Transparency data

Privacy information: children and young people under 18

Updated 4 January 2024

Applies to England

When we collect and use your personal information, we need to follow the law. The main laws are the Data Protection Act (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

The Department for Education (DfE) is the data controller for the personal information we process. This includes when the information is collected or processed by third parties on our behalf. See DfE is the data controller for more details.

We must have a valid reason to collect your personal data. These reasons are called ‘lawful basis’ in article 6(1) of the UK GDPR.

When we process your information, we maintain your information’s confidentiality, integrity and availability:

• confidentiality means only authorised users can view access, change or use your information
• integrity means we ensure your information is correct and accurate
• availability means we ensure your information is available, in a secure system, when required

The DfE personal information charter has more information on the standards you can expect when we collect, hold or use your personal information.

1. Using your data to protect children and young people

DfE collects information about vulnerable children and children who are known to children’s social care.

1.1 Using your data so we can protect you

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for this processing of your personal data is public task, under article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR. This allows us to process personal data when this is necessary to do our work as a government department. Section 11 of the Children Act 2004, section 175 of the Education Act 2002 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006 allows us to do this.

Special categories of personal data need to also be processed for reasons of substantial public interest under section 10 (3) of the DPA 2018 (Special categories of personal data) and 18 (Safeguarding of children and individuals at risk). We use it because we have a substantial public interest, section 83 of the Children Act 1989 and the Education Act 2002 allows this. Full details about how we process special category data are given in the DfE appropriate policy document.

Data we collect

DfE collects information from educational settings, local authorities, your employer and other government departments to safeguard children and adults. We collect and use the following personal information:

• name
• date of birth
• address

We collect and use the following special category data:

• characteristics (such as gender, ethnicity and disability)

We collect and use the following sensitive information:

• episodes of being a child in need, if applicable
• notes about the concern

Full details about how we process special category data are given in the DfE appropriate policy document.

For further details about safeguarding children with special educational needs and disability in schools, colleges and children’s services, see children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and special educational needs and disability (SEND) and high needs.

What we do with your data

We’ll use your personal information to:

• keep you or another pupil or learner safe from potential harm
• identify issues and provide support for mental and physical health issues
• prevent extremism in the education system. DfE works to ensure children and young people are not exposed to extremists and extremist messages

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) is an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE). TRA regulate the teaching profession in England and investigate cases of serious misconduct. If you are a witness or potential witness within a teacher misconduct investigation, TRA processes your information to investigate allegations of serious misconduct.

Sharing your data

We may share your personal data with other organisations where DfE and its executive agencies are notified of an issue regarding safeguarding of children and young people.

Other people and organisations may also share personal data with DfE and its executive agencies, for example, when they make a complaint or raise a concern with us. This can include information shared in accordance with the statutory guidance keeping children safe in education and working together to safeguard children. This information will be used to investigate complaints and to ensure trusts and academies comply with the regulations (including Independent schools Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (PDF, 131KB)).

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule .

For safeguarding cases, we keep your personal information until you are aged 25, or 10 years after the date of the allegation, whichever is longer, then it is reviewed.

The TRA will only keep your personal data for as long as they need to for the purpose of regulating the teaching profession, specifically up to 50 years after the closure of a case. After 50 years it will be securely destroyed.

Your rights

We are relying on public task for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ’right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’. This is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• the ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not used your information in the right way

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

For more information, see the ICO’s guide to individual rights.

See requesting your personal information for more on what you’re entitled to ask us, or any of our executive agencies, and your rights about how your information is collected and used.

Data processors

A data processor is an organisation that processes your information on DfE’s behalf. We do not use any data processors for this processing activity.

1.2 Using your data when you are a child that is looked after by local authorities

Local authorities have a legal duty to provide DfE with information each year about the children they look after.

