Careers information advice and guidance (IAG)

How we use learners information 

Gateshead Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) as part of the Education, Schools and Inclusion Service within Gateshead Council. 

The categories of pupil information that we process include: 

• personal identifiers and contacts (such as name, date of birth, unique pupil number, contact details and address) 
• parental information such as name, address and contacts details 
• looked after status (including the needs and ranking) 
• intended destinations and offer of post 16 provision for year 11 pupils as part of the Annual September Guarantee as reported to the Department of Education (DfE) 
• status and provision in place for post 16 young people in relation the annual activity survey and data returns to the DfE including those young people taking up apprenticeship and work based learning opportunities 
• aspirations and intentions for post 16 provision and the progression and development towards further education and the development of employability skills and qualifications 
• qualification type / level (for example GCSEs, A levels, BTEC National) 
• target /predicted / actual grades achieved 
• notes of all relevant contacts you have had with a Personal Adviser (as above) 
• data management and identity management/authentication with education providers 

The following special category data may be processed: 

• health 
• SEN 
• ethnicity 
• sexuality 

Why we collect and use pupil information 

Under the Education Act 1996 and the Education and Skills Act 2008 local authorities have statutory responsibilities to capture the destination of young people after leaving school and retain a strategic overview of provision available. 

We collect and use pupil information to: 

• support pupil learning and inform decisions around post 16 options. 
• monitor and report on pupil attainment progress 
• identify and target those deemed as potentially at risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) 
• assess the quality of our services 
• keep children safe (emergency contact details) 
• communicate with Families to capture destination information 
• meet the statutory duties placed upon us for DfE data collections 

Our lawful basis

Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing pupil information under article 6 of the regulations are as follows: 

• processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller 
• processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject 
• processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract 

The legislation relied upon includes, but is not limited to: 

• The Education Act 1996 
• The Education and Skills Act 2008 
• Children and Families Act 2014 

We collect and hold the information under a duty placed upon local authorities to support the participation of young people in education employment or training by sections 18 and 68(4) Education and Skills Act 2008. 

For special category data we rely on: 

• the data subject has given explicit consent
• for the provision of health and social care treatment or the management of health and social care systems and services 

Collecting pupil information

We collect pupil information via census, education providers, young people and their families as well as education Gateshead. Pupil data is essential for Careers IAG operational use. Whilst most of the pupil information you provide to us is mandatory, some can be requested on a voluntary basis. To comply with the data protection legislation, we will inform you at the point of collection, whether you are required to provide certain pupil information to us or if you have a choice in this. 

Storing pupil data 

We hold pupil data securely for a set amount of time and follow the guidelines provided to local authorities by the Records Management Society of Great Britain. Their guidelines state under the category for Family Support. Process involving individual case management in the provision of support by the local authority to families. Records will be retained for a period of seven years post file closure to the Service. 

Visit Corporate privacy policy for more information on our data retention and how we keep your data safe.

Personal data will not be retained for longer than necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected. For those with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities, data will be retained until the person reaches the age of 25. 

Who we share pupil information with 

We share pupil information with: 

• schools that the pupils have attended 
• our local authority partners in education, Children and Family Service and the Early Help Service. 
• external youth support services and alternative or out of borough education providers for pupils aged 13+ 
• neighbouring Local authorities where pupils reside and are educated in differing locals and or families relocate. 
• the Department for Education (DfE) 

Pupils aged 16+

We will also seek and share certain information about pupils aged 16+ with our local authority partners and providers of youth support services as they have responsibilities in relation to the education or training of 13-19-year olds under section 507B of the Education Act 1996. 

This enables them to provide services as follows: 

• post-16 education and training providers 
• youth support services 
• careers advisers 

Data is securely transferred to and from youth support services via password encrypted attachments and the use of the secure email encryption and is stored on Information Origin (web-based Management Information System) and held for seven years. 

Department for Education 

The Department for Education (DfE) collects personal data from educational settings and local authorities via various statutory data collections. We are required to share information about young people directly with the DfE for the purpose of those data collections, under: section 12, Education and Skills Act 2008. 

All data is transferred securely and held by DfE under a combination of software and hardware controls, which meet the current government security policy framework. For more information, read 'How Government uses your data' section of this notice.

Marketing and e-newsletters 

Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice. 

Business intelligence, profiling and automated-decision making 

Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice. 

Protecting your information 

Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice. 

Your information choice and rights 

Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice.  

Information Commissioner's Office 

Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice. 

How the government uses your data 

The pupil data that we lawfully share with the DfE through data collections: 

• underpins school funding, which is calculated based upon the numbers of children and their characteristics in each school. 
• informs 'short term' education policy monitoring and school accountability and intervention (for example, school GCSE results or Pupil Progress measures). 
• supports 'longer term' research and monitoring of educational policy (for example how certain subject choices go on to affect education or earnings beyond school) 

Data collection requirements 

Visit GOV.UK - data collection and censuses for schools to find out more about the data collection requirements placed on us by the Department for Education (for example; via the school census).

The National Pupil Database (NPD) 

Much of the data about pupils in England goes on to be held in the National Pupil Database (NPD). 

The NPD is owned and managed by the Department for Education and contains information about pupils in schools in England. It provides invaluable evidence on educational performance to inform independent research, as well as studies commissioned by the Department. 

It is held in electronic format for statistical purposes. This information is securely collected from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and awarding bodies. 

Find out more about the GOV.UK - how to access DofE data extracts. 

Sharing by the Department 

The law allows the Department to share pupils' personal data with certain third parties, including: 

• schools and local authorities 
• researchers 
• organisations connected with promoting the education or wellbeing of children in England 
• other government departments and agencies 
• organisations fighting or identifying crime 

Visit GOV.UK - how to access DofE data extracts for more information about the Department's NPD data sharing process. 

Organisations fighting or identifying crime may use their legal powers to contact DfE to request access to individual level information relevant to detecting that crime. Whilst numbers fluctuate slightly over time, DfE typically supplies data on around 600 pupils per year to the Home Office and roughly one per year to the police. 

Visit GOV.UK - data shares for information about which organisations the Department has provided pupil information, (and for which project) or to access a monthly breakdown of data share volumes with Home Office and the Police. 

How to find out what personal information DfE hold about you 

Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 2018, you are entitled to ask the Department: 

• if they are processing your personal data 
• for a description of the data they hold about you 
• the reasons they're holding it and any recipient it may be disclosed to 
• for a copy of your personal data and any details of its source 

If you want to see the personal data held about you by the Department, you should make a 'subject access request'. Visit GOV.UK - DfE personal information charter for further information on how to do this.

Visit GOV.UK for contact details.  

If you would like to discuss this privacy notice, contact us.