DATA PROTECTION POLICY

Direct Marketing

Gosden House School is subject to certain rules and privacy laws when marketing. For example, a data subject’s prior consent will be required for electronic direct marketing (for example, by email, text or automated calls). 

Gosden House School will explicitly offer individuals the opportunity to object to direct marketing and will do so in an intelligible format which is clear for the individual to understand. Gosden House School will promptly respond to any individual objection to direct marketing.

Employee Obligations

Employees may have access to the personal data of other members of staff, suppliers, parents or pupils of Gosden House School in the course of their employment or engagement. If so, Gosden House School expects those employees to help meet the School’s data protection obligations to those individuals. Specifically, you must: -

• Only access the personal data that you have authority to access, and only for authorised purposes;
• Only allow others to access personal data if they have appropriate authorisation;
• Keep personal data secure (for example, by complying with rules on access to school premises, computer access, password protection and secure file storage and destruction.
• Not remove personal data or devices containing personal data from the School premises unless appropriate security measures are in place (such as pseudonymisation, encryption, password protection) to secure the information;
• Not store personal information on local drives.

Section 4 – Accountability

Gosden House School will ensure compliance with data protection principles by implementing appropriate technical and organisational measures. We are responsible for and demonstrate accountability with the UK GDPR principles.

Gosden House School have taken the following steps to ensure and document UK GDPR compliance:-

Data Protection Officer (DPO)

Please find below details of the School’s Data Protection Officer: -

Data Protection Officer: Judicium Consulting Limited

Address: 72 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6AE

Email: dataservices@judicium.com

Web: www.judiciumeducation.co.uk

Telephone: 0203 326 9174

Lead Contact: Craig Stilwell 

The DPO is responsible for overseeing this Data Protection Policy and developing data-related policies and guidelines. 

Please contact the DPO with any questions about the operation of this Data Protection Policy or the UK GDPR or if you have any concerns that this policy is not being or has not been followed. In particular, you must always contact the DPO in the following circumstances: -

1. If you are unsure of the lawful basis being relied on by the School to process personal data;
2. If you need to rely on consent as a fair reason for processing (please see below the section on consent for further detail);
3. If you need to draft privacy notices or fair processing notices;
4. If you are unsure about the retention periods for the personal data being processed please refer to the School’s Data Retention Policy in the first instance.
5. If you are unsure about what security measures need to be put in place to protect personal data;
6. If there has been a personal data breach please refer you to the procedure set out in the School’s Data Breach Policy.
7. If you are unsure on what basis to transfer personal data outside the EEA;
8. If you need any assistance dealing with any rights invoked by a data subject;
9. Whenever you are engaging in a significant new (or a change in) processing activity which is likely to require a data protection impact assessment or if you plan to use personal data for purposes other than what it was collected for;
10. If you plan to undertake any activities involving automated processing or automated decision making;
11. If you need help complying with applicable law when carrying out direct marketing activities;
12. If you need help with any contracts or other areas in relation to sharing personal data with third parties.

Personal Data Breaches

The UK GDPR requires the School to notify any applicable personal data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify data subjects or any applicable regulator where we are legally required to do so.

If you know or suspect that a personal data breach has occurred, do not attempt to investigate the matter yourself. Immediately contact the person designated as the key point of contact for personal data breaches.

Transparency and Privacy Notices

Gosden House School will provide detailed, specific information to data subjects. This information will be provided through the School’s privacy notices which are concise, transparent, intelligible, easily accessible and in clear and plain language so that a data subject can easily understand them. The School’s privacy notices are tailored to suit the data subject and set out information about how Gosden House School use their data.

Whenever we collect personal data directly from data subjects, including for human resources or employment purposes, we will provide the data subject with all the information required by the UK GDPR. This includes the identity of the Data Protection Officer, Gosden House School’s contact details, how and why we will use, process, disclose, protect and retain personal data. This information will be provided within our privacy notices. 