The local authority must provide information about children who are looked after during the year, and about the activities and accommodation for care leavers (aged 17 to 25). See the Children looked after return 2023 to 2024: guide for further information.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for this processing of your personal data is legal obligation, under article 6(1)(c) of the UK GDPR. We will use your sensitive or ‘special category’ data when we have a substantial public interest. This is done under section 83 of the Children Act 1989.

DfE uses your data for research and to publish statistics on children who are looked after. Our lawful basis for using your special category personal data is article 9(j) archiving, research and statistics (with a basis in law), this is in accordance with article 89(1) and schedule 1 part (4) of the DPA 2018.

Data collected

DfE collects your personal information from local authorities. We use the following personal information:

• personal information (such as date of birth, child and pupil identifiers)

We collect and use special category data, this includes details about:

• characteristics (such as gender, ethnicity)

We collect and use sensitive data, this includes details about:

• episodes of being looked after (such as important dates, information on placements)
• outcomes for looked after children (such as whether health and dental assessments are up to date, strengths and difficulties questionnaire scores and offending)
• adoptions (such as dates of key court orders and decisions)
• care leavers (such as their activity and what type of accommodation they have)

Full details about how we process special category data are given in the DfE appropriate policy document.

What we do with your data

The CLA data collection enables DfE to evaluate policy initiatives and to monitor our objectives on looked-after children, both during their time in care and on reaching adulthood. The data is used for research, to publish statistics and in funding calculations.

We use this personal data to evaluate and improve our policies on children’s social care.

Looked-after children data is published annually as official statistics. 

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule.

We keep your personal information until you are aged 75 years.

Your rights

We are relying on legal obligation for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ’right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’. This is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• your ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not used your information in the right way

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

For more information, see the ICO’s guide to individual rights.

See requesting your personal information for more on what you’re entitled to ask us, or any of our executive agencies, and your rights about how your information is collected and used.

Data processors

Local authorities collect the data on behalf of DfE, but they are independent data controllers for the data they collect.

1.3 Using your data when you are a child in need

Local authorities have a legal duty to provide DfE with information each year about children in need. The children in need census covers all children who are referred to children’s social care services, even if no further action is taken.

A child in need is defined under the Children Act 1989 as a child who is unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health or development, or their health or development will be significantly impaired without the provision of services, or the child is disabled.

The local authority must provide information about children who are in need in the annual Children in Need (CIN) census. See the Children in need census: guide to submitting data  page for further information.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for this processing of your personal data is legal obligation, under article 6(1)(c) of the UK GDPR. When we use your sensitive or ‘special category’ data, we use it because we have a substantial public interest. This is done under section 83 of the Children Act 1989.

DfE uses your data for research and to publish statistics on children in need. Our lawful basis for using your special category personal data is article 9(j) archiving, research and statistics (with a basis in law), this is in accordance with article 89(1) and schedule 1 part (4) of the DPA 2018.

Data collected

DfE collects your personal information from local authorities. We use the following personal information:

• personal information (such as name, date of birth and pupil identifier)

We collect and use special category data, this includes details about:

• characteristics (such as gender, ethnicity and disability)

We collect and use sensitive data, this includes details about:

• episodes of being a child in need, referrals to children’s social care services, assessments, Section 47 enquiries, child protection plans and reviews, and child in need plans

Full details about how we process special category data are given in the DfE appropriate policy document.

What we do with your data

The purpose of the CIN collection is to provide the government with the necessary information to develop, monitor and evaluate policies on children in need. The data collected is used in the provision of information for research and in response to parliamentary questions and freedom of information requests.

Looked-after children data is published annually as official statistics. 

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule.

We keep your personal information until you are aged 25, or 6 years after the last update, whichever is longer, then it is reviewed.

Your rights

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

We are relying on legal obligation for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ’right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’. This is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• your ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not used your information in the right way

For more information, see the ICO’s guide to individual rights.

See requesting your personal information for more on what you’re entitled to ask us, or any of our executive agencies, and your rights about how your information is collected and used.

Data processors

Local authorities collect the data on behalf of DfE, but they are independent data controllers for the data they collect.

