Falkirk Council provides a range of education services for the Falkirk area. We manage nursery, primary, secondary, special education schools and adult learning. Services are provided to support early learning and childcare and access to and inclusion in education.
This notice provides details of what information we collect from you, what we do with it and who it might be shared with.
Identity and contact details of the controller and the data protection officer
Falkirk Council is the data controller. You can contact the data protection officer at:
Frequently asked questions
Why do we collect this information?
We need to process your data in order that we can provide services which are fit for purpose, efficient and effective whilst meeting our statutory and legal obligations. The information is being collected for the following purposes:
- Enrolment
- Attendance
- Attainment
- Pastoral support
- Behaviour / Exclusions
- Child Protection
- Special Educational Needs
- Medical Information
- Excursions, Activities and Placements
- Digital Learning
- Social (Photographs, Social Media, Newsletters, Award Ceremonies, Digital Information Screens, Surveys)
- Online school payments
- Provision of school transport
The legal basis for each purpose is set out below:
| Legal basis |
Purpose |
| Consent |
9, 11 |
| Performance of a contract |
|
| Legal obligation |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13 |
| Vital interests |
6 and 8 |
| Task carried out in the public interest |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13 |
| Legitimate interests |
|
Where we are relying on legal obligation or task carried out in the public interest, below are the key pieces of legislation that apply:
- Education (Scotland) Act 1980
- Education (Scotland) Act 2016
- Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records)(Scotland) Act 2002
- Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004
- Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000
- Children (Scotland) Act 1995
- Equality Act 2010
- Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014
What information do we collect about you?
The type of personal data we will collect includes your name, address and contact details. For nursery and school pupils information will be obtained about relevant family members, relevant medical conditions, any additional supports which are needed and any school transport requirements. We will collect personal data relating to special categories, such as ethnic group and religion. We need this information so the Council can ensure it is delivering services appropriately.
For nursery and school pupils, information will include data about progress and assessments. For school pupils information will contain records of attendance, absence, and any exclusions and exam results. We need this information to understand how our pupils are progressing, and to assess how we can help them to achieve their best.
Where learners leave our provision, information will be obtained about their next setting/school, career paths or intended destinations. We need this information to ensure we support our pupils/children in all their transitions and do all that we can to help their future be a success.
Where do we collect information from?
We collect information from you using a variety of different methods, including when you complete one of our forms (such as a registration form for nursery, primary school or an adult learning course) when you call, write, email or meet with us. We may also obtain information about you from other council services.Information is also shared with us by the Scottish Government for the purposes of contacting parents/carers of children eligible for early learning and childcare.
Where we receive pupil concern reports, the information we receive is provided by Police Scotland. Previous pupil record Information and information relating to pupils missing from education may come from other local authorities. This list is not exhaustive and we may on occasion receive information from other sources not listed above, for example other pupils, parents or members of the public.
Who might we share your information with?
In so far and to the extent that we are permitted to do so by law, we may share information with our community partners such as NHS Forth Valley, the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration and Police Scotland. We share with other local authorities where children are transferring in/out of Falkirk Council. We may share limited personal data with specialised groups who provide learning opportunities, management and information systems (such as SchoolCloud and Netmedia for their Parent Evening Booking Systems), and online learning platforms (such as Glow, Microsoft Office365, Google Education, Apple School), and Career Education Planning (WorkIT/PlanIT).
As part of our Connected Falkirk project, we share limited personal data with Lightspeed Solutions LLC to enable the provision of web filtering and alert services. As part of Glow, we may use limited personal data to enable the provision of safeguarding/alert services (currently in the testing phase).
We are obliged to provide information about pupils to the Scottish Government on attainment, attendance and exclusions, for the purposes of statistical analysis and to support evidence-based decision-making. The Scottish Exchange of Data (ScotXed) page on the Scottish Government website has further information. We share school leaver destinations, pupil contact and other details with Skills Development Scotland so it can offer support with positive transitions from school.
We will share information with inspections and scrutiny bodies such as Education Scotland. In addition, we share certain pupil or adult learner information with the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) in order that they can undertake assessments and qualifications. We may share information with colleges and universities, and with employers offering work placements to pupils.
We may share information with third parties who provide excursions and activities on our behalf.
Your information may be shared with other organisations where we are required to do so for the purposes of the prevention or detection of crime or to comply with court orders.
In order to promote the progression and achievement of pupils and learners, we may share information externally such as school websites, social media, newspapers and school / Council publications. Consent forms will be issued by schools.
For online school payments, limited information about you and your child(ren) will be provided to our provider, CRB Cunninghams Ltd, to provide a system of secure identity-matching for those wishing to register for an account. This allows you, if you choose, to create an account in their iPayimpact system with which you can make payments for school-related items (such as trips) and expenditure online.
In order to provide school transport, we will share information internally with the Council's Transport Planning Unit which may need to share information with the Council's school transport providers.
For the purposes of the production of Young Scot National Entitlement Cards, which provides your child with benefits including free bus travel etc, we will share information about your child with the National Entitlement Card (NEC) provider - NEC provider's Privacy Notice. The Council remains the data controller of that information.
Your personal data may be used internally within Falkirk Council departments to make you aware of benefits and in-kind support you might be eligible for.
Will we send your information outwith the UK?
Some of our learning apps, social media platforms, web filtering and alert services transfer information outwith the UK. Where this is the case a risk assessment is undertaken and appropriate safeguards are put in place. This policy is continuously reviewed in line with the latest guidance.
How long do we keep hold of your information?
We keep your information as long as required by law or by our business requirements. We have a Business Classification Scheme in place which sets out the types of records we hold, and how long we hold them - you can access the relevant part of the scheme below.
- Downloads
-
Education and Skills
PDF file, 197.6 KB
What are my rights in relation to the information held about me?
You have the following rights:
- To see any information held about you by making a subject access request.
- To withdraw consent at any time, where the legal basis for processing is consent.
- To data portability, where the legal basis for processing is (i) consent or (ii) performance of a contract.
- To request rectification or erasure of your information, where data protection legislation allows this.
Do I have a right to complain about the way information has been used?
If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, please let us know and we will try to resolve this. If you are still concerned, you can contact the Information Commissioner:
Do I have to provide my personal data to you?
Yes, in most cases in nursery, primary, secondary, and special education schools, as we are complying with legislation or legal requirement, we need this information to enable us to provide the best quality service.
If we did not collect this information, we would be unable to meet our obligation or provide you with the services you and your child(ren) are entitled to.
However, you can choose not to register for online school payments.
For adult learning, you do not have to provide us with your personal data, but if you do not we will not be able to provide a learning service to you.
Do you use any automated processes to make decisions about me?
We do not use automated decision making processes in relation to learning. However, if you choose to register for online school payments, we use automated decision making processes at the account registration stage, to ensure that any new account matches contact details held for the pupil.
This notice was last updated in March 2023.