Privacy notice

How we protect your data

What is the legal basis for processing my data?
How will the data be used?
How will my data be stored?
What are my data protection rights?
Who should I contact about my data protection rights?
How can I make a complaint?

 

The Department for Education (DfE) has commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), in collaboration with the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), to collect data for Growing Up in the 2020s from 2023 for several years (at least until 2029). Growing Up in the 2020s aims to better understand how a young person’s environment and experiences in early adolescence (secondary school years) impact their short- and long-term outcomes and development.

What is the legal basis for processing my data?

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the DfE is the Data Controller for this study. This means that it is responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing data from this study. NatCen is the Data Processor. The NCB and NFER are acting as sub-processors.

The legal basis for processing data from this study is ‘public task’.

How will the data be used?

Personal data collected as part of this study will only be used for research purposes and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Data collected through the study will be analysed in an aggregated form. This means that data from everyone taking part will be looked at together, anonymously by researchers approved by the Department for Education. The data will be used to better understand the relationships between young people’s experiences as they go through secondary school and their outcomes, including their educational outcomes and their wellbeing. Responses will be treated in the strictest confidence. It will not be possible to identify any individuals taking part in any published papers or reports. Names and contact details of teachers and school leaders are collected and stored solely for the purpose of sending the surveys and communications. These details will not be shared with DfE or any other organisation beyond NatCen and they will not be retained in the data file.

If you were invited to participate in the study in summer 2023, you were likely included in the pilot study. This means that the information you provide will be used to help inform the design of the main study and it will most likely not be included in any published datasets or reports. In this pilot survey we will ask you about linking your survey answers to records held by the Department for Education and the NHS. As this is a pilot, the purpose of this is to test these questions; your survey answers may not be linked to these administrative records. Your information will be held securely by NatCen on behalf of the DfE.

How will my data be stored?

Information collected during the study will be stored securely with names and addresses of participants removed and stored separately. Names and contact details will be kept by NatCen for the purpose of interviewing participants in future waves of this study or for linking the survey data with administrative data, as long as research participants have given appropriate consent.

What are my data protection rights?

Under GDPR, you have the right:

  • to ask DfE for access to information about you that they hold;
  • to have your personal data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete;
  • to request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing;
  • to restrict processing of your personal data (i.e. permitting its storage but no further processing) by DfE;
  • to object to direct marketing (including profiling) and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics;
  • not to be subject to decisions based purely on automated processing where it produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you.

Who should I contact about my data protection rights?

Please contact the study team at gu2020s@natcen.ac.uk or 0800 652 4574.

You can also contact the Department for Education Data Protection Officer. Data Protection Officers are responsible for upholding your rights and making sure we process your information correctly.

Email: dp.enquiries@education.gov.uk

How can I make a complaint?

If you would like to complain to the Data Protection Regulator, you can contact:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF

Website: ico.org.uk

Contact the ICO: ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/