1.4 Using your data when we receive a serious incident notification (SIN)

DfE has established the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (the panel). The panel commissions national reviews of child safeguarding cases that raise issues which are complex or of national importance.

Local authorities in England must notify the panel, under section 16C(1) of the Children Act 2004, where the local authority knows or suspects that a child has been abused or neglected and:

• the child has died or has been seriously harmed in the local authority’s area
• the child, while normally resident in the local authority’s area, has died or been seriously harmed outside England

The local authority must notify the panel, under Schedule 2, paragraph 20(1)(a) of the Children Act 1989, if a child who is being looked after by a local authority dies whether or not neglect is known or suspected.

Once a notification is submitted no local authority, including the one that made the notification, will have access to it.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for this processing of your personal data is legal obligation under Article 6(1)(c) of the UK GDPR public task under Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR. This is further to under section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008.

For the purpose of data protection legislation, DfE and Ofsted are the joint data controllers for the personal data received via the system.

When we use your processing of sensitive or ‘special category’ data, this is carried out in accordance with the substantial public interest condition (Article 9(2)(g) UKGDPR). The relevant substantial public interest condition is statutory and government purposes (paragraph 6(1) of Part 2, Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018). 

Data collected

DfE collects your personal information from local authorities. We use the following personal information:

• personal information (such as name, date of birth and address)
• characteristics (such as gender, ethnicity and disability)

We collect and use sensitive data, this includes details about:

• characteristics of the incident (such as physical abuse, knife crime and neglect)
• episodes of being a child in need and child looked after (such as important dates, Child Protection information and Child Protection Plan information)
• education and early years details
• parent or carer name

Full details about how we process special category data are given in the DfE appropriate policy document.

What we do with your data

The panel will use the notifications to inform their deliberations about whether a national child safeguarding practice review of any of those incidents notified is required and in maintaining oversight of the system of national and local reviews and how effectively it is operating (all local safeguarding arrangements were in place by 29 September 2019). Statutory Guidance: Working Together to Safeguard Children.

Serious incident notification data is published annually as official statistics. 

Who we share your data with

We will only share your personal data with others where it is lawful, secure and ethical to do so.

The notifications received by the panel are also received by DfE and Ofsted. This allows:

• Ofsted to support its regulatory and inspection work, in particular to assess local authority children’s services and inspection of services for looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection
• DfE to exercise effectively its responsibilities for children and young people in England up to the age of 18, including child protection and education

In exercising its functions, Ofsted must have regard for the need to promote and safeguard the welfare of children (under section 117 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’) and section 153 of the 2006 Act provides that information obtained by the chief inspector of Ofsted in connection with any of his functions may be used by him in connection with any of his other functions.

The Secretary of State for Education has a general duty to promote the wellbeing of children (section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008) and DfE uses safeguarding information received from local authorities by the panel to inform development of policy on child protection and wider reforms to the children’s social care system in England. It also uses the information to inform any action being taken or to be taken by the government in relation to local authority interventions. The Serious Child Incident Team will have immediate direct access to notifications made through the system as the team has responsibility for serious incident notifications for DfE.

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule.

We review your personal data held every two years to see if the data is still required. If the data is no longer required it is destroyed.

Your rights

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

We are relying on legal obligation for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ’right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’. This is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• your ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not used your information in the right way

For more information, see the ICO’s guide to individual rights.

See requesting your personal information for more on what you’re entitled to ask us, or any of our executive agencies, and your rights about how your information is collected and used.

Data processors

Local authorities collect the data on behalf of the panel, and by extension DfE and Ofsted, but they are independent data controllers for the data they collect.

2. Using your data when you contact us

2.1 Contacting us to make an enquiry or complaint

We collect, process and store your personal data when you contact the department, by DfE contact us form, telephone, email, message us or live chat. In addition, telephone calls to our helplines may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes. If provided, we will also use your email address to send a customer satisfaction survey.

