You cannot have escaped news about the General Data Protection Regulation (better known as GDPR), which has come into force on 25th May 2018. The new regulation is about protecting people in the modern information age. Much will stay the same as we already have strict data protection policies in place but GDPR will bring even better security and greater transparency. 

GDPR requires both public authorities and businesses to identify the lawful basis for storing personal data, to audit information they already hold and to take a ‘data protection by design and default’ approach to personal data. It also introduces new individual rights relating to personal data, such as the right to erasure or the right to rectification. We can assure you that at Plantsbrook Learning Trust we take the security of all data we hold on you and your children very seriously and for this reason we already have excellent procedures and systems in place to ensure our IT security is of the highest order. 

We also ensure that the management of student files which are stored on paper is dealt with in a similar fashion. We have however reviewed our approach to data protection and our revised policy and privacy notices in relation to GDPR will be updated on our website shortly. Although the new changes are effective from May 25th we will continue to amend our approach to data protection carefully over the next few weeks and months to ensure that we are not only fully compliant but that we also follow best practice. Due to this, it is important that we keep comprehensive and up-to-date records on our students and their contact information. 

This is particularly essential in times of an emergency or where a school-wide message requires your attention. For that reason if you think that your personal data needs updating then please do not hesitate to contact us. We will also be in touch in the near future to request consent for the use of some personal data relating to school business. 

To learn more about the General Data Protection Regulation, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website on here.