Privacy Notice

EDUCATION, LEISURE & HOUSING

Glaitness School Privacy Notice – How we may use your information

Data Processor

Your personal information will be processed by Glaitness School staff, Pickaquoy Road, Kirkwall, KW15 1RP. You can contact the School on 01856873648 or admin.glaitness@glow.orkneyschools.org.uk

Data Protection Officer

The Council’s Data Protection Officer is Gavin Mitchell, Head of Legal Services, who can be contacted using the contact details for the Council as set out above.

Your rights

  • The right to be informed about how your information will be used.
  • The right of access to your personal information.
  • The right to rectification, which is the right to require the School to correct any inaccuracies or omissions.
  • The right to request the erasure of any personal information held by the School where the School no longer has legal reason to hold the information.
  • The right to request that your information is only processed in certain ways.
  • The right to data portability.
  • The right to object to the School processing your personal information.

These are not absolute rights and there may be circumstances where the School is legally obliged to process your information in a particular way. Orkney Islands Council has published a guide which sets out in details your rights and how you can exercise them. The Guide is available from the Council’s reception area or on the Council’s website.

The categories of student information that we process include:

  • personal identifiers and contacts (such as name, unique student number, contact details and address)
  • characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, and free school meal eligibility)
  • safeguarding information (such as court orders and professional involvement)
  • additional support needs (including the needs and according to Orkney Islands Council Staged Intervention levels)
  • medical and administration (such as doctors information, child health, dental health, allergies, medication and dietary requirements)
  • attendance (such as sessions attended, number of absences, absence reasons and any previous schools attended)
  • assessment and attainment (such as Scottish National Standardised Assessments, reading tests and any relevant results)
  • behavioural information (such as exclusions and any relevant alternative provision put in place)

This list is not exhaustive.  Other categories of student information that we process include, for example; trips and activities, catering and free school meal management and identity management

Why we collect and use student information

We collect and use student information, for the following purposes:

  1. to support student learning
  2. to monitor and report on student attainment progress
  3. to provide appropriate pastoral care
  4. to assess the quality of our services
  5. to keep children safe (food allergies, or emergency contact details)
  6. to meet the statutory duties placed upon us for Scottish Government and Orkney Islands Council data collections

The usual lawful bases for collecting and using student information are in provision of a public service (Education) and where consent is sought and given.  However, more than one basis may apply from the following table:

Legal obligation The law states that we must carry out this activity, e.g. registration.
Public services The processing is necessary in order to deliver public services.
Contract The processing is required for the performance of a contract, e.g. contract of employment or a contract to provide services.
Vital interests The processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of an individual, which usually means protecting someone’s life or protecting them from serious harm. If there is another lawful basis that can be used then that lawful basis should be used and not vital interests.
Consent When none of the above applies and the individual has a genuine choice about whether the processing of their information happens, e.g. giving student and parent data to extra-curricular club leaders (under the ausipices of the Parent Council).

How we collect student information

We collect student information via enrolment forms, SEEMiS Annual Data Check or personal student records (paper files) transferred from the previous school.

Student data is essential for the schools’ operational use. Whilst the majority of student information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is requested on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with the data protection legislation, we will inform you at the point of collection, whether you are required to provide certain student information to us or if you have a choice in this.

How we store student data

We hold student data securely for the set amount of time shown in our data retention schedule. For more information on our data retention schedule and how we keep your data safe, please visit http://www.orkney.gov.uk/Online-Services/privacy.htm.

Data is held securely on a server within the school premises which is located in a secure area.  Orkney Islands Council’s Information Services carry out regular backups of the server which are securely stored offsite.  Staff are required to login with unique usernames and passwords and are responsible for maintaining the security of these.  Paper copies of data are securely locked away in filing cabinets or cupboards to which a limited number of staff have keys for access.

Who we share student information with

We routinely share student information with:

  • KGS or other schools that the students attend after leaving us
  • our local authority, including Orkney Health and Care
  • volunteer activity club leaders who run the club under the auspices of the Parent Council
  • NHS
  • Catering Management

Other agencies we may share information with due to particular student circumstances may include but are not restricted to:

  • Crossroads, Women’s Aid, Advocacy Orkney, Home Start

We do not share information about our students with anyone without consent unless the law and our regulatory policies allow us to do so.

Scottish Government

The Scottish Government collects personal data from educational settings and local authorities via various statutory data collections, e.g. School Census. We are required to share information about our students with the Scottish Government either directly or via our local authority for the purpose of those data collections.

Requesting access to your personal data

Under data protection legislation, parents and students 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 the Head Teacher.

You also have the right to:

  • object to 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
  • a right to seek redress, either through the Information Commissioner’s Office, or through the courts

Information is also analysed internally in order to provide management information, inform service delivery reform and similar purposes.

Transferring our information outside the UK or European Economic Area.

The School will not transfer personal data outside either the UK or the European Union (EU). Orkney Islands Council will only transfer data outside the UK and the EU when it is satisfied that the party which will handle the data and the country it is processing it in will provide adequate safeguards for personal privacy. On the occasions when it does transfer your information outside the UK or the European Economic Area, the Council will inform you.

Profiling and automatic Decision making

The School does not use profiling or automated decision-making processes.

How long do we keep your information?

The School will only keep your information for as long as necessary.

Full details of how long the School usually retains your information can be found in the Council’s Retention and Disposal Schedule which is published on the Council’s website From the ‘Related Downloads’ section http://www.orkney.gov.uk/Online-Services/privacy.htm  Once the School no longer needs to keep your information, it will be securely destroyed.

Right to complain

If you are unhappy with the way the School has processed your personal data you have the right to complain. Any complaints regarding your data should be addressed to the Head Teacher in the first instance. If the matter is not resolved, you can contact the Orkney Islands Council’s Data Protection Officer.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The address and contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Officer are:

Address: 45 Melville Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7HL.
Telephone: 01312449001.
Email: scotland@ico.org.uk

If there is anything you would like to discuss regarding this privacy notice, please contact the Head Teacher.