THE DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998
Connexions Nottinghamshire ( a division of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Futures) is required to hold information about young people in Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County. This information is used so that the individual young person can get the best possible and most appropriate support from Connexions Personal Advisers. By knowing more about your son or daughter we can provide an effective high quality service that’s designed to suit your teenagers needs.
Organisations with which we share our young peoples’ data
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Futures is owned jointly by Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council as a contracted support service to provide information, advice and guidance, and to promote effective participation in education or training to our cohort (all young people age 13-19, or up to age 25 with learning difficulties and/or a disability, who either live or receive their learning in Nottingham or Nottinghamshire).
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Futures has to provide a statutory report monthly to DfE on the cohort status (known locally as their destination) e.g. EET, NEET or Unknown. We also have to report on the cohort characteristics e.g. residency by Local Authority, gender, ethnicity etc.. We have to keep in contact with our cohort on a regular basis (defined by DfE) to ensure their last reported destination is considered accurate and up to date, and we are aware of any barriers to learning they may face. Contact could be by letter, telephone or personal visit.
Regional Connexions partnerships - For Futures and regional Connexions partnerships to perform their statutory requirements and to meet their targets.
Nottingham City Children’s Services - Improvement and Policy – Information shared about young people for who it provides services, to enable it to carry out functions for which it is responsible. It uses information to derive statistics to inform decisions on policy and strategies. The statistics are used in such a way that individual young people cannot be identified.
Nottingham Children Centres Service - Nottingham Children Centres have a target to ensure that pregnant teenagers and young mothers are offered all the help and the support they need. If we did not provide this data some teenagers and their babies would be at risk of harm and/or not getting the proper care and advice that they needed.
Colleges - For Futures to perform its statutory requirements and to meet its targets and to help colleges improve the services they provide.
Individual schools - Schools are legally required to present individualised destinations data for their year 11 leavers and as we have it, it makes sense for us to provide it to them. Whilst schools often have much of this information from their own sources our data is more accurate and comprehensive. This is the only time that we provide schools with individualised data on their ex –students.
There are 2 types of information that we might hold…
Personal Information
Basic information, such as: name, date of birth, age, address and postcode – anything that helps us to identify your son or daughter and keep in touch with them.
Sensitive Information
More detail about your son/daughter, such as their race, gender and what they are doing at the moment – for example, where they might be working – any difficulties they may have and how and where they are getting support.
Your sons/daughters information is gathered in two main ways…
1) From your Local Education Authority – this will be personal information
2) From your son or daughter – or, with their agreement, from another source. This might be sensitive information that they have given to a Personal Adviser or a Youth or Social Worker – always with their permission for us to store and use.
What do we do with it?
Your sons/daughters information is stored in manual filing systems and on a computer database. Those working with your son or daughter use it to understand their circumstances and provide them with the best help available.
Sharing and Consent
Personal information and some sensitive information will be available to a limited number of people – those who are already involved in providing your son or daughter with help or advice and who have their permission. Some particularly sensitive details will only be accessible to the Personal Adviser currently working with them. In addition…
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We may sometimes need to work with other agencies who may be able to help them, like training and work experience providers. We would only share the minimum amount of personal information necessary to enable them to help your teenager.
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If your son or daughter does not wish us to do this, they can withhold or withdraw their consent at any time by signing a Consent Withheld Form.
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If we feel that sharing their sensitive information with another agency will help them, we would ask for their consent and ask them to sign a Consent Given Form.
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If they do decide not to give consent it may affect the level of help they can be given.
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Sometimes the law says we may share their information – this will only happen when there is a legal requirement, or duty, to do so. For example, if Job Centre Plus asks for some details, if there is a risk of a crime being committed, or if there is the possibility of serious harm or a threat to someone’s life.
Your teenager can see all the records and computer information that we have about them, if they ask to. As well as helping them, this can help ensure we keep up-to-date with their circumstances.
To get a copy of their information, your teenager will need to apply in writing to our Data Protection Manager.
By post:
Mr R Cowell
The Data Protection Manager
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Futures Ltd
Carlton Street
Hockley
Nottingham NG1 1NN
or by email:
ronnie.cowell@futuresnn.co.uk
If they want to see their information, they will need to tell us their name, address and date of birth. Within 21 days, we will let your teenager know that we have received their request. Within 40 days from their original request they will be posted a printout of all the computer data, and photocopies of all the paper records we have about them. There is no charge for this service.
Concerns, Changes and Complaints
If your son or daughter has any concerns, changes of circumstances or complaints about their information, please ask them to contact: Mr R Cowell at Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Futures (at the address shown), stating what they think the problem is. Your teenager will get a response within 10 working days.
If they are dissatisfied following this response, they can appeal to our Data Controller, or contact:
Information Commissioner's Office
Information Line: 01625 545745
Website: www.dataprotection.gov.uk
Email: data@dataprotection.gov.uk