We use this information to resolve your enquiry, to progress a follow up enquiry or to action a request, as appropriate. It is also used to ensure our call agents are appropriately trained and to enable us to continually improve the quality of the service provided.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for this processing of your personal data is public task, under article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR. This allows us to process personal data when this is necessary to do our work as a government department.

Data we collect

DfE collect and use the following personal information directly from you:

• your full name
• email address
• details about your enquiry or compliant
• IP address

What we do with your data

We need information from you to investigate your complaint or enquiry properly.

We use the IP address to detect and block malicious visitors to our websites.

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule.

We keep your personal information for 5 years from the date of the enquiry or complaint

Your rights

We are relying on public task for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ’right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’. This is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• the ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not used your information in the right way

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

For more information, see the ICO’s guide to individual rights.

See requesting your personal information for more on what you’re entitled to ask us, or any of our executive agencies, and your rights about how your information is collected and used.

Data processors

A data processor is an organisation that processes your information on DfE’s behalf. We do not use any data processors for this processing activity.

2.2 Data when you use our websites

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for this processing of your personal data is public task, under article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR. This allows us to process personal data when this is necessary to do our work as a government department.

Data we collect

We use Google Analytics to collect information from you about how you use this website. We do not collect or store your personal information through Google Analytics so it cannot be used to identify who you are.

Google Analytics uses 3 types of cookies.

What we do with your data

We use your personal information to:

• ensure we present our website content in the best way for you.
• allow you to take part in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so

See data when you sign up to our notifications about learning opportunities or events for more information on when we use your data to:

• notify you about changes to our website or services
• provide you with information or services that you request from us or which may interest you

See the DfE cookies policy.

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule .

Your personal information is retained for up to 2 years. See details about cookies on GOV.UK for more information.

If you create an account on our websites or sign up for an alert your personal information is kept as long as you have an account. If you delete your account or cancel your alert, your data will also be deleted. See data when you sign up to our notifications about learning opportunities or events for more information.

Your rights

We are relying on public task for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ‘right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’, this is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• the ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not used your information in the right way

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

For more information, see the ICO’s guide to individual rights.

See requesting your personal information for more on what you’re entitled to ask us, or any of our executive agencies, and your rights about how your information is collected and used.

Data processors

A data processor is an organisation that processes your information on DfE’s behalf. DfE uses a data processor for the following activities:

• we use Google Analytics cookies and a Real User Monitoring (RUM) cookie from SpeedCurve to collect information about how you use GOV.UK

2.3 Data when you sign up to our notifications about learning opportunities or events

You can sign up for notifications, such as about apprenticeships or our careers service, or about our events.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for this processing of your personal data is consent under article 6(1)(a) of the UK GDPR – this is when we ask your consent to use your information.

Data we collect

DfE collect and use the following personal information directly from you:

• name
• email address

What we do with your data

We’ll use your personal information to enable you to sign-up to specific messages, like when promoting apprenticeships or our careers service, or to invite you to events, etc.

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule .

We keep your personal information for as long as you are signed-up to our notifications or alerts.

Your rights

We are relying on consent for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ‘right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’, this is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to delete your personal information – this is called ‘right to erasure’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• the ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
• the right to withdraw consent at any time (where relevant), by using our contact form
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not used your information in the right way

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

For more information, see the ICO’s guide to individual rights.

See requesting your personal information for more on what you’re entitled to ask us, or any of our executive agencies, and your rights about how your information is collected and used.

You can unsubscribe from our emails at any time. You can also use the ‘unsubscribe’ or ‘change your email preferences’ links in the emails you get from GOV.UK.

As we are processing your personal data with your consent, you have the right to withdraw consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. If you change your mind, or you are unhappy with our use of your personal data, contact DfE and state the project or initiative name.

Data processors

A data processor is an organisation that processes your information on DfE’s behalf. We use data processors to send email and text notifications.

2.4 Using your data when you use our social media channels

We use social media to share news and views with people working in:

• schools
• colleges
• local authorities
• children’s services

We also use social media to communicate with parents, children and young people.

