Pals is a data controller for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR May 2018). We are registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) under registration number Z9008471. All staff members are aware of their responsibilities under the terms of GDPR.
The GDPR states that personal data should be processed fairly and lawfully and collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes. An individual’s data should not be processed without their knowledge and only processed with their explicit consent. Pals is committed to protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals with respect to the processing of a child’s, parent’s, visitor’s or staff member’s personal data.
At Pals we collect personal information from parents about their child, in order to:· Support their child’s learning and emotional well-being;
· Monitor and report on their child’s developmental progress
· Provide support to parents and inform them of their child’s progress
· Claim funding for Early Years Free Entitlement from the Local Authority (London Borough of Bromley)
· Ensure a smooth transition when they move on to another setting or to school.
· Comply with Ofsted’s Statutory Requirements (e.g. to have emergency contact details for every child, together with medical information such as allergies and information relating to special educational needs or disabilities.)
Information that we hold about your child and your family will include personal details such as name and date of birth, address and emergency contact details, ethnic group, religion, any special educational needs or relevant medical information. For parents accessing additional free childcare for working families we also collect and retain parental dates of birth, email addresses, telephone numbers and National Insurance numbers. This is in order to verify eligibility for any additional Government funding.
We will not give information about you or your child to anyone without your consent, unless the law or our policies allow us to. However, there are some situations where we have a legal duty to share information with the Local Authority’s Social Care Team or the Police, e.g. if there are child protection concerns.Parents are informed when registering their child of any relevant policies that we have regarding the sharing of information, e.g. our links with the local Health Visitor, specialist support agencies and local schools. Pals ensure that any personal information is always stored securely and treated in confidence. Any computers or lap tops used for storing data are password protected.
In order for Pals staff to keep up to date with administrative tasks, either related to claims for Free Early Years Entitlement funding, or for key workers to work on updating children’s EYFS profiles, it is sometimes necessary for work to be taken home. All staff are contracted to keep any such information safe and secure and to treat it with the utmost confidence at all times.
We are required by law to pass information about your child’s date of birth and hours of attendance to our Local Authority (Bromley Council) and the Department for Education. This is required for audit purposes in relation to eligibility for Early Years Free Entitlement Funding and for the Annual Early Years Census which the Department for Education uses to plan future funding for Local Authorities.
Bromley Council requires that we submit child attendance data for each term’s Early Years Free Entitlement funding claim via a secure email system called Egress Switch. Bromley Council also specifies that we must keep either hard copies or electronic copies of data such as proof of birth (child birth certificates or passports) and parent contracts for seven years.
We also have a statutory duty to retain any attendance registers, records of accidents and of any medicines administered to children for twenty one years. Paper records such as these and the parent contracts and date of birth evidence needed for funding applications are stored securely either within the setting or off site.
At Pals we also collect and retain non-statutory information which helps us to provide for your child’s emotional well-being. This might be information about their likes and dislikes, the names of any siblings or other adults involved in caring for your child, we also take photographs of children for their records. Photographs of activities are posted on our website but never with children within them. If a child’s back is in a photograph then we will always obtain parental permission before posting it. We always strive to ensure that only your child is captured in any photographic images.
We also request that parents do not post any visual media on social media sites that could compromise the privacy of any other child.
Ofsted expects childcare providers to share information regarding a child’s developmental progress with others involved in the child’s care, such as childminders, or with future carers such as a new setting or school. This is to enable a smooth transition to the next setting and also to enable the school to plan for any additional support that may be needed. Any records that are sent to school are always shared with parents first.
We do use emails and phone numbers to stay in touch with parents as necessary- these details are never passed on to any third parties for marketing or other purposes. Once a child has left Pals then all registration forms with these details on are shredded however, parental telephone numbers and email addresses are retained on the Bromley funding contracts, which Bromley Council stipulate we must keep for seven years. However, as they cannot be used for other purposes it is very unlikely that any member of Pals Nursery would use these contact details once a child had left nursery, unless there was an urgent reason.
If you want to know more about how the Local Authority and Department for Education store and use your personal information, then please go to the following website:
http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/datatdatam/b00212337/datause
If you have any other queries please speak to Teresa who will hopefully be able to reassure you and answer any questions.
If at any time you feel that there has been a breach in the GDPR and wish to complain about the way your personal data has been handled please speak to Teresa, then if you are not satisfied with her response you should contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at http://ico.org.uk
Parents have a legal right to ask to see any information that is kept on themselves or their child. Any such request should be addressed to Teresa.