When personal data is collected indirectly (for example, from a third party or a publicly available source), where appropriate, we will provide the data subject with the above information as soon as possible after receiving the data. Gosden House School will also confirm whether that third party has collected and processed data in accordance with the UK GDPR.

Notifications shall be in accordance with ICO guidance and where relevant, be written in a form understandable by those defined as “children” under the UK GDPR. 

Privacy by Design

Gosden House School adopt a privacy by design approach to data protection to ensure that we adhere to data compliance and to implement technical and organisational measures in an effective manner.

Privacy by design is an approach that promotes privacy and data protection compliance from the start. To help us achieve this, Gosden House School takes into account the nature and purposes of the processing, any cost of implementation and any risks to rights and freedoms of data subjects when implementing data processes.

Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs)

In order to achieve a privacy by design approach, the School conduct DPIAs for any new technologies or programmes being used by the School which could affect the processing of personal data. In any event, if Gosden House School carries out DPIAs when required by the UK GDPR in the following circumstances: -

• For the use of new technologies (programs, systems or processes) or changing technologies;
• For the use of automated processing;
• For large scale processing of special category data; and 
• For large scale, systematic monitoring of a publicly accessible area (through the use of CCTV).

Our DPIAs contain: -

• A description of the processing, its purposes and any legitimate interests used;
• An assessment of the necessity and proportionality of the processing in relation to its purpose;
• An assessment of the risk to individuals; and
• The risk mitigation measures in place and demonstration of compliance.

Record Keeping

Gosden House School is required to keep full and accurate records of our data processing activities. These records include: -

• The name and contact details of the School;
• The name and contact details of the Data Protection Officer;
• Descriptions of the types of personal data used;
• Description of the data subjects;
• Details of the School’s processing activities and purposes;
• Details of any third party recipients of the personal data;
• Where personal data is stored;
• Retention periods; and
• Security measures in place.

Training

Gosden House School will ensure all relevant personnel have undergone adequate training to enable them to comply with data privacy laws. 

Audit

Gosden House School, through its Data Protection Officer regularly test our data systems and processes in order to assess compliance. These are done through data audits which take place annually in order to review use of personal data.

Related Policies

Staff should refer to the following policies that are related to this Data Protection Policy: -

• Data Retention Policy or Data Breach Policy which can be found in the Adshare and Staffshare folders.

Monitoring

We will monitor the effectiveness of this and all of our policies and procedures and conduct a full review and update as appropriate.

Our monitoring and review will include looking at how our policies and procedures are working in practice to reduce the risks posed to the School.

Appendix 1 – Subject Access Requests

Under Data Protection Law, data subjects have a general right to find out whether Gosden House School hold or process personal data about them, to access that data, and to be given supplementary information. This is known as the right of access or the right to make a data subject access request (SAR). The purpose of the right is to enable the individual to be aware of and verify the lawfulness of the processing of personal data that Gosden House School are undertaking.

This appendix provides guidance for staff members on how data subject access requests should be handled and for all individuals on how to make a SAR.

Failure to comply with the right of access under UK GDPR puts both staff and Gosden House School at potentially significant risk and so the School takes compliance with this policy very seriously. 

A data subject has the right to be informed by Gosden House School of the following: -

1. Confirmation that their data is being processed;
2. Access to their personal data;
3. A description of the information that is being processed;
4. The purpose for which the information is being processed;
5. The recipients/class of recipients to whom that information is or may be disclosed;
6. Details of the School’s sources of information obtained;
7. In relation to any personal data processed for the purposes of evaluating matters in relation to the data subject that has constituted or is likely to constitute the sole basis for any decision significantly affecting him or her, to be informed of the logic of the Data Controller’s decision making. Such data may include, but is not limited to, performance at work, creditworthiness, reliability and conduct; and
8. Other supplementary information.

