6) Data Protection

Schools, Local Authorities (LAs), the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the government department which deals with education, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), Ofsted and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) all process information on pupils in order to run the education system and Department of Health (DH) and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) process information on pupils in order to tackle the year on year rise in obesity among children, and in doing so have to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998.  This means, among other things, that the data held about pupils must only be used for specific purposes allowed by law.  We are therefore writing to tell you about the types of data held, why that data is held, and to whom it may be passed on.