Data protection

To meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998, schools need to issue a Fair Processing Notice to pupils and/or parents summarising the information held about pupils, why it is held, and the third parties to whom it may be passed on.

The Information Commissioner has recommended that the term 'Fair Processing Notice (FPNs)' be replaced by 'Privacy Notice'.

The Department Children School and Families (DCSF) is therefore adopting this approach for the process of issuing Privacy Notices.

In the past, the suggested text in FPNs has included the use of school information made available by the Local Authority (LA) or the DCSF. However, the new process will mean much simpler Privacy Notices, where details of any organisations with which the LA and DCSF share data are contained on the LA and DCSF websites - please see below.

This means that Privacy Notices do not need reissuing in the future on an annual basis. The aim is to make the Privacy Notices issued to children general and constant.
Any changes to the details of organisations with which school or LA data is shared can be updated on the LA and DCSF websites.

Privacy Notices will be sent to parents/guardians or children. The text versions are available here: