City of York Council (CYC) current data protection notification is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – reference Z5809563. We regularly review this privacy notice, and it was last updated in November 2024.
CYC is committed to ensuring that your information is handled in accordance with the principles set out in data protection legislation and guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
This privacy notice tells you what to expect when we process your information and how it applies to the School Appeals Service (Appellants).
CYC is the controller for this information unless we specifically state otherwise in this privacy notice.
You can contact the council’s Data Protection Officer at:
West OfficesStation Rise
York
YO1 6GA
Telephone: 01904 554145.
Email: information.governance@york.gov.uk.
This privacy notice should be read in conjunction with other relevant CYC privacy notices and/or policies and procedures.
When appropriate we will provide a ‘just in time’ notice to cover any additional processing activities not mentioned in this document.
- How we collect your information
- What personal data we process and why
- Automated decision-making
- Collecting information automatically
- Children's information
- Lawful basis for processing your personal data
- How long we keep your personal data
- Data sharing
- Data processors and/or third parties
- Transfers of personal data
- How we protect your information
- Your rights in relation to this processing
How we collect your information
We get information about you from the following sources:
- directly from you
- from third parties acting on your behalf such as family member(s), advocates, etc
- from the relevant School, Academy or in-house Education Team
What personal data we process and why
We process the following personal and special category data such as:
- name
- address
- age
- details of current school
- reasons for submitting an appeal
- additional supporting information which can include supporting letters and details of academic achievement.
- disability information
- medical information
The School’s Appeals Service is part of the Council’s Legal Services team. By law if you are refused a place at your preferred school or if your child is permanently excluded from school and if the governors at that school uphold the head teacher's decision then you have the right to appeal against that decision to an independent panel.
The School Appeals Service supports the work of the independent appeals panel (for admissions and exclusions).
When we process information relating to criminal convictions and offences, this includes details of any past criminal convictions or offences.
We will only process the information that is necessary.
We may use your information to create reports and statistics that are anonymous and cannot be linked back to you, your family, or individuals such as:
- statistical analysis
- statutory returns
- audit framework
- see how the council and its partners are supporting individuals
- help design better services
- inform funding decisions
Automated decision-making
We do not carry out any automated decision-making in the School Appeals Team in relation to Appellants or otherwise.
Collecting information automatically
Please see our Cookies Policy for further information about the information we collect automatically when you use our website.
Children’s information
Where we provide services directly to children or young people, the information in the relevant parts of this notice applies to children and young people, as well as adults
Lawful basis for processing your personal data
Any personal data, special category data and criminal offence data that we process about individuals is done so in accordance with one or more of the following Articles 6 and 9 and 10 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).
- Article 6(1)
- (a) Consent: the individual has given clear consent for the council to process their personal data for a specific purpose.
- (c) Legal obligation: the processing is necessary for the council to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations).
- Article 9(2)
- (a) Explicit consent
- (g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)
This is supported by Schedule1, Part 2 (6) of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the following legal framework:
- Admission Appeals:
- s.94 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (the SSFA);
- the School Admission Appeals Code issued under s.84 of the SSFA; and
- the School Admissions Code issued under s.84 of the SSFA.
- Exclusion Reviews:
- The School Discipline (Pupil Exclusions and Reviews) (England) Regulations 2012;
- s.51A of the Education Act 2002;
- statutory guidance - School Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions
Where we process information relating to criminal convictions and offences, this is also under Article 10 UK GDPR that covers processing in relation to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures. In addition, section 11(2) of the DPA 2018 specifically confirms that this includes personal data relating to the alleged commission of offences, or proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed, including sentencing.
Some of the Schedule 1 conditions for processing special category and criminal offence data require an Appropriate Policy Document (APD) to be in place, which sets out and explains the procedures for securing compliance with the principles in Article 5 and policies regarding the retention and erasure of such personal data. This document explains this processing and satisfies the requirements of Schedule 1, Part 4 of the DPA 2018 and supplements this privacy notice.
Our Appropriate Policy Document provides further information about this processing.
How long we keep your personal data
We will only keep your information for as long as it is needed then it will be securely and confidentially deleted or disposed of.
You can find more details about how long the council keeps records in the council retention schedule.
Data sharing
We will only share your information where it is appropriate to, with:
- other council services
- third parties including our data processors, partners or contractors, who undertake work on our behalf
- government agencies
- internal and external auditors
To deliver the School Appeals Service, we will need to share your personal data, using secure methods, with:
- the school
- the Admission Authority (for example, the relevant Academy Trust or Governing Body)
- the members of the independent panel
- any other parents (with parental responsibility) or named carers of the child on whose behalf an appeal has been made
- other City of York council services
- the Department for Education (DfE)
- other local authorities (where appropriate and necessary)
- professionals from health, social care and Early Help teams (where appropriate and necessary)
- our Business Intelligence Unit
- auditing services
In some circumstances, such as under a court order or safeguarding, we are legally obliged to share your information.
We will always satisfy ourselves that we have a lawful basis on which to share the information and document our decision-making.
Additionally, we are required under the Public Records Act 1958 (as amended) to transfer records to the City or National Archives (TNA) for permanent preservation. Full consideration will be given to Data Protection and Freedom of Information legislation when making decisions about whether such records should be open to the public.
Data processors and/or third parties
When we have third parties providing parts or all of our services for us, we have contracts or agreements in place with them. These include:
- the Department for Education (DfE) Personal information charter
- Microsoft Teams, to contact you, to gather information from you, or if we are recording or transcribing our discussion or meeting with you, we will let you know. You can find more details about this in the City of York Council Microsoft Office 365 (MS365) Teams Meeting recording and transcription privacy notice
Transfers of personal data
We do not routinely transfer personal data, special categories of personal data or criminal offence data, outside of the UK but when this is necessary, we ensure that we have appropriate safeguards in place and that is done in accordance with the UK data protection and privacy legislation.
How we protect your information
We're committed to keeping your information safe and secure. There are several ways we do this, such as:
- IT security safeguards such as firewalls, encryption, and anti-virus software
- on-site security safeguards to protect physical files and electronic equipment
- training for all staff and elected councillors
- policies and procedures
Your rights in relation to this processing
To find out about your rights under data protection law, you can go to the Information Commissioner's Office website.
You can also find information about your rights in our Privacy Notice.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice, want to exercise your rights, or if you have a complaint about how your information has been used, please contact us on email: information.governance@york.gov.uk, or on telephone: 01904 554145, or write to:
Data Protection OfficerCity of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York YO1 6GA