Alternative Education Provision Privacy Notice

How and why we will use information about you in relation to Alternative Education Provision.

Who is the Data Controller

Oxfordshire County Council is the Data Controller for the data we collect about you as an individual.

You may contact the council's Data Protection Officer as follows:

Information Services
Oxfordshire County Council
County Hall
New Road
Oxford
OX1 1ND

Oxfordshire County Council's Data Protection Officer is available to contact via email dataprotectionofficer@oxfordshire.gov.uk or by telephone 01865 792422.

Why are we doing this?

We are legally processing your data under the requirements of the Education (Information about Children in Alternative Provision) (England) Regulations 2007 by submitting the Alternative Provision census, which includes a named set of pupil records. The council is required to do this by law. More on your rights is below (see "Your Rights").

Why does Oxfordshire County Council process personal data

Oxfordshire County Council processes your data under Article 6 of the UK-GDPR, adhering to the principles outlined in Article 5, which include lawful, fair, and transparent processing, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity and confidentiality, and accountability.

Paragraph 7 of Schedule 4 of the Education Act 2002 requires the publication of information relating to admissions as prescribed.

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 creates a legal duty on Local Education Authorities to make arrangements for provision of suitable education at school or otherwise than at school for those children of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion from school or otherwise, may not for any period receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them.

Legal obligations

Oxfordshire County Council processes your personal data to comply with our legal obligations. This means that we are required by law to process certain data. For example, we may need to process your data to comply with tax laws, employment laws, or other regulatory requirements.

Oxfordshire County Council considers that the personal data processing outlined within this privacy notice, is necessary for the discharge of this statutory duty. On this basis, we contend that the processing is lawful on the grounds that Article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies.

The processing of any special category data that is necessary under this privacy notice, is also lawful on the basis of Article 9(2)(g) of the UK GDPR – for reasons of substantial public interest, proportionate to the aim pursued and with suitable and specific measures to safeguard the rights and interests of data subjects.

In accordance with Article 10 of the UK-GDPR, any processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences will be carried out only under the control of official authority or when authorised by applicable laws providing for appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of data subjects.

What information does Oxfordshire County Council collect?

As detailed in Arranging Alternative Education Provision, Statutory guidance for local authorities - February 2025, for the purposes of this guidance, the definition of alternative provision is as follows: education arranged by local authorities for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education; schools can also use alternative provision for children on a suspension (fixed period exclusion); and for children being directed by schools to off-site provision to receive appropriate education as an interim provision.

Oxfordshire County Council will process personal data in relation to the recipient of the Alternative Education Provision.

This information will include:

Name
address
date of birth
telephone number
school/educational setting
Education, Health and Care Plan
Personal Education Plan (PEP), if they are a child in our care

Oxfordshire County Council may also process special category data, where this is already known to us, such as:

Racial or ethnic origin
Data concerning a natural person's physical or mental health or condition and sexual orientation.
Disability
Social care involvement

Purpose of collecting or processing your personal data

Oxfordshire County Council may need to collect or otherwise process your personal data so that we can:

Respond to our statutory duties ensuring children and young people are safe and their welfare is being protected.
Ensure our children and young people are receiving services which are supporting their identified needs.
Ensure our children and young people are receiving services which are enabling them to continue to learn and achieve outcomes.
Use any feedback received to also shape and support our approach for the future as part of our wider improvement and development within Children's Services.

Who do we share your personal data with?

Oxfordshire County Council may share relevant personal data with various entities to fulfil our obligations and provide services effectively. We will not share your personal data unless it is legally necessary or is essential to carry out our stated purposes.

We share your personal data with third-party organisations such as:

Alternative Education providers.
Other professionals, where safeguarding concerns are raised.

How do we protect your personal data

At Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), we prioritise the security of your personal data. We employ a range of technical measures such as encryption and access controls to safeguard your data from unauthorised access. Additionally, our organisational measures include regular training for all employees to ensure they understand their responsibilities in protecting your data. Our physical security measures, such as secure facilities and secure disposal methods, further ensure that your data is always protected.

How long do we keep your data for

Information provided to us to deliver Service will hold your data for seven years.
Once the data is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted to ensure your privacy is protected.

Your rights

Under data legislation (The UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018) you have certain data subject rights to:

be informed via Privacy Notices such as this.
withdraw your consent if we are relying on your consent to process your data.
access the personal information the council holds about you, by making a data subject request to the council, with valid identification and where necessary authority for children or other persons.
rectification, to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
erasure, to delete your personal data unless there is a legal obligation to process your personal information.
restrict processing, to reduce the information processed about you or prevent certain processing in future.
data portability, to have your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable form when asked.
object, to your personal data being used for profiling, direct marketing or research purposes, or any automated decision-making or profiling, to reduce the risk that a potentially damaging decision is taken without human intervention.

For more information about your rights and about how the Council processes information, please see our corporate privacy notice and access to information.

You can also complete the online complaints form on our website.

You also have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner's Office, which is the UK regulatory authority for data protection issues:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF