Privacy notice - Theatre in Education Research: Parent & Carer Focus Group Discussions
Overview
This privacy notice covers a research project being led by East Sussex County Council and the University of Brighton. The research will evaluate Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education activities in secondary schools which aim to prevent and reduce future illegal drug use. The activities being evaluated include school lessons and a theatre performance at school, which together are called ‘Theatre in Education’.
Parents and carers of pupils involved in the Theatre in Education activities will be invited to take part in focus groups after they have seen a theatre performance. Focus groups will be held online. The focus group will discuss parents’ and carers’ views on Theatre in Education and drug prevention education in school. The focus group will be led by a Research Fellow at the University of Brighton and a member of the East Sussex County Council Public Health Department.
Limited personal data will be collected to arrange the online focus groups. The information we collect for the research itself is anonymous which means that individuals cannot be identified.
Taking part in this research is voluntary and individuals can withdraw (decide not to take part) at any time, even if the focus group has already started. An optional reward to thank participants for their time will be made available in the form of a shopping voucher.
This privacy notice covers personal data that will be collected to arrange the focus group and any personal data that may be collected during focus group discussions. We have asked participants not to provide personal details, so this privacy notice will explain how we will manage any personal data that is still provided.
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?
So that we can arrange the online focus groups we will ask you to provide a name and email address through a secure booking system. We will not link this data to any information that you share during the focus group.
During the focus group we will ask you to use your initials only for the purpose of communication.
Research data collected will be anonymous, so will not be identifiable to any individual.
Please do not provide any other personal data in this focus group discussion.
Personal data is information about you such as your name or health information. Where you do provide this information, it will be held securely in line with Data Protection guidelines but not transcribed nor used in the analysis of the focus group responses.
If you choose to receive a reward for your time in participating in the focus group, you will be asked to provide us with your name and postal address using a secure online form.
How will your information be used?
Your information will only be used to support research in the public interest which aims to improve outcomes for young people now and in the future. We will use your information to help us find out more about the ways young people learn about:
- the impacts of drugs and illegal substances
- how to manage peer pressure in relation to illegal substances
- health promoting behaviours that could improve resilience and prevent future illegal drug use.
Your name, email address and postal address (if provided) will only be used to arrange the focus group and to provide you with a reward.
The University of Brighton will audio record the focus group discussion and transcribe it using pseudonyms for each participant. Anonymous quotes may be used in final reports or research publications.
We do not want to collect any personal data during the focus group, but if data is shared, it will be held securely in line with Data Protection guidelines but not transcribed nor used in the analysis of the focus group responses.
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?
Public task is the legal basis that applies for the processing of personal data for this research project.
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 (Section 12) includes a duty for local councils to take appropriate steps to improve the health of the people who live in their areas. These steps may include:
- providing information and advice
- providing services or facilities designed to promote healthy living (whether by helping individuals to address behaviour that is detrimental to health or in any other way).
The research project will help the council to take steps to improve information, advice and services delivered now and in the future.
How long will your information be kept for?
Research data will be held for ten years by the University of Brighton and for six years by East Sussex County Council following the project end on 31 December 2025.
Name, email address and postal address details (if provided) will be held for no longer than three months after the focus group takes place.
Sharing your information
Your information will be collected via audio recording on dedicated devices by researchers at the University of Brighton. These will be transferred and stored as digital files and will be transcribed and analysed using secure software. Anonymous information will be shared with members of the research team at East Sussex County Council, so that the aims of the research can be met.
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.
Your information will only be shared as part of anonymous quotations and anonymous descriptions of the research findings.
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:
David Bishop
Health Improvement Principal
Public Health
East Sussex County Council
County Hall
St Anne’s Crescent
Lewes
BN7 1UE
Email: public.health@eastsussex.gov.uk
or
Jörg Huber
Professor of Health Sciences
School of Education, Sport and Health Sciences
University of Brighton
Falmer, Westlain
Brighton
BN1 9PH
Email: j.huber@brighton.ac.uk
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)