What is the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998?
The Act protects the personal data about you by setting rules and conditions which apply to all users of personal information, such as Havering Council (“the Council”). The Act refers to users of personal information “Data Controllers” who must work within the requirements of the Act when obtaining and using information about you. It is anticipated that staff, and young people over the age of 12 with the maturity to make their own decisions, should generally be able to request to see their personal information themselves under the Subject Access Provisions (S.7) of the DPA. For children under 12, their parents will act on their behalf. In any event, it will be for the school, as data controller, to assess whether the child is capable of understanding the personal information in question, and so decide whether the parent needs to make the request on the child’s behalf.
