Adult Learning Service privacy notice

Bury Adult Learning Service is part of Bury Council. We provide education and training for young people aged 16-18 and for adults aged 19+ funded by the Education and Skills funding Agency (ESFA) and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in the Council's main privacy notice, and within Bury Adult Learning Services Privacy Notice.

This notice provides additional privacy information for learners aged 16 and over who have or who are undertaking courses with Bury Adult Learning Service.

Bury Adult Learning Service collects and obtains personal information so that it can receive funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). This funding, along with a small proportion of fee income from the learner, enables the Service to deliver a range of programmes to post 16 learners.

The GMCA is a Public Authority and the Data Controller for the information that is provided to it by the ESFA to provide the Adult Education Budget funded provision.

Bury Adult Learning Service (Bury Council) is the Data Controller for the data collected for the provision of the services and the data provided to the ESFA on each learner.

The Department of Education is the data controller for personal data processed by the ESFA.

Where Bury Adult Learning Service (Bury Council) is providing the Services to Learners claiming out of work benefits, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (or their successor) is the Data Controller in relation to Personal Data which the Council is required to provide to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Categories of data we collect, process, hold and share include

Personal Information (such as name, unique learner number, address, telephone numbers, email addresses, post code, gender, nationality, date of birth, national insurance number, employment status, benefit type, previous qualifications and attainments, household details, emergency contact details).

Sensitive Information (such as ethnicity, disability, learning difficulty).

Why this information is collected and used

Under data protection law, Bury Adult Learning Service can only process personal data if it is lawful to do so. Please see the details below of the lawful bases that is relied on for processing different types of personal data.

UK GDPR Article 6(1)(e) - where processing is necessary to perform a task which is in the public interest (public task)

When processing special category data, the following additional lawful basis is relied on:

UK GDPR Article 9(2)(b) - where processing is necessary for Bury Adult Learning Service to carry out specific obligations or exercise rights relating to employment, social security, and social protection (Schedule 1, Part 1, section 1, DPA 2018)
UK GDPR Article 9(2)(g) - where processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, specifically:
- for statutory and government purposes (Schedule 1, Part 2, section 6, DPA 2018)
- for the safeguarding of children and of individuals at risk (Schedule 1, Part 2, section 18, DPA 2018)
UK GDPR Article 9(2)(h) - where processing is necessary for the provision of health and/or social care purposes (Schedule 1, Part 1, section 2, DPA 2018

Learner data is also used to:

Enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible
Derive statistics which inform decisions such as the funding of qualifications
Assess performance and to set targets for colleges and training providers
Enable us to support learners into employment or volunteering
To contact learners in the event of an emergency or course cancellation

The data is used widely, most notably by the government, to monitor policy implementation and the performance of the sector. It is also used by organisations that allocate funding for further education.

Information sharing and recipients

Learner information may be shared with third parties for education, training, employment and well-being related purposes, including for research. This will only take place where the law allows it and the sharing is in compliance with data protection legislation.

Information is routinely shared with:

The Secretary of State for Education acting through the ESFA and the GMCA to fulfil our contractual duties linked to delivery of education and training.
External organisations in relation to examination and accreditation process, for example awarding organisations, JCQ and Ofqual
Student Loan Company for the purpose of monitoring loan applications
BKSB - for the purpose of diagnostic assessment (where applicable)
Learner Record Service to assess learner's previous achievements to make sure they access the right training that meets their individual needs, and to apply for a Unique Learner Number (ULN) if a learner does not already have one.
Other external companies in order to obtain destination and progression information from learners that have been in provision with Bury Adult Learning Service, in order to fulfil service and contractual obligations

For the current Privacy Notices for the ESFA, GMCA and Learner Record Service, and details on how to access the Personal Learning Record please visit the following websites:

We may share learner information with the following third parties for the reasons detailed:

Other departments within the Council to support learner's health, safety and well-being
Statutory agencies such as the Police, National Fraud Authority in line with our legal obligations and/or in completion of our public tasks

In accordance with our legitimate interests we may contact learners to:

Send out information about courses that learners have asked for, or that may be of interest
To carry out research to evaluate the effectiveness of our training services

Learners can agree to be contacted for these purposes at the point of enrolment. If they have opted into this, they can opt out at any time by contacting Bury Adult Learning Services at learner.services@bury.gov.uk.

Consequences if statutory or contractual information is not provided

Failure to provide certain information when requested, means we will not be able to fulfil our contract with the ESFA and GMCA which may mean the learner will not be eligible to undertake their learning programme.

Requesting access to your personal data

Under data protection legislation, parents and learners have the right to request access to information we hold about them. To make a request for this information please email subjectaccessrequest@bury.gov.uk.

Learners have a right to:

Request copies of any of any personal information that is held by Bury Adult Learning Service
Ask us to correct information
Ask us to delete personal information. Bury Adult Learning Service and the Council, can refuse to delete information if we have a lawful reason to keep this
Ask us to transfer personal data to different services or to them
Object to how their data is being used and how it is going to be used in the future
Object to decisions being taken by automatic means (for example online)
Lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority (The Information Commissioner's Office)

Storing this information

Bury Adult Learning Service shall retain original invoices; management information returns and all other documents necessary to verify the Provision delivered by itself for 10 years from the end of the financial year in which the last payment of Grant is made. Learner information is held securely digitally and hard copy, both of which are bound by UK GDPR legislation.

Bury Adult Learning Service (via Bury Council) must notify the Information Commissioner (and data subjects) where necessary about data breaches.

Updates

We may update or revise this Privacy Notice at any time.