Privacy Policy

Introduction

The Downland Alliance takes the security of the data we hold very seriously. You have a legal right to be informed about how the Downland Alliance uses any personal information that we hold about you. To comply with this, we have provided a ‘privacy notice’.

This privacy notice explains how we collect, store and use personal data.

The Downs School, as School Direct Lead School is the ‘data controller’ for the purposes of Data Protection Law.

We have appointed a Data Protection Officer who can be contacted through our website contact form.

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Downland Alliance Director who will be happy to direct you.

Until the 24th May 2018, processed your personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (the DPA). From 25 May 2018, we will process your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR for short). This notice complies with requirements under both DPA and GDPR.

The personal data we hold

Personal data that we may collect, use, store and share (when appropriate) about you may include, but is not restricted to:

  • Personal information (such as name, address and DBS information)
  • Characteristics (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth and SEN)
  • Attendance information (such as sessions attended, number of absences and absence reasons)
  • Relevant medical records (such as the ‘Fitness to Teach & Disability Disclosure’)
  • Referee statements
  • Exam/assessment data (such as academic results)
  • Photos
  • CCTV footage

We may also hold data that we have received from other organisations, including other educational providers, UCAS, the Department for Education and the National College for Teaching and Leadership.

Why we use this data

We use this data to help run the Downland Teaching School Alliance, including:

  • to keep you informed about the course/programme you have signed up for
  • to keep you informed about future courses/programmes
  • to check eligibility for entry onto courses/programmes
  • to be able to run courses/events
  • to be able to carry out school-to-school support
  • for safeguarding reasons
  • to track how well the Downland Teaching School Alliance are performing
  • to carry out research
  • to comply with the law regarding data sharing

Our legal basis for using this data

  • We only collect and use your personal data as permitted by law.

Mostly, we process it where:

  • we need to comply with a legal obligation
  • we need it to perform an official task in the public interest
  • we have obtained consent to use it in a certain way
  • Sometimes, we may also process your personal data in situations where:
  • we need to protect the individual’s vital interests (or someone else’s interests)

Where we have obtained consent to use your personal data, this consent can be withdrawn at any time. We will make this clear when we ask for consent. If you wish to withdraw your consent then please contact the Downland Alliance Director via our website contact form.

Some of the reasons listed above for collecting and using your personal data overlap, and there may be several grounds which justify our use of this data.

Collecting this information

While the majority of information we collect about you is mandatory, there is some information that can be provided voluntarily.

Whenever we seek to collect information from you, we will make it clear whether providing it is mandatory or optional. We will always tell you if it is optional.

How we store this data

We keep personal information about you for six years after the completion/commissioning of the course/programme/services. We may also keep it longer if this is necessary in order to comply with our legal obligations. The Downs School has a records management policy which sets out how long we must keep information about delegates for.

In most cases, we hold data for six years after the completion/commissioning of the course /programme/services.

Data sharing

We do not share information about you with any third party without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.

Where it is legally required or necessary (and it complies with Data Protection Law) we may share personal information about you with:

  • Our Local Authority
  • The Department for Education (a government department)
  • Educators and examining bodies
  • Appropriate Bodies for registering NQTs
  • Our regulator (the organisation or “watchdog” that supervises us), e.g. Ofsted
  • Suppliers and service providers – so that they can provide the services we have contracted them for
  • Financial organisations – for course/service fees
  • Central government
  • Professional advisers and consultants – to support with the developments and management of the Downland Teaching School Alliance
  • Police forces, courts, tribunals

Initial Teacher Trainees

During their training trainees have access to data from their host school and are bound by the policies and procedures of that school.

Transferring data internationally

We do not transfer personal data internationally.

Your rights regarding personal data

Individuals have a right to make a ‘subject access request’ to gain access to personal information that the Downland Alliance holds about them.

If you make a subject access request, and if we do hold information about you, we will:

  • give you a description of it
  • tell you why we are holding and processing it, and how long we will keep it for
  • explain where we got it from, if not from you
  • tell you who it has been, or will be, shared with
  • let you know whether any automated decision-making is being applied to the data, and any consequences of this
  • give you a copy of the information in an intelligible form

Individuals also have the right for their personal information to be transmitted electronically to another organisation in certain circumstances.

If you would like to make a request, please contact the Downs School Data Protection Officer via our website contact form.

Other rights

Under Data Protection Law, individuals have certain rights regarding how their personal data is used and kept safe, including the right to:

  • object to the use of personal data if it would cause, or is causing, damage or distress
  • prevent it being used to send direct marketing
  • object to decisions being taken by automated means (by a computer or machine, rather than by a person)
  • have inaccurate personal data corrected, in certain circumstances, deleted or destroyed, or restrict processing
  • claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the Data Protection Regulations

To exercise any of these rights, please contact the Data Protection Officer.

Complaints

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, we request that you raise your concern with us in the first instance by contacting the Data Protection Officer.

Other websites

This privacy policy only applies to this website. When you link to other websites you should read their own privacy policies.

Cookie Usage

This website, along with most other major websites, uses cookies. None of the cookies used on our website collects personally identifiable information about you.

Changes to our privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review and we will place any updates on this web page. This privacy policy was last updated on 9 September 2021.

Contact us

We take any complaints about our collection and use of personal information very seriously.

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about anything mentioned in this privacy notice, the Data Protection Officer can be contacted via our website contact form.

This notice is based on the Department for Education’s model privacy notice