GDPR update from the Foundation

You may have heard about changes to data protection law which will come into force on 25 May 2018 as a result of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The legislation is designed to harmonise data protection laws across Europe as well as give greater protection and rights to individuals. These changes will affect everyone, and every organisation, in some way.

Like all schools, we hold a lot of personal data, from information about pupils and parents to data on staff and job applicants. We already have strong data protection policies in place and take our data protection responsibilities very seriously but we have been working hard to ensure that we comply with the new law. So how will GDPR impact us and you and what have we been doing to prepare?

What GDPR means for the Foundation

Senior Leadership

Data protection is a school-wide priority, overseen by the Bursar and the Governors. Data protection is taken into account by the leadership team when they discuss policies, bring in new technologies, and make decisions as a group.

Compliance Manager

We have appointed a Compliance Manager to work across our family of schools, offering tailored advice to ensure that we comply with data protection laws and follow best practice whilst continuing to offer the best possible learning environment for all our students Our Compliance Manager also works with all third parties and suppliers to ensure that we have the correct contracts in place and that the organisations we share data with also comply with the law.

All staff

Every single person who works at the Foundation has a responsibility to understand the impact of GDPR on their day to day role, and we now have guidance and training in place to ensure that both teaching and non-teaching staff are equipped and prepared for these data protection changes.

What GDPR means for you

It will be necessary to make some changes to policies and procedures in readiness for 25 May and we will use our website to post updates, and will correspond directly with you with more specific information, over the coming weeks.

Some of the changes that you will see include:

• Changes to forms
• Changes to the way we ask for permissions
• New privacy notices explaining in detail what we do with the information you provide us, what we use it for and who we share it with
• Updated terms of business

Thank you for your continued support. 

For further information about the GDPR, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website. If you have any specific questions for us, please do get in touch.