We are dedicated to keeping your privacy safe when you use our services.
This Privacy Notice tells children, young people and their parents or carers how Ealing Council uses personal information and protects privacy according to the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018.
It explains what information we hold about students, why we keep it, who we may share it with while doing our duties, and how we handle your personal data, including collecting, storing, sharing, and destroying.
Personal information
We collect, process, hold and share:
- personal information (name, birth date, NHS number, pupil number, address)
- characteristics (ethnicity, language, free school meal eligibility)
- special education needs
- education assessment and progress
- learning history and future plans
- medical and health information
- attendance, exclusions and behaviour records
- parents or carers contact details
- youth offending records
- child employment and performance licenses
- social care information
- youth activities
Why we collect and use this information
We collect data on children and young people to:
- perform our legal duties, like school admissions, attendance, and safeguarding
- identify any special educational needs
- create statistics for funding education and planning school places without identifying individuals.
- assess school performance and set improvement goals
- monitor and review our services
- develop education policies and strategies
- meet research requirements from the Department for Education (DfE) and other government bodies
- target support for families and children who are most in need
The lawful basis on which we use this information
We use your personal information when:
- you or your legal representative give consent
- we need to share data as agreed
- it is required for our educational duties like:
- supporting children and young people in the borough
- keeping children in the borough safe including those placed out of the borough
- ensuring fair access to education
- helping Ealing’s looked after children succeed, including those placed out of the borough
- we need to protect our legal rights and public interests
- there is an emergency that requires protection
- health or social care services need to be provided
- law enforcement, prosecutions or Court proceedings
- a contract for the service delivery is necessary
Collecting this information
Most information about children and young people is required by law, but some is given voluntarily. We will tell you if you must provide certain information. If you can choose to give non-mandatory information, we will ask for your consent.
You can withdraw your consent if applicable. We will inform you if this applies.
The parent or carer must give consent for their child up to age 16. After 16, the young person can provide their own consent.
Storing this information
We will not keep personal data longer than necessary. Retention periods vary based on service needs and the child's age when using our services.
There are legal reasons for keeping personal information for a specific time. Our data retention schedule shows how long we keep different types of information, from months to decades for sensitive records. After the retention period, we will securely destroy the information.
To see our retention schedule, email dataprotection@ealing.gov.uk
Who we share this information with
We may share information about children and young people with:
- internal council departments for their roles (social care, housing, complaints, finance, legal services)
- the Department for Education (DfE) for collecting data
- Home Office and other agencies we must cooperate with (Ofsted, HMRC)
- youth support services for training and career information for 13 to 19 year olds
- schools and educational settings
- governing bodies of schools and colleges
- proprietors of academies and free schools
- management committees of pupil referral units
- independent schools and providers
- early years providers funded by Ealing Council
- The first-tier tribunal for special educational needs and disability
- NHS organisations and health boards
- other local authorities for various services
- emergency medical services (for example, ambulance, school nurse)
- social care services we work with
- youth offending, probation services, police, courts, and custodial facilities
- employers of young people
- relevant parties for safeguarding and child protection
- your legal representative or advocate (if you have instructed one)
Education and training
We collect personal information to provide your child with education and improve services for children in the borough.
We keep records about young people's education and training up to age 20, or 25 for those with special needs. Schools and public services may share information with us to help support education.
Youth support services and pupils aged 13 and above
When students turn 13, we share their contact details with youth support service providers, who help with education and training for ages 13 to 19.
We may ask for your consent to share more information, but parents can request that only basic details (name, address, date of birth) are shared.
Pupils aged 16 and above
We also share relevant information about pupils aged 16 and over, who are not in education or work, with youth support services to help them with:
- post-16 education and training
- youth support services
- careers advice
Looked after children and previously looked after children, care leavers
Local authorities must promote the educational success of looked after children under the Children Act 1989. This includes previously looked after children.
The National Pupil Database (NPD)
We are required by law to provide pupil information to the Department for Education (DfE), which is stored in the national pupil database
The DfE may share this data with third parties for research, statistics, or guidance while ensuring confidentiality and security.
Requesting access to your personal data
Under GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, parents and young people can ask to see their personal information.
To request this information, email dataprotection@ealing.gov.uk
More information
GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 give you rights over your personal information.
Information about your data rights is listed in our privacy notice
If you have questions about how we handle your personal information, email dataprotection@ealing.gov.uk
For independent advice on data protection, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website.
We may change this privacy notice at any time and will update it on this website.