Privacy Notice

Derrymount School Privacy Notice

Derrymount School respects you and your child’s privacy when you use the Organisation’s services and is committed complying with privacy legislation.

The information below is what is referred to as a ‘Privacy Notice’ which explain how the Organisation uses and protects your personal information.

Derrymount School has a Data Protection Officer whose role it is to ensure that any personal information processed by the Organisation is processed fairly and lawfully (respecting your rights and ensuring we follow the law). If you have any concerns or questions regarding how we look after your personal information, please contact the Data Protection Officer Geoff Curtis, at gcurtis@derrymount.notts.sch.uk or by calling 0115 9534015

What is a Privacy Notice?

The purpose of a Privacy Notice is to explain how you and your family’s personal information may be used. It details why we collect information and who we may share it with.

Who are we

We, Derrymount School, are a Data Controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act. We collect information from you and your family and may receive information about you and your family from your previous school and the Learning Records Service.

Why we use personal information

We may need to use some information about you to:

  • deliver services and support to you;
  • manage those services;
  • train and manage the employment of our workers who deliver those services;
  • help investigate any worries or complaints you have about your services;
  • keep track of spending on services;
  • check the quality of services; and
  • help with research and planning of new services.

The reasons we keep records about you and your family are to:

  • Support teaching and learning;
  • Monitor and report on progress;
  • Provide appropriate pastoral care;
  • Give the best possible service;
  • Provide statutory services (e.g. assessment for free school meals eligibility);
  • Safeguard Children and Young People from harm;
  • Assess how well schools are doing.

What are our legal reasons for processing personal information?

There are a number of legal reasons why we need to collect and use personal data. Generally we collect and use personal information in the following circumstances:

  • Where you, or your legal representative, have given consent
  • Where you have entered into a contract with us
  • Where it is necessary to perform our statutory duties
  • Where it is necessary to protect someone in an emergency
  • Where it is required by law
  • Where it is necessary for employment purposes
  • Where you have made your data publicly available
  • Where it is necessary to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim
  • Where it is in the substantial public interest
  • Where it is necessary to protect public health
  • Where it is necessary for archiving public interest material, research, or statistical purposes

Where we are using your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. If you wish to withdraw your consent, please contact gcurtis@derrymount.notts.sch.uk so that your request can be dealt with.

What is Personal Information?

Personal information is often records that can identify and relate to a living person. This can also include information that when put together with other information can then identify a person.

What are Special Categories of Information?

This is personal information that needs more protection due to its sensitivity. This information is likely to include:

  • sexuality and sexual health
  • religious or philosophical beliefs
  • ethnicity
  • physical or mental health
  • trade union membership
  • political opinion
  • genetic/biometric data

How we limit the use of personal information

Where necessary Derrymount School processes personal data to deliver our services effectively; but wherever possible, the data that we process will be anonymised, pseudonymised or de-personalised. This means the information can no longer identify a person.

When using personal data for research purposes, the data will be anonymised/pseudonymised to avoid the identification of a person, unless you have agreed that your personal information can be used for the research project.

We do not sell personal data to any other organisation for the purposes of selling products.


The law provides you with a number of rights to control the processing of your personal information:

Accessing the information we hold about you

You have the right to ask for all the information we have about you. When we receive a request from you in writing, we must normally give you access to everything we have recorded about you. However, we will not let you see any parts of your record which contain:

  • Confidential information about other people; or
  • Data an information professional thinks will cause serious harm to your or someone else’s physical or mental wellbeing; or
  • If we think that the prevention or detection of crime may be adversely affected by disclosing data to you.

This applies to paper and electronic records. If you ask us, we will also let others see your record (except if one of the points above applies). If you cannot ask for your records in writing, we will make sure there are other ways you can apply. If you have any queries regarding access to your information please contactGeoff Curtis gcurtis@derrymount.notts.sch.uk or 0115 9534015

Changing information you believe to be inaccurate

You should let us know if you disagree with something written on your file. We may not always be able to change or remove the information; however, we will correct factual inaccuracies and may include your comments in the records. Please use the contact details above to report inaccurate information.

Asking for your information to be deleted (right to be forgotten)

In some circumstances you can request the erasure of the personal information used by the Organisation, for example:

  • Where the personal information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected
  • Where you have withdrawn your consent to the use of your information (where there is no other legal basis for the processing)
  • Where there is no legal basis for the use of your information
  • Where erasure is a legal obligation

Where personal information has been shared with others, the Organisation shall make every reasonable effort to ensure those using your personal information comply with your request for erasure.

Please note that the right to erasure does not extend to using your personal information where:

  • Is required by law
  • It is used for exercising the right of freedom of expression
  • It is in the public interest in the area of public health
  • It is for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes, or statistical purposes where it would seriously affect the achievement of the objectives of the processing
  • It is necessary for the establishment, defence, or exercise of legal claims.

Restricting what your information is used for

You have the right to ask us to restrict what we use your personal data for where one of the following applies:

  • You have identified inaccurate information, and have notified us of this
  • Where using your information is unlawful, and you wish us to restrict rather than erase the information
  • Where you have objected to us using the information, and the legal reason for us using your information has not yet been provided to you

When information is restricted it cannot be used other than to securely store the data, and with your consent, to handle legal claims, protect others, or where it is for important public interests of the UK.

Where restriction of use has been granted, we will inform you before the use of your personal information is resumed.

You have the right to request that the Organisation stop using your personal information for some services. However, if this request is approved this may cause delays or prevent us delivering a service to you. Where possible we will seek to comply with your request, but we may need to hold or use information in connection with one or more of the Organisation’s legal functions.

Computer based decisions about you and if you are ‘profiled’

You have the right to object about decisions being made about you by automated means (by a computer and not a human being), unless it is required for any contract you have entered into, required by law, or you have consented to it. You also have the right to object if you are being ‘profiled’. Profiling is where decisions are made about you based on certain things in your personal information. If and when the Organisation uses your personal information to profile you, you will be informed.

If you have concerns regarding automated decision making, or profiling, please contact the Data Protection Officer who will be able to advise you about how your information is being used.

Who will we share your personal information with?

We use a range of companies and partners to either store personal information or to manage it for us. Where we have these arrangements there is always a contract, memorandum of understanding or information sharing protocol in place to ensure that the organisation complies with data protection law. We complete privacy impact assessments before we share personal information to ensure their compliance with the law.

Sometimes we have a legal duty to provide information about people to other organisations, e.g. Child Protection concerns or Court Orders.

We may also share your personal information when we feel there is a good reason that is more important than protecting your confidentiality. This does not happen often, but we may share your information:

  • For the find and stop crime or fraud; or
  • if there are serious risks to the public, our staff or to other professionals; or
  • to protect a child.

The law does not allow us to share your information without your permission, unless there is proof that someone is at risk or it is required by law.

This risk must be serious before we can go against your right to confidentiality. When we are worried about physical safety or we feel that we need to take action to protect someone from being harmed in other ways, we will discuss this with you and, if possible, get your permission to tell others about your situation.

We may still share your information if we believe the risk to others is serious enough to do so.

There may also be rare occasions when the risk to others is so great that we need to share information straight away. If this is the case, we will make sure that we record what information we share and our reasons for doing so. We will let you know what we have done and why as soon as or if we think it is safe to do so.

How do we protect your information?

We will do what we can to make sure we hold personal records (on paper and electronically) in a secure way, and we will only make them available to those who have a right to see them. Our security includes:

  • Encryption allows information to be hidden so that it cannot be read without special knowledge (such as a password). This is done with a secret code or cypher. The hidden information is said to be encrypted.
  • Pseudonymisation allows us to hide parts of your personal information from view so only we can see it. This means that someone outside of ECC could work on your information for us without ever knowing it was yours.
  • Controlling access to systems and networks allows us to stop people who are not allowed to view your personal information from getting access to it.
  • Training for our staff allows us to make them aware of how to handle information and how and when to report when something goes wrong.
  • Ways for us to access your information should something go wrong and our systems not work, including how we manage your information in event of an emergency or disaster.
  • Regular testing of our technology and processes including keeping up to date on the latest security updates (commonly called patches).

