11 May 2018 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and what it means for schools - part two

Following my item on GDPR before Easter, this is an additional update to support you in your preparations for GDPR, which will come into force on 25 May 2018.

The exemplar privacy notice is now finalised and available on the GDPR page on Kelsi for you to tailor and use with your parents and pupils. A separate one is available for your school workforce. The privacy notices cover all the standard collection and sharing that complies with your legal obligations, and to carry out your tasks in the public interest. They do not provide the school-specific detail around consent for third-party sharing, and these areas are highlighted in red and will need further development to cover your own arrangements.

If your information mapping and review of both contracts and consent has been completed, then you will be well placed to update and issue your privacy notice to your current school population, and plan to sharing it with your new intakes going forward.

Good examples of areas that are likely to require further scrutiny are school photographers and school caterers. You should have consent from parents to have their photo taken by the external school photographer, and you should review your contract with them, so you are clear on how they store your pupils’ names and photographs, and how long they retain them. School caterers often require pupil information and photos to support the management of food allergies or any other requirements or conditions. Do parents understand that this happens and consent to it, and are the areas where this information is held or displayed appropriately secure?

The DfE has recently issued a data protection toolkit for schools. It is currently a Beta version but contains a wealth of useful information to inform your planning and implementation. The table on page 15 gives some useful pointers for mapping your data across a range of themes, and the table in Annex 2.1, om page 50, gives a useful list of the different types of personal information that you probably hold and share, which will support you in identifying any gaps in your current planning.

Some schools have established their own GDPR Working Groups to bring together representation across the school to map data, identify risks, and plan actions and next steps. This is a helpful approach as it supports readiness and builds awareness and shared responsibility.

For further useful information, plus who to contact if you need advice or guidance, please refer to the Information Governance page.

Fair Access Protocol

The Fair Access Protocol (PDF, 331.2 KB) is the legal process by which the most challenging Hard to Place children access school and Kent County Council is legally obliged to have a protocol in place for the county.

Thankfully in the context of the Kent school age population, the Fair Access Protocol rarely has to be applied. The current protocol has been in place since 2014 and officers have been working with panels across the county to identify best practice both in Kent and beyond in the development of the 2018-2021 Protocol. This county wide protocol has been a necessary development due to more localised arrangements which have evolved over the years sometimes falling short of legal requirements. Kent County Council whilst respectfully working with schools, must, as the owner of the protocol, ensure they are written and applied legally.

In addition to the Kent Fair Access Protocol, both a framework and common principles have been set out. The process continues to put Headteachers in their localities, at the centre of decision making about the identification of appropriate education provision. At the same time, the protocol tightens up some of the elements that had resulted in decision drift, often leading to extended periods where children were out of education and as a consequence much harder to re-engage. This updated protocol offers a fair and transparent process that can be applied consistently across the county, upholds the rights of individual students and schools; whilst recognising and retaining the opportunity for individual localities to develop their own inclusive practices.

You will see there is an online form which can be completed and I would ask you please to complete this at your earliest opportunity in order that we can publish and apply the protocol countywide in line with our legal obligations. More information is included in the letter from Scott Bagshaw, Head of Fair Access (PDF, 99.9 KB) (PDF, 99.9 KB) and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Scott directly by emailing Scott.Bagshaw@kent.gov.uk.

If agreement to the protocol is not secured from the majority of schools in Kent, then it may be necessary to have a protocol imposed by the Department for Education which will not truly reflect all the learning and input from Kent schools. I hope therefore you will confirm your agreement and give your support. If you would please complete the electronic return form by the 25 May 2018, this would be greatly appreciated.

Summer Headteacher meeting dates

The next round of Headteacher meetings are taking place in June and July. One of the main focuses of these meetings will be sharing an options paper on High Needs Funding

We very much hope that you will be able to attend one of the following four meetings.

The dates, times and locations for the Summer Headteacher Meetings are:

Friday 22 June 2018 - 9am for 9:30am start - 12pm - The Spitfire Ground (Canterbury Cricket Ground), St Lawrence, Old Dover Road, Canterbury CT1 3NZ

Monday 25 June 2018 - 1pm for 1:30pm start - 4pm - Oakwood House, Oakwood Road, Maidstone ME16 8AE

Wednesday 27 June 2018 - 1pm for 1:30pm start - 4pm - Mercure Dartford Brands Hatch Hotel, Brands Hatch, Colin Chapman Way, Dartford DA3 8PE

Monday 2 July 2018 - 1:30pm for 2pm start - 4:30pm - Ashford International Hotel, Simone Weil Avenue, Ashford TN24 8UX

To book a place, please email eypssupportteam@kent.gov.uk confirming your name and school, and the session you are able to join.

Matt Dunkley CBE
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education