Prospectus

Privacy Policy

For Pupils & Parents/Families/Carers/Legal Guardians

About Us

Causeway Academy is the data controller of the personal information we hold about our pupils and their parents, families, carers, and legal guardians. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use the personal information which we collect.

We are required under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to notify you of the information contained in this privacy notice.

We collect and use pupil information under the Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 and other relevant legislation. You may find the specific legislation at https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/department-education-legislation.

The majority of pupil information you provide to us is information which you are legally obliged to provide, but some pupil information is provided on a voluntary basis. When collecting information from you, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain pupil information to us or if you have a choice in this.

This notice applies to prospective, current, and former pupils and their families/carers/legal guardians, as well as those applying for a place at the school. We may update this notice at any time, but if we do so, we will inform you as soon as reasonably practicable.

If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we handle personal information, please contact the Principal who will deal with your query. The Principal can be contacted on:

Email: info@causewayacademy.coleraine.ni.sch.uk
Post: The Principal,
Causeway Academy,
Coleraine College,
Carthall Road,
Coleraine,
BT51 3LR

Our Data Protection Officer (DPO) is the Education Authority. The DPO monitors the school’s data protection procedures to ensure they meet the standards and requirements of the GDPR. The contact details of the Education Authority’s DPO are:

DPO: Education Authority
Email: dpo@eani.org.uk
Tel: 028 8241 1300

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues. The ICO’s details are as follows:

The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
3rd Floor,
14 Cromac Place,
Belfast,
BT7 2JB
Telephone: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114
Email: ni@ico.org.uk

How do we collect and hold personal information?

We collect personal information about our pupils and their families/carers/legal guardians during the pupil’s application process to the school.

We may also collect additional information from third parties such as the Education Authority, Department of Education, examination boards, or a pupil’s previous school.

Throughout a pupil’s time at Causeway Academy, we collect information through educational forms, assessments, and in the course of our legal obligations and pastoral care responsibilities.

What personal information do we collect, store and use about our pupils?

Personal information is information that identifies you and relates to you. We collect, store and use the following categories of personal information about our pupils:

  • Personal information (such as name, age, date of birth, photographs, and unique pupil number)
  • Contact information (such as address, emergency contact details, and telephone numbers)
  • Attendance information (such as sessions attended, absences, and absence reasons)
  • Assessment information (including statutory assessments, GCSE or post-16 qualifications, and standardised tests)
  • Exclusion and behavioural information
  • CCTV footage and other electronically obtained information
  • Non-sensitive characteristic data (such as free school meal eligibility)
  • Special categories of data (such as ethnicity, language, nationality, country of birth, health information, special educational needs, allergies, and disabilities)

What personal information do we collect, store and use about our pupils’ parents/families/carers/legal guardians?

We will only use personal information when the law allows us to. Most commonly, this will be when we need to comply with our legal obligations or when it is necessary in the public interest for us to exercise our authority as an educational body.

In some cases, we may process personal information where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, for example, in providing education, promoting pupil welfare, or ensuring efficient school operations.

We keep personal information electronically within our school management systems and IT network, and manually in secure, indexed filing systems.

Purposes for Using Personal Information

  • Teaching & Learning – To monitor and report on pupil progress and provide appropriate pastoral care.
  • Statutory Returns – To monitor equal opportunities and comply with education legislation.
  • Safeguarding & Child Protection – To safeguard pupils and manage attendance and wellbeing.
  • Security – To comply with health and safety obligations and meet legal data-sharing requirements.
  • Business Continuity – To assess the quality of our services.
  • Access to Systems – To support pupil learning and IT access.
  • Communications – To foster links with parents and the local community, including events and fundraising.
  • Sound Financial Management – To manage efficient payment systems for school services such as catering.

Consent

While most personal data is required for us to meet legal obligations, some information is collected on a voluntary basis with parental or pupil consent (for pupils aged 13 or over).

If consent is required, we will provide clear information explaining how and why the data will be used. You can withdraw consent at any time by contacting the school in writing.

Please note: parental consent is not required when personal data is processed to obtain counselling services for the pupil.

How long is data stored for?

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

The Department of Education’s Retention and Disposal Policy provides more details on data retention periods: https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/disposal-records-schedule.

We may retain certain information for historical reasons (e.g. year photos), but you may request its removal at any time.

Data Security

We have implemented appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure of personal information. Access to personal information is restricted to authorised personnel and governed by confidentiality obligations.

If a data breach occurs, we will notify the relevant authorities and affected individuals where legally required.

Cookies & Website Tracking

When you visit our website, we use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing activity. These technologies help us provide, protect, and improve our services, as well as to personalise user experience.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device (computer, tablet or mobile) when you visit a website. Some cookies are essential for the website to function properly (so-called “strictly necessary” cookies), while others help us understand how users interact with the site (analytics), or to personalise content and marketing.

How we use cookies

We use cookies for purposes such as:

  • Ensuring basic site functionality (strictly necessary cookies)
  • Analytics and performance (e.g. tracking page views, usage patterns)
  • Preference management (remembering your cookie preferences)
  • Optional features, embeds or third-party scripts (which may set their own cookies)

Cookie consent with CookieYes

We use CookieYes to manage cookie consent and ensure compliance with GDPR. The CookieYes banner allows you to accept or reject non-essential cookies, view categories of cookies, and change your preferences. Until you give your consent, non-essential cookies will not be set.

One cookie that CookieYes itself uses is cookieyes-consent, which records your consent preferences so that your choices are remembered on subsequent visits.

Managing or withdrawing consent

You may change your cookie preferences or withdraw consent at any time by using the “Cookie Settings” option on our site (usually visible in the footer or via a floating widget) or via your browser settings to block or delete cookies. Please note that if you disable certain cookies, some parts of the website may not function correctly.

Cookie list and details

A detailed list of cookies used on this site (name, purpose, duration, provider) can be made available via our Cookie Policy or within the CookieYes dashboard. We ensure that cookies are classified and described clearly.

Who we share pupil information with

We may share data with third parties where required by law or for educational and safeguarding purposes, including:

  • The pupil’s next school
  • The Department of Education
  • The Education Authority
  • Northern Ireland Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA)
  • The Board of Governors of Causeway Academy
  • General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland
  • Health & Social Care Trusts and PSNI (where necessary)
  • Examination boards (AQA, CCEA, Edexcel, etc.)
  • C2K School Management System
  • Approved education or testing providers

We do not share personal data without consent unless permitted by law.

Pupils aged 13+

We share limited information with local authorities and youth support services to enable them to provide appropriate educational and career services.

Parents can request that only their child’s name, address, and date of birth be shared. Once a pupil turns 16, this right transfers to them.

Schools Census

Under the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 2003, the Department of Education may request specific data for statistical purposes (e.g. enrolment, attendance, performance).

Transferring Data Outside the EU

We will not transfer personal information outside the EU without notifying you in advance and ensuring appropriate data protection measures are in place.

Your Rights of Access, Correction, Erasure and Restriction

Under GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access your personal data
  • Request correction of inaccurate data
  • Request erasure where there is no valid reason to retain it
  • Object to processing where justified
  • Request transfer of data to another organisation

To exercise these rights, please contact the Principal at: info@causewayacademy.coleraine.ni.sch.uk

We may request identification to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.