How to Recognise a Subject Access Request

A data subject access request is a request from an individual (or from someone acting with the authority of an individual, e.g. a solicitor or a parent making a request in relation to information relating to their child): 

• for confirmation as to whether the School process personal data about him or her and, if so
• for access to that personal data
• and/or certain other supplementary information

A valid SAR can be both in writing (by letter, email, WhatsApp text) or verbally (e.g., during a telephone conversation). The request may refer to the UK GDPR and/or to ‘data protection’ and/or to ‘personal data’ but does not need to do so in order to be a valid request. For example, a letter which states ‘please provide me with a copy of information that Gosden House School hold about me’ would constitute a data subject access request and should be treated as such.

A data subject is generally only entitled to access their own personal data and not information relating to other people. 

How to Make a Data Subject Access Request

Whilst there is no requirement to do so, we encourage any individuals who wish to make such a request to make the request in writing, detailing exactly the personal data being requested.  This allows Gosden House School to easily recognise that you wish to make a data subject access request and the nature of your request. If the request is unclear/vague we may be required to clarify the scope of the request which may in turn delay the start of the time period for dealing with the request. 

What to do When You Receive a Data Subject Access Request 

All data subject access requests should be immediately directed to the Head teacher or Business Manager, who should contact Judicium as DPO in order to assist with the request and what is required. There are limited timescales within which the School must respond to a request and any delay could result in failing to meet those timescales, which could lead to enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and/or legal action by the affected individual.  

Acknowledging the Request

When receiving a SAR Gosden House School shall acknowledge the request as soon as possible and inform the requester about the statutory deadline (of one calendar month) to respond to the request. 

In addition to acknowledging the request, Gosden House School may ask for:

• Proof of ID (if needed);
• Further clarification about the requested information; 
• If it is not clear where the information shall be sent, the School must clarify what address/email address to use when sending the requested information; and/or 
• Consent (if requesting third party data).

Gosden House School should work with their DPO in order to create the acknowledgment. 

Verifying the Identity of a Requester or Requesting Clarification of the Request

Before responding to a SAR, the School will take reasonable steps to verify the identity of the person making the request. In the case of current employees, this will usually be straightforward. Gosden House School is entitled to request additional information from a requester in order to verify whether the requester is in fact who they say they are. Where Gosden House School has reasonable doubts as to the identity of the individual making the request, evidence of identity may be established by production of a passport, driving license, a recent utility bill with current address, birth/marriage certificate, credit card or a mortgage statement. 

If an individual is requesting a large amount of data the School may ask the requester for more information for the purpose of clarifying the request, but the requester shall never be asked why the request has been made. Gosden House School shall let the requestor know as soon as possible where more information is needed before responding to the request. 

In both cases, the period of responding begins when the additional information has been received. If Gosden House School do not receive this information, they will be unable to comply with the request.

 

Requests Made by Third Parties or on Behalf of Children

Gosden House School need to be satisfied that the third party making the request is entitled to act on behalf of the individual, but it is the third party’s responsibility to provide evidence of this entitlement. This might be a written authority to make the request or it might be a more general power of attorney. Gosden House School may also require proof of identity in certain circumstances. 

If the Gosden House School is in any doubt or has any concerns as to providing the personal data of the data subject to the third party, then it should provide the information requested directly to the data subject. It is then a matter for the data subject to decide whether to share this information with any third party.  

When requests are made on behalf of children, it is important to note that even if a child is too young to understand the implications of subject access rights, it is still the right of the child, rather than of anyone else such as a parent or guardian, to have access to the child’s personal data. Before responding to a SAR for information held about a child, Gosden House School should consider whether the child is mature enough to understand their rights. If the school is confident that the child can understand their rights, then the Gosden House School should usually respond directly to the child or seek their consent before releasing their information. 

It shall be assessed if the child is able to understand (in broad terms) what it means to make a subject access request and how to interpret the information they receive as a result of doing so. When considering borderline cases, it should be taken into account, among other things:

• The child’s level of maturity and their ability to make decisions like this;
• The nature of the personal data;
• Any court orders relating to parental access or responsibility that may apply;
• Any duty of confidence owed to the child or young person;
• Any consequences of allowing those with parental responsibility access to the child’s or young person’s information. This is particularly important if there have been allegations of abuse or ill treatment;
• Any detriment to the child or young person if individuals with parental responsibility cannot access this information; and
• Any views the child or young person has on whether their parents should have access to information about them.

Generally, a person aged 12 years or over is presumed to be of sufficient age and maturity to be able to exercise their right of access, unless the contrary is shown. In relation to a child 12 years of age or older, then provided that the School is confident that they understand their rights and there is no reason to believe that the child does not have the capacity to make a request on their own behalf, the School will require the written authorisation of the child before responding to the requester or provide the personal data directly to the child. 

Gosden House School may also refuse to provide information to parents if there are consequences of allowing access to the child’s information – for example, if it is likely to cause detriment to the child. 

Fee for Responding to a SAR

Gosden House School will usually deal with a SAR free of charge. Where a request is considered to be manifestly unfounded or excessive a fee to cover administrative costs may be requested. If a request is considered to be manifestly unfounded or unreasonable the school will inform the requester why this is considered to be the case and that the school will charge a fee for complying with the request.

A fee may also be requested in relation to repeat requests for copies of the same information. In these circumstances a reasonable fee will be charged taking into account the administrative costs of providing the information.

If a fee is requested, the period of responding begins when the fee has been received. 

Time Period for Responding to a SAR 

Gosden House School has one calendar month to respond to a SAR. This will run from the day that the request was received or from the day when any additional identification or other information requested is received, or payment of any required fee has been received. 

The circumstances where the School is in any reasonable doubt as to the identity of the requester, this period will not commence unless and until sufficient information has been provided by the requester as to their identity and in the case of a third party requester, the written authorisation of the data subject has been received. 

The period for response may be extended by a further two calendar months in relation to complex requests. What constitutes a complex request will depend on the particular nature of the request. The DPO must always be consulted in determining whether a request is sufficiently complex as to extend the response period. 

Where a request is considered to be sufficiently complex as to require an extension of the period for response, the School will need to notify the requester within one calendar month of receiving the request, together with reasons as to why this extension is considered necessary. 

School Closure Periods

Gosden House School may not be able to respond to requests received during or just before school closure periods within the one calendar month response period. This is because the school will be closed, so we do not review emails during this period. As a result, it is unlikely that your request will be able to be dealt with during this time. We may not be able to acknowledge your request during this time (i.e., until a time when we receive the request). However, if we can acknowledge the request, we may still not be able to deal with it until the school re-opens. Gosden House School will endeavour to comply with requests as soon as possible and will keep in communication with you as far as possible. If your request is urgent, please provide your request during term times and not during or prior to closure periods. 

Information to be provided in Response to a Request

The individual is entitled to receive access to the personal data we process about him or her and the following information:

• the purpose for which we process the data;
• the recipients or categories of recipient to whom the personal data has been or will be disclosed, in particular where those recipients are in third countries or international organisations;
• where possible, the period for which it is envisaged the personal data will be stored, or, if not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;
• the fact that the individual has the right:

• to request that the Company rectifies, erases or restricts the processing of his personal data; or
• to object to its processing;
• to lodge a complaint with the ICO;
• where the personal data has not been collected from the individual, any information available regarding the source of the data;
• any automated decision we have taken about him or her together with meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for him or her. 

The information should be provided in a way that is concise, transparent, easy to understand and easy to access using clear and plain language, with any technical terms, abbreviations or codes explained. The response shall be given in writing if the SAR was made in writing in a commonly used electronic format. 

The information that Gosden House School are required to supply in response to a SAR must be supplied by reference to the data in question at the time the request was received. However, as the School have one month in which to respond the School is allowed to take into account any amendment or deletion made to the personal data between the time the request is received and the time the personal data is supplied if such amendment or deletion would have been made regardless of the receipt of the SAR.

Therefore, Gosden House School is allowed to carry out regular housekeeping activities even if this means deleting or amending personal data after the receipt of a SAR. Gosden House School is not allowed to amend or delete data to avoid supplying the data.

