Free early education and childcare privacy notice

We are the Early Years, Childcare and Business Development Service.

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

• Personal information (such as name, address, date of birth, unique pupil number and address)
• Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility)
• Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons)
• Assessment information
• Any special educational needs and disabilities
• Relevant medical/health information/assessments
• Information regarding eligibility for free early education places for 2,3 and 4 year olds, early years pupil premium and Disability Access Funding.
• Safeguarding and welfare

Collecting pupil information

Whilst the majority of pupil information provided to us is mandatory, some of it is provided to us on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, we will inform parents/carers whether they are required to provide certain pupil information to us or if they have a choice in this.

We collect Parent/carer level data

The information we collect is included in the Parental Declaration Form, completed on children’s admission to an Early Years Provider when taking up their free early education place, which when signed, indicates parents/carers consent to the processing of the personal data of their family.

In addition, we collect information to establish eligibility for free early education places for 2, 3, and 4 year olds (2 year olds and extended entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds for working families) and early years pupil premium as well as information on learning and development, safeguarding and welfare and special educational needs and disabilities.

We use the parent data to:

• support children’s teaching and learning
• monitor and report on children’s progress
• assess the quality of our services
• comply with the law regarding data sharing
• provide information via statutory returns to the DfE
• establish eligibility for free early education and early years national funding formula payments in order to make payment to schools and Ofsted registered providers
• establish eligibility to access free services activity services offered by LBWF
• meet our statutory duty to provide parents/carers and prospective parents with information about childcare and early education, including free places in the Borough
• meet our statutory duty to provide information on any other services or facilities that may be of benefit to parents/carers, prospective parents or children in the Borough.
• Seek the views of parents/carers on the quality and availability of childcare in the Borough
• cooperate with the the DfE and external partners to improve the wellbeing of children under the Children At 2004
• share information with Ofsted and external partners to support the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under the Children Act 1989

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

• Personal information (such as name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, date of birth and National Insurance number)
• Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth )
• Safeguarding and welfare information

The information we collect is included in the parental declaration form, completed on children’s admission to an Early Years Provider when taking up their free early education place, which when signed, indicates parents/carers consent to the processing of their family’s personal data. This information includes their contact details and their child’s personal characteristics such as their gender, ethnic group, any special educational needs they may have. 

In addition, we collect information to establish eligibility for free early education places for 2, 3 and 4 year olds (2 year olds and extended entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds for working families) and early years pupil premium as well as information on learning and development, safeguarding and welfare and special educational needs and disabilities

We use the pupil data to:

• support children’s teaching and learning
• monitor and report on children’s progress
• assess the quality of our services
• comply with the law regarding data sharing
• provide information via statutory returns to the Department of Education (DfE)
• establish eligibility for free early education and early years national funding formula payments in order to make payment to schools and Ofsted registered providers
• establish eligibility to access free services and activities offered by LBWF
• cooperate with the DfE and external partners to improve the wellbeing of children under the Children At 2004
• share information with Ofsted and external partners to support the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under the Children Act 1989

The lawful basis for processing data under the GDPR is:

(e) Public task: the processing is necessary for you to perform a task in the public interest or for your official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.

The legal basis for processing is as follows:

The individual level data collection from schools and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings is a statutory requirement of providers and local authorities through regulations under Section 99 of the Childcare Act 2006 and The Education (Provision of Information About Young Children) (England) Regulations 2009 and the following statutory frameworks:

• Statutory Framework for the early years foundation stage
• Ofsted’s Early Years and childcare registration handbook
• Early education and childcare: Statutory guidance for local authorities
• Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years
• Disclosure and Barring Service DBS checks for childcare providers who register with Ofsted
• Working Together to Safeguard Children
• Keeping children safe in education Statutory guidance for schools and colleges

We routinely share pupil information with:

• the Department for Education (DfE)
• Public Health/NHS England
• Other LBWF departments e.g. Disability Enablement service and Children’s Centres​

Why do we share pupil information

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

We share pupils’ data with the Department for Education (DfE) on a statutory basis. This data sharing supports school funding and educational attainment policy and monitoring.

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 useful 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.

We are required by law, to provide information about our pupils to the DfE as part of statutory data collections such as the school census and early years’ census. Some of this information is then stored in the NPD. The law that allows this is the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.

The DfE may share information about our pupils from the NPD with third parties who promote the education or well-being of children in England by:

• conducting research or analysis
• producing statistics
• providing information, advice, or guidance

The Department has robust processes in place to ensure the confidentiality of our data is maintained and there are stringent controls in place regarding access and use of the data. Decisions on whether DfE will release data to third parties are subject to a strict approval process and are based on a detailed assessment of:

• who has made the data request
• the purpose for which it is required
• the level and sensitivity of data requested and
• the arrangements in place to store and handle the data

To be granted access to pupil information, organisations must comply with strict terms and conditions covering the confidentiality and handling of the data, security arrangements, and retention and use of the data.

We hold pupil data for seven years.

Our Data Protection Officer is Mark Hynes. Email: Data.Protection@walthamforest.gov.uk.

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

These are included in the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

If we’re unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)