Our Security Measures policy

If your information leaves the country

Sometimes, for example where we receive a request to transfer Organisation records to a new Organisation, it is necessary to send that information outside of the UK. In such circumstances additional protection will be applied to that data during its transfer, and where the receiving country does not have an adequacy decision from the European Commission, advice will be sought from the Information Commissioners Office prior to the data being sent.
How long do we keep your personal information? [
For each reason why we use your personal information there is often a legal reason for why we need to keep it for a period of time. We try to capture all of these and detail them in what’s called a ‘retention schedule’. This schedule lists for each service how long your information may be kept for.

Our Retention Schedule Policy

What information is collected?

Information that may be collected includes contact details, national curriculum assessment results, exclusions information, attendance information and personal characteristics such as ethnic group, special educational needs and any relevant medical information. If you/your child are enrolling for post 14 qualifications we will be provided with your unique learner number (ULN) by the Learning Records Service and may also obtain from them details of any learning or qualifications you/your child have undertaken. We may also share certain personal data relating to children aged 16 and over with post-16 education and training providers in order to secure appropriate services for them.

Once a child is aged 13 or over we are required 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 address of all pupils and their parents (and date of birth) and any further information relevant to the support services’ role (e.g. school name, ethnicity and gender). However, until a child is aged 16 or older, their parent(s) can ask that no information beyond a child’s name, address and date of birth (and parent’s name and address) be passed on to the youth services provider. This right transfers to the child on their 16th birthday. Please inform the School Office at Derrymount school if you wish to opt-out of this arrangement.

More information about the support available for children and young people

Who may my/my family’s information be shared with?

We will not give information about you or your family to anyone outside the school without your consent unless the law and our rules allow us to.

We are required, by law, to pass certain information about our pupils to our local authority (LA) and the Department for Education (DfE).

DfE may also share pupil level personal data that we supply to them, with third parties. This will only take place where legislation allows it to do so and it is in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Decisions on whether DfE releases this personal data to third parties are subject to a robust approval process and are based on a detailed assessment of who is requesting the data, the purpose for which it is required, the level and sensitivity of data requested and the arrangements in place to store and handle the data. To be granted access to pupil level data, requestors must comply with strict terms and conditions covering the confidentiality and handling of data, security arrangements and retention and use of the data.

More information on how this sharing process works.

Information on which third party organisations (and for which project) pupil level data has been provided to.

Nottinghamshire County Council uses information about children for whom it provides services, to enable it to carry out specific functions for which it is responsible. These functions may include the assessment of any special educational needs a child may have, assessment for free school meals eligibility, support the process of admissions to schools and provide information for children, young people and family support services. The Council 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.

Nottinghamshire County Council may also share information, when appropriate and within the legal framework, with other organisations for example:

  • Primary Care Trusts (PCT);
  • Police forces;
  • Provider of youth support services in your area;
  • Other local authorities if you live in their area;
  • Further educational colleges.

Organisations have a legal right to share information when it is in the best interests of the child or young person. Sometimes we have a duty to share information and would need to justify why we did not. However, we only share information with professionals who have a legitimate need in order to provide you or your family with support or an intervention.

More information about how the Local Authority (Nottinghamshire County Council) and the Department for Education store and use your information.

If you are unable to access these websites, please contact the Local Authority or DfE as follows:

Nottinghamshire County Council Department for Education
Information and Systems Team,
Quality and Improvement Group Children, Families and Cultural Services,
Nottinghamshire County Council
County Hall,
West Bridgford
Nottingham,
NG2 7QP
Email: data.management@nottscc.gov.uk
Ministerial and Public Communications Division
Department for Education
Piccadilly Gate,
Store Street,
Manchester,
M1 2WD
Website: www.education.gov.uk
Email: education.gov.uk/help/contactus
Telephone: 0370 000 2288

Where can I get advice?

You can contact our Data Protection Officer at gcurtis@derrymount.notts.sch.uk or by calling 0115 9534015

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and information sharing issues you can contact:
The Information Commissioner 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number, or casework@ico.org.uk

Derrymount School