See our social media use policy for more details.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for this processing of your personal data is consent under article 6(1)(a) of the UK GDPR, this is when we ask your consent to use your information.

Data we collect

When you interact with our social media channels we collect and use:

• your name

What we do with your data

When you use our websites and social media channels, we use your personal information to:

• allow you to take part in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so
• ensure we present our website content in the best way for you
• provide you with information or services that you request from us or which may interest you, we always get your consent when you request these DfE services
• notify you about changes to our website or services

See the DfE cookies policy.

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule.

Your personal information is retained for up to 2 years, see the details about cookies on GOV.UK page for more information.

Your rights

We are relying on consent for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ‘right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’, this is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to delete your personal information – this is called ‘right to erasure’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• the ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
• the right to withdraw consent at any time (where relevant), by using our contact form

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

As we are processing your personal data with your consent, you have the right to:

• withdraw consent to the processing of your personal data at any time, by using our contact form
• ask DfE to cease publication of your image, words or voice on its social media channels, in which case we will not publish further social media posts featuring the content, but are not obliged to remove or delete existing posts

DfE social media channels are captured by the National Archives’ government web archive as a permanent record of DfE’s social media communication.

If you change your mind, or you are unhappy with our use of your personal data, contact DfE and state the name of this project.

Further information on rights and the ways in which your data may be used are contained in the filming, photography and audio recordings consent form.

Data processors

A data processor is an organisation that processes your information on DfE’s behalf. DfE uses a data processor when we use:

• Google Analytics cookies
• Real User Monitoring (RUM) cookie from SpeedCurve to collect information about how you use GOV.UK

3. Using your data to carry out research

3.1 Using your data so we can undertake long-term research and publish official statistics

DfE undertakes long-term research to show the impact of education or training on outcomes later in life. We process the data already collected about your learning and achievements from the following educational settings:

• schools
• academies
• colleges
• sixth forms
• adult education training providers
• apprenticeships

We also collect data from local authorities about children in care or who have been in care.

This data is used to provide long-term research and statistics on education. DfE undertakes long-term research to show us how learning can affect your future earning and employment outcomes.

DfE publishes official statistics on early years, schools, further education, higher education, children and young people. This is carried out in line with the code of practice for official statistics and DfE official statistics: standards and policies.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for processing your personal data is public task, under article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR. This allows us to process personal data when this is necessary to do our work as a government department. Section 83 of the Children Act 1989, section 10 of the Education Act 1996, section 78 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 and sections 87 to 91 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 allow us to do this.

When we use your sensitive or ‘special category’ data. We use it because we have a substantial public interest, the Education Act 2002 allows this.

DfE uses your data for research and to publish statistics on learners and funding. Our lawful basis for using your special category personal data is article 9(j) archiving, research and statistics (with a basis in law), this is in accordance with article 89(1) and schedule 1 part (4) of the DPA 2018.

Full details about how we process special category data are given in the DfE appropriate policy document.

We’ll use your personal information for research that DfE undertakes to provide high-quality evidence to inform policy development and delivery.

Data we collect

The information is sent to DfE from your school, academy, college, training provider or local authority. The categories of data we hold include:

• your name and address
• unique pupil and learner numbers
• pupil matching reference numbers
• details of schools, academies and other education providers attended

We collect and use special category data, this includes details about:

• characteristics such as your gender or ethnicity
• your equality, diversity and inclusion information
• your health, including disabilities
• details of any special educational needs you may have

We also collect sensitive information:

• information relating to any contact with children’s services
• information on absence and exclusions

Full details about how we process special category data are given in the DfE appropriate policy document.

