Governors Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice for Governors

 

Under data protection law, individuals have a right to be informed about how the school uses any personal data that we hold about.  We comply with this right by providing ‘privacy notices’ (sometimes called ‘fair processing notices’) to individuals where we are processing their personal data.

 

This privacy notice explain how we collect, store and use personal data about individuals working with the school in a voluntary capacity, including governors.

 

Riverside School is the ‘data controller’ for the purpose of data protection law.

 

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

 

• Personal information (such as name, address, contact details)
• Recruitment checks
• Evidence of qualifications
• Employment details
• Information about business and pecuniary interests
• Special categories of data including characteristics information such as gender, race ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and political opinions.
• Disability and access requirements
• Medical information
• Photographs

 

 

Why we collect and use this information

 

The purpose of processing this data is to support the school to:

 

• Establish and maintain effective governance
• Meet statutory obligations for publishing and sharing governors’ details
• Facilitate safe recruitment, as part of our safeguarding obligation toward pupils
• Undertake equalities monitoring
• Ensure that appropriate access arrangement can be provided for those who require them

 

The lawful basis on which we use this information

 

We only collect and use personal information about you when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we process data where:

 

• The data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes
• We need to comply with a legal obligation
• We need to perform an official task in the public interest
• We need to protect the vital interests of the individual (or someone else’s interests) including where the individual is physically or legally incapable of giving consent

 

Collecting governor information

We collect personal information via governor contact forms.

 

Governor data is essential for the school’s operational use. Whilst the majority of personal information you provide to us is mandatory, some of it may be requested on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with GDPR, we will inform you at the point of collection, whether you are required to provide certain information to us or if you have a choice in this.

 

Storing governor information

We hold data securely for the set amount of time shown in our data retention schedule. For more information on our data retention schedule and how we keep your data safe, please see our data retention schedule.

 

You may also like to see our GDPR and Acceptable Use of Policy for Data.

 

Who we share governor information with

We routinely share this information with:

 

• our local authority (where applicable)
• the Department for Education (DfE)

 

 

Why we share governor information

We do not share information about our governors with anyone without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.

 

Local authority

We are required to share information about our governors with our local authority (LA) under our Governors Clerking Service Level Agreement.

 

Department for Education

The Department for Education (DfE) collects personal data from educational settings and local authorities. We are required to share information about our governors with the Department for Education (DfE), under section 538 of the Education Act 1996.

 

 

All data is entered manually on the GIAS system and held by DfE under a combination of software and hardware controls which meet the current government security policy framework.

 

For more information, please see ‘How Government uses your data’ section.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Requesting access to your personal data

 

Under data protection legislation, you have the right to request access to information about you that we hold. To make a request for your personal information, contact Mrs Ward, data protection officer.

 

Under certain circumstances you also have the right to:

 

• object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress
• prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
• object to decisions being taken by automated means
• in certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed; and
• a right to seek redress, either through the ICO, or through the courts

 

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

 

 

How Government uses your data

The governor data that we lawfully share with the DfE via GIAS:

 

• will increase the transparency of governance arrangements
• will enable schools and the department to identify more quickly and accurately individuals who are involved in governance and who govern in more than one context
• allows the department to be able to uniquely identify an individual and in a small number of cases conduct checks to confirm their suitability for this important and influential role

 

Data collection requirements

To find out more about the requirements placed on us by the Department for Education including the data that we share with them, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-database-of-governors

 

Note: Some of these personal data items are not publically available and are encrypted within the GIAS system. Access is restricted to a small number of DfE staff who need to see it in order to fulfil their official duties. The information is for internal purposes only and not shared beyond the department, unless the law allows it.