Post-16 specialist further education provision: privacy notice

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into force on 25 May 2018, this notice sets out what the Welsh Government does with your personal data that we receive from Careers Wales as part of any one or all of the following:

• the post-16 specialist placements application process
• the appeals process
• Section 140 Assessment request process

The information in this notice will be kept under review.

The Welsh Government receives information from Careers Wales on young people who require post-16 specialist provision under the Learning and Skills Act 2000.

Once the application form is complete, the form together with supporting information is submitted to the Welsh Government for a decision. The application will contain information from a number of sources, including the young person, their parents or carers, the young person’s current or previous school, relevant mainstream and specialist educational institutions, any health or social services body involved with the individual’s needs, and any other relevant information.

The Welsh Government may request additional information about you (the young person, their parents or carers), in order to undertake an appeals process when the original decision is not acceptable.

Upon receipt of the information from Careers Wales the Welsh Government becomes the data controller.

As data controller, the Welsh Government relies on the lawful basis for processing personal data received in your application for Post-16 specialist placement under Article 6(1)(e) of GDPR in line with its public task and the official authority vested in it for the purpose of:

• making a decision whether the applicant is eligible for funding at a specialist further education (FE) establishment
• securing the service of an educational psychologist (EP) where required
• in the event of an appeals process, securing the service of an EP (where appropriate) and
• processing personal information to provide correspondence on progress and decision of the application submitted

In some cases, the Welsh Government receives information relating to additional learning needs or health information that falls within the special categories of personal data under GDPR. In these instances we rely on Article 9(2)(g) which applies 'reasons of substantial public interest' for the purpose of adhering to the criteria of your application.

As part of the decision-making process your information may be shared with the young person’s local authority education department, social services department or health board. Should there be a requirement, then under some circumstances, your data may be shared with an appointed EP.

The Welsh Government will keep this data for the duration of 10 years from the end date of the application or the criteria which underpin the statutory regulation.

You have the right to:

• have access to the personal data that the Welsh Government is  processing about you
• require the Welsh Government to rectify inaccuracies in that data
• (in some circumstances) to object to processing on grounds relating to your particular situation
• restrict processing (in some circumstances)
• lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner who is the independent regulator for data protection