that inspect and manage public funds.
Use of third party organisations
East Sussex County Council may share your information with trusted external organisations to process your data on our behalf.
It is necessary to share information with schools that are an admission authority in their own right and neighbouring local authorities.
Any organisation commissioned by the Council will be under contractual obligation to comply with data protection legislation.
Your rights
Under data protection legislation, you have the right:
- to be informed why, where and how we use your information
- to ask for access to your information
- to ask for your information to be corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete
- to ask for your information to be deleted or removed where there is no need for us to continue processing it
- to ask us to restrict the use of your information
- to ask us to copy or transfer your information from one IT system to another in a safe and secure way, without impacting the quality of the information
- to object to how your information is used
- to challenge any decisions made without human intervention (automated decision making)
Please visit data subject rights for further details.
How to find out more or complain
Should you have any further queries on the uses of your information, please speak directly to our service:
Admissions and Transport team
Phone: 0300 330 9472
Email: Admissions and Transport team
To complain about the use of your information, please contact our Customer Services Team or our Data Protection Officer.
Further information on making a complaint.
You can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for further information or to make a complaint:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate)