Prendergast School

Data Protection, Privacy Notices and Complaints

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Under data protection law, individuals have a right to be informed about how the Leathersellers' Federation of Schools uses any personal data that we hold about them. We comply with this right by providing 'privacy notices' to individuals where we are processing their personal data. 

In the document section below you will find the privacy notices which explain how we collect, store and use personal data about pupils and their parents and carers. 

Our privacy notice for pupils

You have a legal right to be informed about how our school uses any personal information that we hold about you. This notice summarises how and why we process your personal data. The full Privacy Notice will be made available on the Leathersellers' Federation policy page.

We, Prendergast School, are the ‘data controller’ for the purposes of data protection law. Our data protection officer is Mr Martin Cunningham (see ‘Contact us’ below).

The personal data we hold

We hold personal information about you to make sure we can help you learn and look after you at school. For the same reasons, we get information about you from some other places too – like other schools, the local authority and the government.

This information includes but is not limited to:

  • Your contact details
  • Your exam results
  • Your attendance records
  • Your characteristics, e.g. ethnic background or SEN issues
  • Any medical conditions you have
  • Details of any behaviour issues or exclusions
  • CCTV images

Why we use this data

We use this data to help run the school, including to:

  • Get in touch with you and your parents/carers when we need to
  • Look after your wellbeing, check how you’re doing in exams and work out whether you or your teachers need any extra help
  • Track how well the school as a whole is performing

Our legal basis for using this data

We only collect and use your information when the law allows us to. Most often, we use it to provide you with an education. Sometimes, we may use your personal information where we need to protect your interests (or someone else’s interest). Some reasons for collecting and using your information overlap, so there may be several grounds which mean we can use your data.

Where we have got permission to use your data, you or your parents/carers may withdraw this at any time. We will make this clear when we ask for permission, and explain how to go about withdrawing consent.

Collecting this information

While in most cases you, or your parents/carers, must provide the personal information we need to collect, on some occasions you can choose whether or not to provide it. We will always tell you if it’s optional. If you must provide the data, we will explain what might happen if you don’t.

How we store this data

We will keep personal information about you while you are a pupil at our school. Unless we pass it to a college or sixth form, we are required by law to keep your school file until you are 25 years old.

Data sharing

We do not share personal information about you with anyone outside the school without permission from you or your parents/carers, unless the law and our policies allow us to.

National Pupil Database

We are required to provide information about you to the Department for Education (a government department) as part of data collections, such as the school census.

The database is held electronically and turned into statistics. The information it holds is collected securely from schools, local authorities, exam boards and others.

Youth support services

Once you reach the age of 13, we are legally required to pass on certain information about you to the London Borough of Lewisham, as it has legal responsibilities regarding the education or training of 13-19 year-olds. This information enables it to provide youth support services, post-16 education and training services, and careers advisers.

Your parents/carers, or you once you’re 16, can contact our data protection officer to ask us to only pass your name, address and date of birth to the London Borough of Lewisham.

Your rights

How to access personal information we hold about you

You can find out if we hold any personal information about you, and how we use it, by making a ‘subject access request’, as long as we judge that you can properly understand your rights and what they mean. You also have the right to have your data corrected, deleted or destroyed if it is wrong, or restrict our use of it.

If you want to make a request, please contact the school office.

Complaints

We take any complaints about how we collect and use your personal data very seriously, so please let us know if you think we’ve done something wrong.

You can make a complaint at any time by contacting our data protection officer.

You can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office in one of the following ways:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire 
SK9 5AF

Contact us

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about anything mentioned in this privacy notice, please contact us on admin@prendergast-school.com

This notice is based on the Department for Education’s model privacy notice for pupils, amended to reflect the way we use data in this school.

Complaints

The School welcomes parents to work in partnership with staff in the interests of their child or ward's education. We are on the same side, working together to support your child to be happy, healthy and to achieve well. However, we understand that sometimes parents and carers may have concerns.

It is the school policy to deal with issues of concern at the earliest opportunity. We try to resolve concerns or complaints by informal means wherever possible. Where this is not possible, formal procedures will be followed. The school will aim to give the complainant the opportunity to complete the complaints procedure in full. Please see the Complaints Procedure policy in the documents section below. You will also find a Complaint Form and Complaint Review Request Form.