How to Locate Information

The personal data the School need to provide in response to a data subject access request may be located in several of the electronic and manual filing systems. This is why it is important to identify at the outset the type of information requested so that the search can be focused.

Depending on the type of information requested, the School may need to search all or some of the following:

• Electronic systems, e.g., databases, networked and non-networked computers, servers, customer records, human resources system, email data, back up data, CCTV;
• Manual filing systems in which personal data is accessible according to specific criteria, e.g., chronologically ordered sets of manual records containing personal data;
• Data systems held externally by our data processors;
• Occupational health records;
• Pensions data;
• Share scheme information;
• Insurance benefit information.

Gosden House School should search these systems using the individual's name, employee number or other personal identifier as a search determinant.

Protection of Third Parties - Exemptions to the Right of Subject Access

There are circumstances where information can be withheld pursuant to a SAR. These specific exemptions and requests should be considered on a case by case basis. 

Gosden House School will consider whether it is possible to redact information so that this does not identify those third parties. If their data cannot be redacted (for example, after redaction it is still obvious who the data relates to) then the School do not have to disclose personal data to the extent that doing so would involve disclosing information relating to another individual (including information identifying the other individual as the source of information) who can be identified from the information unless:

• The other individual has consented to the disclosure; or
• It is reasonable to comply with the request without that individual’s consent.

In determining whether it is reasonable to disclose the information without the individual’s consent, all of the relevant circumstances will be taken into account, including:

• The type of information that they would disclose;
• Any duty of confidentiality they owe to the other individual;
• Any steps taken to seek consent from the other individual;
• Whether the other individual is capable of giving consent; and
• Any express refusal of consent by the other individual.

It needs to be decided whether it is appropriate to disclose the information in each case. This decision will involve balancing the data subject’s right of access against the other individual’s rights. If the other person consents to the school disclosing the information about them, then it would be unreasonable not to do so. However, if there is no such consent, the school must decide whether to disclose the information anyway. If there are any concerns in this regard then the DPO should be consulted.

Other Exemptions to the Right of Subject Access

In certain circumstances the Gosden House School may be exempt from providing some or all of the personal data requested. These exemptions are described below and should only be applied on a case-by-case basis after a careful consideration of all the facts.

Crime detection and prevention: Gosden House School do not have to disclose any personal data being processed for the purposes of preventing or detecting crime; apprehending or prosecuting offenders; or assessing or collecting any tax or duty. 

Confidential references: Gosden House School do not have to disclose any confidential references given to third parties for the purpose of actual or prospective:

• education, training or employment of the individual;
• appointment of the individual to any office; or
• provision by the individual of any service

This exemption does not apply to confidential references that Gosden House School receive from third parties. However, in this situation, granting access to the reference may disclose the personal data of another individual (i.e., the person giving the reference), which means that the School must consider the rules regarding disclosure of third-party data set out above before disclosing the reference.

Legal professional privilege: Gosden House School do not have to disclose any personal data which is subject to legal professional privilege. 

Management forecasting: Gosden House School do not have to disclose any personal data processed for the purposes of management forecasting or management planning to assist us in the conduct of any business or any other activity. 

Negotiations: Gosden House School do not have to disclose any personal data consisting of records of intentions in relation to any negotiations with the individual where doing so would be likely to prejudice those negotiations. 

Refusing to Respond to a Request

Gosden House School can refuse to comply with a request if the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, taking into account whether the request is repetitive in nature.

If a request is found to be manifestly unfounded or excessive the school can:

• Request a "reasonable fee" to deal with the request; or
• Refuse to deal with the request.

In either case the school need to justify the decision and inform the requestor about the decision.

The reasonable fee should be based on the administrative costs of complying with the request. If deciding to charge a fee the school should contact the individual promptly and inform them. The school do not need to comply with the request until the fee has been received.

Record Keeping 

A record of all subject access requests shall be kept by The Business Manager and Head Teacher. The record shall include the date the SAR was received, the name of the requester, what data the School sent to the requester and the date of the response.