PN036 - SENCOM Privacy Notice

Torfaen County Borough Council is committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. This Privacy Notice is designed to give you information about the data we hold about you, how we use it, your rights in relation to it and the safeguards in place to protect it.

TCBC Service Area: Children & Family Services
Work area: Sensory and Communication Support Service (SenCom)
Contact Details: Roger Thurlbeck - Tel: 01633 648888 - Email:  sencom@torfaen.gov.uk
Privacy Notice Name: Sensory and Communication Support Service (SenCom)

Data Controller: Torfaen County Borough Council, c/o Civic Centre, Pontypool, NP4 6YB

If you wish to raise a concern about the handling of your personal data, please contact the Data Protection Officer on 01495 762200 or email dpa@torfaen.gov.uk

The information is gathered to ensure that the service is aware of the individual needs and circumstances of a child and therefore the appropriate support and provision is provided.

Who provides your data to the Council?

The personal information we process is provided to us directly by you in order for our staff to work with you/your child and those close to you to support your child’s development and remove barriers to learning.

AND

We receive personal information indirectly from schools, health and education professionals. A referral to our service should include parental consent.

How does the Council collect this information?

SenCom may collect this information in a variety of ways:

Via a self-referral or a referral from a third party such as Health, Education Professionals, a school, college or Early Years Setting. This can take the form of:

  • Online and paper referral form
  • Education, Health and Social Care Reports

What information does the Council collect about you?

The Sensory and Communication Support Service collects;

  • Name
  • Address
  • DoB
  • Relationships information
  • Contact details
  • Preferred Language
  • Education information
  • Other agencies Involved
  • Additional Learning Needs
  • Case notes
  • NHS number

Why does the Council process your personal data?

Under Article 6 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful basis we rely on for processing this information is:

(e) We need it to perform a public task - to provide specialist education advice and support to children and young people.

Please note we may ask for consent to engage in the service; however, consent is not the legal basis we rely on to process your personal data.

Special categories of personal data

We collect the following special category data:

  • data concerning health

For example:

Children with sensory impairment visit hospital specialists and their assessments and diagnoses may be shared with SenCom to inform intervention by the service.

We collect this under Article 9 of the UK GDPR. Processing is necessary for the provision of health or social care.

We do not collect any criminal data.

Who has access to your data?

Your data is shared internally only with the appropriate staff where it is necessary for the performance of their roles.

Your data may also be shared externally with organisations to share advice and ideas with the right people to make things easier for your child at home and/or an educational setting. These may include, but not be limited to;

  • The relevant Local Authority for the child/young person.
  • The relevant Social Care Department for the child/young person.
  • Schools and Early Years Settings – To provide advice, recommendations and reports.
  • Education Achievement Service – Attainment and Achievement Data
  • Careers Wales – To support transition to adult life/further and higher education.
  • Third Sector Organisations – We signpost to other support services eg a referral to a family officer.
  • Health Boards – To support ongoing assessment of individual needs.
  • Non-Maintained Schools – To provide reports and information to support a successful placement for a child/young person.
  • Maintained schools within other Local Authorities – To provide advice, recommendations and reports.
  • Further and Higher Education Providers - To provide advice, recommendations and reports.

Apart from where previously stated, we do not pass your details to third parties unless we are lawfully required do so.

Is the Data transferred out of the UK?

No

How does the Council keep your data secure?

The Council has internal policies in place to ensure the data it processes is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed. Access to this data is restricted in accordance with the Council’s internal policies and in compliance with the UK GDPR.

Data will be stored securely in;

  • Secure electronic filing systems
  • Secure paper filing systems

Where the Council engages third parties to process personal data on its behalf, they do so on the basis of written instructions. These third parties are also under a duty of confidentiality and are obliged to implement appropriate measures to ensure the security of data.

How long does the Council keep your data?

The Council will hold your personal data only for the period that is necessary and will follow organisational and Local Authority standards in this area. At the end of the retention period the Council will securely destroy or dispose of the data in line with retention schedules.

  • Records will be kept for 35 years from closure of the case.

Are we making automated decisions/profiling with your data?

No

Your rights

You have a number of Rights you can exercise:

  • Access - to obtain a copy of your data on request
  • Rectification – to require the Council to change incorrect or incomplete data
  • Object, Restrict or Delete - under certain circumstances you can require the Council to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing
  • Data portability – to receive and/or transmit data provided to the Council to other organisations (this applies in limited circumstances))
  • Withdraw your consent at any time (where consent has been given)
  • To know the consequences of failing to provide data to the Council
  • To know the existence of any Automated Decision-making, including profiling, and the consequences of this for you.
  • To lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Information Commissioners Office)

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact Head of Sensory and Communication Support Service, Roger Thurlbeck, sencom@torfaen.gov.uk

The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (Wales), 2nd Floor, Churchill House, Churchill Way, Cardiff, CF10 2HH. Telephone 0330 414 6421 or e-mail wales@ico.org.uk

Last Modified: 20/11/2024 Back to top