Linking your data to other databases

In the future we will connect or link your education data with your employment, benefits and earnings data to create a de-identified person level database. The personal information we use to link this data together are:

• name
• date of birth
• gender
• postcode
• national insurance number

Personal identifiers from our education databases are sent to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) who match the records against their Customer Information System. The matched records are then linked to your employment, earnings and benefit data that is held at DWP. All personal identifiers are then removed. Once the link is made, we can then link to other information, such as:

• if you qualified for free school meals
• schools attended, courses taken and qualifications achieved
• any benefits claimed
• employment and earned income

And special category data, such as:

• personal characteristics including gender and ethnic group
• if the young person had special educational needs during their education, this may include health or disability information

Full details about how we process special category data are given in the DfE appropriate policy document.

What we do with your data

DfE has two long-term research databases that are used for research and statistical purposes – the National Pupil Database (NPD) and the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) database.

The data stored in the NPD is provided by educational settings or local authorities as part of the operation of the education system, such as to fund your learning. This data is used for research and statistical purposes to improve and promote, the education and well-being of children in England.

The LEO database compares students’ levels of education to their levels of employment and earnings in later life. To do this, we link personal information obtained from the NPD to other government departments relating to education, employment and benefit claims in order to:

• enable comparisons of the performances of schools, colleges and universities
• provide statistical information to support education and career decisions
• evaluate and monitor the impact of education or training on outcomes
• support government decision making in order to improve services

DfE works with four government departments on the LEO study: Welsh Government, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Scottish Government.

See Apply to access the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset for more details about LEO.

For more details about NPD see apply for Department for Education (DfE) personal data.

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule.

Your personal information is kept for your learning and working life. To enable DfE to use your education data for long-term research, we keep your personal data:

• until aged 80 (see the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO): privacy notice)
• until 3 years after state retirement age in the National Pupil Database (NPD) and the Pupil Parent Matched Data (PPMD) database

We review this retention policy, and the need to retain the data held, on an annual basis. As part of these ongoing reviews, we consider whether the data needs to be retained and, if so, whether it is possible to fully anonymise or de-identify the data.

Your rights

We are relying on public task for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ’right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’. This is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• the ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not used your information in the right way

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

For more information, see the ICO’s guide to individual rights.

See requesting your personal information for more on what you’re entitled to ask us, or any of our executive agencies, and your rights about how your information is collected and used.

Data processors

A data processor is an organisation that processes your information on DfE’s behalf. We do not use any data processors for this processing activity.

4. Using your data to check our IT systems

4.1 Using your data when we are testing or checking our IT systems

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis we rely on for this processing of your personal data is legitimate interest, under article 6(1)(f) of the UK GDPR.

When we use your sensitive information, this is ‘special category’ data. The reasons we use it because we have a substantial public interest under article 9(2)(g) of UK GDPR. The Education Act 2002 and section 54 of the Further and Higher Education Act (1992) allows this. 

Full details about how we process special category data are given in the DfE appropriate policy document.

Data we collect

DfE collects information from educational settings, local authorities, your employer and other government departments. We will process the following information about you:

• personal contact details
• date of birth
• ethnicity
• data and information about your learning, including your courses and assessments

If the IT system or database contains special category data, we would be processing details about:

• your equality, diversity and inclusion information
• your health

If the IT system or database contains sensitive information about you, we would be processing details about:

• children that are looked after or are in care

What we do with your data

When we are designing a new system or database, it is sometimes necessary to use ‘live’ personal data to test the design in a secure environment. This is because ‘dummy data’ is not capable of replicating the complexity of the data that is actually collected.

Similarly, it is necessary to extract copies and run quality checks for the purposes of identifying unnecessary duplication or even conflicting data about the same data subject. In order to maintain the accuracy of our data, if duplicate records are identified, we would either merge the duplicate records under one Unique Learner Number or maintain existing records but include cross referencing so all the records are linked and are retrieved when searching for the one data subject.

How long we keep your data

We only keep your personal information for as long as we need it. We decide how long to keep your information based on what we need and also what the law says. All data is securely and permanently deleted at the end of the retention period. We call this our retention and disposal schedule .

This processing activity is for the length of time it takes to test or check the data, any copies of the data created would be deleted as soon as the text or check is complete.

