Privacy policy

Privacy notice: How we use children’s information

This notice explains when we collect personal data, what we use it for, who we share it with and your rights.

The categories of children’s information that we collect, hold and share include:

• Personal information: Surnames, forenames, titles, addresses, postcodes, dates of birth, national insurance numbers and national asylum seekers numbers.
• Characteristics: ethnicity, language, nationality, early years funding entitlement – of both the child and/or his/her parents
• Attendance information sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons
• Medical information medication, pre-existing medical conditions, care plans
• Information about their learning and development: observations made by staff members, tracking, reports by other professionals (with parental consent), examples of children’s work, photographs of children.

Why we collect and use this information

We use the child data:

• to support their learning and development
• to plan appropriate learning and development opportunities for them
• to enable us to fulfil requirements of grant funding applied for in respect of your child (2,3 and 4 year old early education entitlements)
• to monitor and report on their progress to parents/legal guardians
• to provide appropriate care and learning/development opportunities
• to assess the quality of our provision
• to comply with the law regarding data sharing

The lawful basis on which we use this information

We collect and use children’s information under the Childcare Act 2006, in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (2017) and the Working Together to Safeguard Children document (2015).

Collecting children’s information

Whilst the majority of information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it is provided to us on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with Data Protection law, we will always inform you whether you are required to provide certain pupil information to us or if you have a choice in this.

Storing pupil data

We hold pupil data for the duration of your child’s time with us and in line with Pre School Learning Alliance retention periods.

Who we share your child’s information with

We routinely share children’s information with:

• the school that your child will attend after leaving us
• our local authority (usually anonymised unless there is a specific need for identification to be maintained e.g. for a referral to a specific service, to monitor 2 year old funded children development or to claim free entitlement funding)
• the Department for Education (DfE)
• Health Visitors

Why we share children’s information

We do not share information about children attending our setting without consent unless the law allows us to do so. This will be set out in our policies.

We share children’s data with the Department for Education (DfE) via the Local Authority. This data sharing underpins setting funding and our obligations, and under the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and related moderation processes.

The Local Authority has robust processes in place to ensure the confidentiality of our data is maintained and there are stringent controls in place regarding access and use of the data. Decisions on whether it releases data to third parties are subject to a strict approval process and 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 information, organisations must comply with strict terms and conditions covering the confidentiality and handling of the data, security arrangements and retention and use of the data.

Requesting access to your personal data

Under data protection legislation, parents and children 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 learning and development record, contact Kate Cromar at Happy Hours Pre School as Data Officer.

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 (we do not currently use data for this means, and have no plans to)
• object to decisions being taken by automated means (we do not currently make decisions by automated means, nor do we have plans to)
• in certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed; and
• claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Data Protection principles

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, we request that you raise your concern with us in the first instance. Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

Contact

If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact:

Kate Cromar

Happy Hours Pre School

Polehampton Infant School

Hermitage Drive

Twyford

RG10 9HS