Click her for further information about contact tracing in education.
Data Collection
Dear Parent(s) Carers and Guardians,
As you may be aware the Welsh Government needs data on a regular basis to understand overall attendance patterns and to identify the characteristics of pupils who are not attending school. I am therefore writing to you to inform you that all schools in Pembrokeshire have been asked to ensure that all parents and carers are made aware of this new data collection.
The following data will now be collected for the purpose of this project:
- Unique Pupil Number (UPN)
- Forename
- Middle name(s)
- Surname
- Gender
- DOB
- Home postcode
- Ethnic background
- Eligibility for free school meals
- Additional learning needs
- English as an additional language
- Attendance code for each half day session
The privacy notice attached will provide further information on how the data will be used in the new process. Please note any reference to ‘we’ in the attached privacy notice refers to Welsh Government and not an individual school.
Regards/Cofion
Steven Richards-Downes
Director for Education
Cyfarwyddwr Addysg
Collecting attendance and personal characteristics data from schools from September 2020
We collect a wide range of data about you on an annual basis, and this is explained in more detail in this privacy notice.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and schools having to adapt to new ways of working, we need to be able to collect attendance data more frequently than once a year. Collecting up to date information will support us and provide the evidence we need to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on attendance and how we can support schools.
How frequently are we collecting this data?
We will keep the frequency of collection under regular review. Initially the data will be collected every week but we may need to collect the data more regularly.
For which pupils are we collecting data?
We are collecting data for every pupil in a maintained school as at September 2020.
What information are we collecting?
We are collecting the following information about you every week:
- UPN
- Forename
- Middle name(s)
- Surname
- Gender
- DOB
- Home postcode
- Ethnic background
- Eligibility for free school meals
- Additional learning needs
- English as an additional language
- Attendance code for each half day session in that week
Why are we collecting this information?
This information is needed as a key part of our response and planning during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The data will be collected every week to ensure that the latest data is available to inform our response. The data will be used for statistical and research purposes only and no decisions will be made about you using this data.
How will we use this information?
We will use the data in the same ways that we have listed in our main privacy notice.
Will we be sharing the data?
We may share this information with those organisations listed in the main privacy notice.
How long will we keep the information about you?
We will keep the data that identifies you until you are 25 years old.
What is the legal basis for collecting this data?
Section 538 of the Education Act 1996 provides the legal basis for collecting this data. This requires schools to make such reports and returns, and give such information, to Welsh Ministers as they may require for their functions in relation to education.
Your rights under the GDPR
Your rights are explained in full in the main privacy notice.
Covid-19 – Parent Information
Schools and COVID-19 – Information for Parents
1. Can I chat to other parents in the playground?
Yes, but it is really important to stick to the 2m social distancing rule in
the playground, as well as everywhere else. We know that it is really
tempting to greet people you’ve not seen in a long time with a hug or
kiss, or to join a chat with a group of parents, but COVID-19 is still with
us. Even if you are wearing a mask, social distancing is essential.
2. Will my children be doing PE?
Yes, PE is really important for children, but lessons will be adapted to
reduce risk of spread of COVID-19. You can make it much easier by
checking when your child has PE lessons and making sure that they go to
school in their PE kit on those days.
3. Can children go to school with a cold?
If a child does not have symptoms of COVID-19 but has other cold-like
symptoms, such as a runny nose, they do not need to be tested and they
and you do not need to self-isolate. Your child can go to school if fit to do
so.
4. Are children able to go to school if a parent or another
sibling, or anyone else in their house has symptoms of
COVID-19?
If a child/parent/household member develops symptoms of COVID-19,
the entire household should immediately self-isolate, and book a
test for the individual with the symptoms. It is not necessary to test
the entire household if they are not symptomatic.
The COVID-19 symptoms are:
a new continuous cough
a high temperature
loss of or change to sense of smell or taste
5. Are children able to go to school if they have been in contact
with someone who they don’t live with but who has
symptoms of COVID-19?
If a child has been in “contact” with someone experiencing symptoms,
they should carry on as normal until that individual receives their test
result. If this is positive, the TTP Team will contact people identified as
contacts.
Contact means:
face-to-face contact with someone less than 1 metre away
(including when you have worn a face covering or face mask)
spending more than 15 minutes within 2 metres of someone
travelling in a car with someone (even on a short journey)
6. What happens if the school has a positive case for COVID19?
When a confirmed case of COVID-19 is identified as attending an
educational or childcare setting (staff or pupil) contact will be made with
the case (or parent) to assess whether they attended the school during
their infectious period and whether further tracing of contacts in the
school is needed. If any staff member or child within the school is a
contact of the case, they will be required to self-isolate for 14 days and
contacted by your local Test, Trace, Protect (TTP) team or Education
Department. If a staff member or child from the school is not a contact of
the case, they will not be required to self-isolate.
7. Booking a COVID-19 test:
Only people with symptoms (a new continuous cough, a high
temperature, or loss of or change in the sense of taste or smell) should be
tested.
A COVID-19 test can be arranged via the Portal, or by ringing 119.
Testing is available in person or with a home testing kit delivered to and
collected from your home. The test is a throat swab or combined throat
and nose swab.
Some people are having difficulties obtaining tests. Your TTP team may
be able to help if you are having problems.
8. Self-isolation:
Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, and anyone who lives with them, must
self-isolate, even if symptoms are mild.
You must not go to school, nursery, other childcare settings, work, or
places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
Anyone with symptoms must self-isolate for 10 days from when their
symptoms started. They can return to school or work after 10 days if they
are well enough to do so.
Anyone in the household who does not have symptoms must self-isolate
for 14 days from when the first person in the home started having
symptoms.
A test is only needed for people who are symptomatic. People who are not
symptomatic should not have a test.
Receiving a negative test result when you are a contact of a case does
not shorten the isolation period, you will still be required to isolate for 14
days if you are a confirmed contact of a positive case.
If a parent thinks their child has symptoms BUT chooses not to put them
through a test all household members must remain in self-isolation for 14
days from the onset of symptoms.
If you receive a positive test result, you will be contacted by the TTP
Team.
If the person who has symptoms has a negative test, self-isolation can
end for everyone, children may return to school and parents can return to
work if they are well enough and as long as nobody else in the household
has developed symptoms.