Children, families and education

We're committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. We have a data protection officer who makes sure we respect your rights and follow the law.

If you have any concerns or questions about how we look after your personal information, please contact us at [email protected].

Personal data

Personal data

Name, address, date of birth, school details, pupil ID numbers, dentist and GP contact details, email, telephone, NHS number, national Insurance number' details of family relationships, parent contact details and date of birth, lone parent status, family breakdown and relationships, history of domestic abuse, immigration status, language spoken, employment status, benefit entitlement, details of siblings, child receiving support for SEND , criminal reports and antecedents, information if child is looked after or has special guardianship, adoption information, child identifier, details of care (eg dates, reason, category of care), legal status, needs, placement details, UASC details, missing details, SDQ score.

Special category data

Disability, ethnicity, religion, health, including mental health, mental capacity assessments, pregnancy delivery date, smoking status, substance misuse, history of substance misuse , child disability living allowance, gender, ethnic origin code.

Purpose for using it

Children and families uses your personal data to:

• provide a statutory service, identifying the needs of vulnerable children and young adults
• enable planning for the future and demand management of services required
• monitor our performance and the quality of the services we provide
• assess eligibility of parents of early years childcare provision and targeted services, to coordinate and assist entitlement and to identify suitable providers
• identify need and provide appropriate support for families and contribute to the national evaluation of the Troubled Families programme (known as Stronger Families in Luton)
• to share data under the Regional Sufficiency project which is a pan-region initiative for the East of England to address important issues regarding the suitable placement of children that can only be answered by examining the region’s data as a whole
• to ensure positive outcomes for our children and young people within their education, employment and training

Lawful basis

Children and families uses you personal data under the following categories:

• personal data: processing is necessary for the compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject or processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller
• special category data: necessary in the field of social protection

Regional sufficiency project

• personal data: we will rely on Public task based on Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 which states that it is the general duty of every local authority “to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need, by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s needs”.
• special category data: we will rely on substantial public interest in the safeguarding of children and individuals at risk.

Who we share it with

Children and families may share your personal data with other professionals including:

• Foster East Recruitment Hub
• Luton Family Hubs
• Luton health colleagues
• police
• LSCB and partners
• education providers including residential
• placement providers such as foster carers and foster agencies
• Department for Education
• York Consulting
• Ofsted
• other local authorities with ASC and children safeguarding care responsibilities
• the courts
• Pre-school Learning Alliance
• Ministry for Housing
• Community and Local Government
• Department for Works and Pensions
• Care, Grow, Live (CGL)
• Home Start
• Solicitors Advice Surgery
• Luton Access
• East London Foundation Trust
• Social Finance Limited (trading as ‘Social Finance’ and ’ London Borough of Ealing (trading as the ‘Commissioning Alliance’)

Why we share it with them

• To ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young adults.
• To provide details of Child In Need statistical data for government returns.
• To provide more information about categories selected by the user.
• To enable the council to provide an holistic approach to promoting safeguarding and preventing harm and enable service users to access services across the councils portfolio.
• To deliver early year services in partnership with Luton Council.
• To provide mental health or emotional wellbeing.
• To ensure adequate data analysis, which in turn enables us to meet our duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children through services appropriate to their needs.

Any automated decision making or profiling

None

Transfer of data to another country

For out of country adoption, placements and safeguarding checks.

Retention period

The data will be kept in accordance with our retention schedule.

Exercising your rights

You have the right to ask us to amend or delete your data as well transfer or limit its use. You also have the right to request a review of an automated decision where you think this is wrong.

Each request will be considered individually. Where we are required to keep your data by law we may be unable to action your request. In all circumstances we will explain our decision making in writing to you.

Please see our main privacy statement using the button below If you want more information on how:

• we keep your data safe
• to request a change to the records we hold
• to make a complaint

Luton Council and Luton Schools Early Years and Education Services have entered into an Information Sharing Agreement.

This is to facilitate sharing of personal and sensitive (special category) data between Luton Council and Luton Schools as per Framework below.

Data will be shared primarily via the Council’s IT system for Education called Early Years and Education Services (EYES). The information will be used as per current purposes to assess / support / provide statutory services / early help and intervention. The deployment of the EYES module within Liquidlogic will provide a single platform for Early Help, Social Care and Education Services enabling a ‘one family one view’ integrated platform.

Legal Framework for Information Exchange

The following key documents provide the main framework for information sharing.

• GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018: the main legislative framework for confidentiality and information sharing issues. The legislation stipulates the principles that must be followed when personal or special category data is processed by organisations. The legislation stipulates the conditions under which information may be shared.
• Human Rights Act 1998: this act incorporates article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights which provides that everyone has the right to respect for their private and family life, home and correspondence.
• Children Act 1989 and 2004: these acts stipulate requirements to safeguard and promote children's welfare, along with agencies working together to enable this.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018: statutory guidance setting out what organisations and agencies that have functions relating to children, must and should do to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children and young people under the age of 18 in England.
• Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021: the guidance sets out what schools and colleges in England must do to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18: Keeping children safe in education.

What information do we hold, and about who

We hold information about children and young people receiving education and care, parent/carers, education professionals and those involved in school governance. The information we hold varies according to the service we are providing to you but might include:

• personal identifying information (such as name, date of birth, unique pupil numbers, addresses and email addresses)
• personal characteristics (such as ethnicity and gender)
• family circumstances or entitlements (for example whether eligible for free school meals, pupil premium funding or free childcare, whether a child has SEND, whether a child is looked after, whether home educated)
• information school attendance and exclusions
• information about parents’ views in regard to their children’s education (including complaints and admission appeals)
• information about children and young people’s attainment, education and training history
• information about the health and wellbeing of young people who accept youth support services and/or for supporting assessment of SEND
• records of advice we give in regard to safeguarding concerns and complaints

Why we collect and use pupil information

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

• to support pupil learning
• to monitor and report on pupil attainment progress
• to provide appropriate pastoral care
• to assess the quality of our services
• to keep children safe (food allergies, or emergency contact details)
• to meet the statutory duties placed upon us for DfE data collections

Storage and deletion

• The systems are hosted in the UK and all data is stored in the UK
• A retention schedule is in place which specifies storage periods for categories of data which reflect relevant legal requirements and limitation periods applicable to statutory requirements