Your rights

We are relying on legitimate interest for this processing, this means you have:

• the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – this is called ‘right to be informed’
• the right to ask us for copies of your personal information we have about you – this is called ’right of access’, this is also known as a subject access request (SAR), data subject access request (DSAR) or right of access request (RAR)
• the right to ask us to change any information you think is not accurate or complete – this is called ‘right to rectification’
• the right to ask us to delete your personal information – this is called ‘right to erasure’
• the right to ask us to stop using your information – this is called ‘right to restriction of processing’
• the ‘right to object to processing’ of your information, in certain circumstances
• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
• the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not used your information in the right way

There are legitimate reasons why we may refuse your information rights request, which depend on why we are processing it.

For more information, see the ICO’s guide to individual rights.

See requesting your personal information for more on what you’re entitled to ask us, or any of our executive agencies, and your rights about how your information is collected and used.

Data processors

A data processor is an organisation that processes your information on DfE’s behalf. DfE uses a data processor for the following activities:

• we use contractors to do our IT Health Checks (ITHC) - an ITHC is a series of controlled tests and actions that check the security of our IT systems

5. Using your data when we share your personal information

We will only share your personal data with others where it is lawful, secure and ethical to do so. Where these conditions are met, we can share your personal information with:

• schools and other education providers
• local authorities
• researchers (like universities, think tanks, research organisations)
• organisations connected with promoting the education or wellbeing of children in England
• organisations fighting or identifying crime (like police, courts, Home Office, etc)
• other specified crown and public bodies (like Ofqual, Ofsted, UCAS, Office for Students, etc)
• organisations working for DfE under contract (like DfE commissioned research or training providers)
• organisations who provide careers and other guidance
• organisations who provide statistics and research about education, training, employment and well-being, including Jisc (formerly the Higher Education Statistics Agency or ‘HESA’) as detailed in Jisc’s collection notices - your data is also submitted to Jisc so that you can take part in the graduate outcomes survey

DfE shares personal data where this is a benefit to education, the children’s services sector or it is in the interests of the wider public or society - such as sharing data to fight crime or for policy development is in the interests of society.

How DfE shares personal data gives details of the protections DfE has in place when sharing your data and the relevant legislation.

The DfE Data Sharing Approval Panel (DSAP) must approve all data share requests. The panel of experts assesses each application for public benefit, proportionality, legal underpinning and strict information security standards. The DSAP panel has external members who analyse decisions to increase public trust in the data share process.

DfE will only share data with a third party where we have a lawful basis for the data share under article 6(1) of the UK GDPR. In most cases, the Department relies on article 6(1)(e) ‘public task’ as the lawful basis where the task or function has a clear basis in law or 6(1)(f) ‘legitimate interest’ where the sharing of your data does not override your rights or when you expect us to share your data. But the Department will review each data share request on a case-by-case basis to ensure the right lawful basis is used. See the ICO guide to the lawful basis for processing for more details.

For example, we share data under public task with:

• awarding organisations – to allow exam outcomes to be accurately predicted
• Children’s Commissioner’s Office (CCO) - to protect and promote the rights and interests of children in England, especially the most vulnerable
• fraud prevention and law enforcement agencies such as the police and the National Crime Agency - to prevent and detect fraud in the funding of education and learning
• Home Office (HO) - to prevent abuse of immigration control
• police and criminal investigation authorities, through court orders - to safeguard and promote welfare of children in the UK

For example, we share data under legitimate interest with:

• Education Policy Institute (EPI) - to identify if government policies are delivering a high-quality education system

• National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) - to investigate developments to the national curriculum

Full details of who we share data with are available: DfE external data shares.

6. How to contact us and how to make a complaint

6.1 How to contact us

Contact the Data Protection Team with questions about this document or how we use your information.

6.2 How to make a complaint

If you have concerns about how we use your personal information, you can make a complaint in writing to the Data Protection Officer and Information Commissioner’s Office.

6.3 How to access your personal information

A request to access your personal information can be made verbally or in writing.