Young People Support Services Privacy Notice (Integrated Learning, Skills and Employment)

Who is the Data Controller for the information I provide?

Wirral Council is the Data Controller for the personal information you provide. Our data protection notification is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) – Reference Z5881449. The Council's Data Protection Officer is Jane Corrin, who can be contacted by email at DPO@wirral.gov.uk or by writing to: Data Protection Officer, PO Box 290, Brighton Street, Wallasey, Wirral, CH27 9FQ

Why do you need my information?

We collect and hold information about young people living in our area, including their education and training history. This is to support the provision of their education up to the age of 20 (and beyond this age for those with a special educational need or disability, and those young people leaving care).

The information we collect is used to support the Department for Education’s (DfE) ambition to increase the participation of young people in education and training and to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).

The DfE monitors the performance of Wirral Council in delivering their statutory duties to support and track young people and we need this information to ensure that;

• suitable education and training provision is available
• resources can be targeted effectively 

Wirral Council is also required to make arrangements to identify young people who are NEET or at risk of becoming NEET and provide them with appropriate support.

What information do you collect?

The information collected is required to be in the format specified by the Department for Education, specifically, the NCCIS Management Information Requirement[1].The categories of the information that we collect, process, hold and share include:

• personal information (such as name, unique learner number and address)
• characteristics (such as ethnicity and language)
• assessment information
• relevant medical information
• special educational needs information
• exclusions or behavioural information

What legal basis allows you to collect and use my information? 

Wirral Council uses personal identifiable information about young people to enable it to carry our specific functions for which it is responsible for, specifically to;

• To secure sufficient suitable education and training provision for all young people in their area who are over compulsory school age but under 19 or aged 19 to 25 and for whom an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan is maintained. This is a duty under the Education Act 1996[2]
• To make available to all young people aged 16-19 and to those between 20 and 25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), support that will encourage, enable or assist them to participate in education or training under Section 68 of ESA 2008[3]
• To make arrangements – i.e. maintain a tracking system – to identify 16 and 17 year olds who are not participating in education or training[4] and monitor those aged 18 to 19

The council has a duty under Section 68 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 as updated by Section 20 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to collect this information. We collect and use young people information under Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR);

• Article 6 - Public task: the processing is necessary for you to perform a task in the public interest or for your official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law

As part of this work we may also receive and hold information that is classified as special category data under Article 9 of the GDPR, specifically ethnicity, health related issues, sex life or sexual orientation.

How do we collect information?

This information is collected in the following ways:

• It may be provided by the Council Data & Information Team, Children & Families Department
• It may be provided to us directly by young people or members of the public
• It may be shared with us by another organisation due to us being part of a service they are providing, as part of an integrated package of support or as part of their duty to supply information to us
• Under parts 1 and 2 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, education institutions and other public bodies (including police, probation and health services) may pass information to us to help us to support these provisions
• It may be observed from social media activity
• It may be cross-checked or sourced against locally or national held information to verify the information is correct

Do I have to provide this information and what will happen if I don’t? 

You do not have to provide any information to us directly, however we may still receive information about you from education institutions or other public bodies as they have specific duties to supply information to us. Any additional information provided would assist us in making contact and referring you to the appropriate service.

You can opt out of using our service at any time by advising us that you do not require support, however under our statutory duty we may still need to contact you at set intervals to see if you are participating in education, employment or training or to check if you need any further support at that time.

Who will my information be shared with?

We may need to pass your information to other people and organisations that provide our service under contract, or to other organisations and services to help us meet our duty. These providers are obliged to keep your details secure  and use them only to fulfil our duties. These include: 

• Careers Advice and Engagement services working under the Council (Currently Career Connect) 
• Service providers e.g. training providers, colleges
• Other departments within Wirral Council e.g. Children’s Services
• Other local authorities, to assist with their statutory tracking duties, should you move to or from Wirral
• Other partners of the council and local youth support services where it is necessary, either to comply with a legal obligation, or where permitted under the Data Protection Act, e.g. where the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of the prevention and/or detection of a crime

Confidential data will only be shared with once the necessary legal basis has been established and data protection safeguards have been verified, so that the data is managed and used under the same restrictions. Anyone who receives information from Wirral Council is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

How long will you keep this information for and why?

We only keep hold of your information for as long as is necessary. This will depend on what the specific information is and the agreed period of time. In the main we will store young people’s data up to their 20th birthday. Young people outside of this rule include those leaving care and those with an education health and care plan. In these circumstance we will retain data up to the young person 21st and 25th birthday respectively. 

Data is permanently disposed of after this period, in line with Wirral Council’s Retention Policy/Schedule or the specific requirements of the organisation who has shared the data with us.

How will my information be stored?

Your information is stored securely in a case management system supplied by a Data Processing company called Cognisoft. We only use only data processors who can provide sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures which can meet the requirements Data Protection Legislation and ensure the protection of the rights of the data subject.

Any personal information in document format is stored securely on the council network. 

Will this information be used to take automated decisions about me? 

No. 

Will my data be transferred abroad and why?

No.

What rights do I have when it comes to my data?

Right to be informed – through this Privacy Notice 

Right to rectification – you have the right to have personal data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete, and the right to restrict processing whilst verification, correction or completion is taking place.

Right of access – You have the right under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the GDPR to request a copy of your information and to know what it is used for and how it has been shared except where:

• It contains confidential information about other people and the Council has to balance the rights of other individuals
• Includes information a care professional thinks will cause serious harm to you or someone else’s physical or mental wellbeing
• Information which may prejudice an investigation if disclosed

For details on how you can access your personal information see our Data Protection Policy 

To request a copy of your data or ask questions about how it is used please contact:

Information Officer
Wirral Council
Integrated Learning, Skills and Employment Service
PO Box 290
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH27 9FQ

Or email alicecastree@wirral.gov.uk 

For more information on your Personal Data Rights see Wirral Council’s Principal Privacy Notice; alternatively the Information Commissioner regulates data handling by organisations in the U.K and work to uphold the data rights of citizens and the Information Commissioner's website provides more information on the rights available to you.

The right to complain about data handling

The Council sets very high standards for the collection and appropriate use of personal data. We therefore take any complaints about data handling very seriously. We encourage you to bring to our attention where the use of data is unfair, misleading or inappropriate and we also welcome suggestions for improvement.

In the first instance we would ask that you try and resolve data handling issues directly with us before applying for a formal resolution.

If you are dissatisfied with the informal resolution of your complaint you can request a review by the Data Protection Officer Jane Corrin by email DPO@wirral.gov.uk or by writing to: Data Protection Officer, PO Box 290, Brighton Street, Wallasey, Wirral, CH27 9FQ If you remain dissatisfied following an internal complaint, you can lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner: 

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

Changes to our Privacy Notice

We regularly review our privacy notice and encourage you to check it from time to time. This notice was last updated in March 2024.

[1] For further information, see GOV.uk https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nccis-management-information-requirement