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Children’s Services, including Early Help (including Strengthening Families Programme) privacy notice

Who do you keep information about?

We keep information about children, their families and other children and adults who they are associated with.  We keep this information in respect of children who are in need and/or suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, those who are looked after, care leavers and those who require early intervention and prevention services and opt to take part in the Strengthening Families Programme.

Why do you keep information about me?

The legal framework and government guidance says we need to collect information about children, their families and other people involved with them.   We also use the information that we collect to check the quality of our services and, where necessary, to make changes to them and for research purposes.  For more information on research please see our privacy notice for the national evaluation of the Strengthening Families Programme.  The GDPR conditions for processing we are relying upon for the provision of Children’s Services are:

  1. Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation;
  2. Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller; and
  3. Processing is necessary for the provision of health or social care or treatment or management of health or social care systems.

The GDPR conditions for processing we are relying upon for the provision of Early Help Services (including Strengthening Families Programme) are:

  1. Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller; and
  2. Processing is necessary for the provision of health or social care or treatment or management of health or social care systems.

The legal gateway for this processing is the Children Act 1989; the Adoption and Children Act 2002; the Children Act 2004; and the Children and Families Act 2014.

Who can see my information?

You can ask the Council for your information. If you need help with this, talk to your support worker or social worker.

Children’s Services may share you information with parents/carers where it is necessary to do so to support/safeguard the child.  The NHS, Education, Police, other Local Authorities, Adoption Tees Valley, Contracted Service Providers including Independent Foster Agencies, LA Foster Carers, Children's Homes, Residential Schools, Short Break Stay Providers, Framework Providers, Durham County Council Home Improvement Agency (HIA), individuals you identify and the Family Rights Group as part of the Life Long Links process and voluntary and community sector organisations involved in your care.  We also share information with Government Departments and regulatory bodies where we are required to do so, including Ofsted, DfE, CQC.   

Early Help (including Strengthening Families Programme) will need you to give consent for us to share your information. The only time Early Help (including Strengthening Families Programme) will share your information without your consent is when:

  • Somebody is at risk of harm.
  • To help prevent or detect a serious crime.

How do you store the information you keep about me?

All data is stored in accordance with the UK GDPR.  We store our current information in a system called Liquid Logic and one called Controc. Some historic data is held in an older system, which we no longer use called CareFirst.  We also have information in paper files and on Microfiche which are stored securely.

Is my information transferred to a third country or international organisation?

Your information will not be transferred to a third country or international organisation. If in the unlikely event we intended to share your information with a third country or international organisation we would contact you before transferring the information.

How long do you keep information about me?

  1. 70 years - Process involving summary case management of children under the protection of local authority.
  2. Destroy 35 years from closure - Process involving individual case assessment, investigation, registration, and management of children involved in child protection:
    1. investigated, conferenced and registered
    2. core assessment
    3. investigated but not conferenced and registered
  3. Destroy 5 years from closure - Process involving individual cases involving initial assessment and provision of advice in regards child protection
  4. Closed for 50 years - Systems, which manage children, looked after by the
    local authority, in summary form
  5. Statutory basis - destroy 75 from 18th birthday - Process involving individual case management of children looked after by the local authority.  This includes
    children and young people:
    1. Adopted via the local authority
    2. In children’s home
    3. Fostered by local authority
    4. On custodianship orders
    5. On residence orders
    6. Destroy 21 years from DOB - Children and young people subject to supervision orders
    7. Destroy 25 years from closure - Process involved in checking the suitability of people to become adoptive parents or foster carers
    8. 35 years after carer has cease to foster - Process involving individual case management of families or adults who have fostered children in their care
    9. Closed for 70 years - Process involving summary case management of adults
      convicted of Schedule 1 offences
    10. Destroy 10 years from 18th birthday - Children in need (who have not been adopted or looked after and who have not been the subject of a child protection inquiry)

This information is destroyed securely when we no longer need it.

Is my information used to make an automated decision about me and/or for profiling purposes?

No.

How did the Council get my personal data?

In cases where your personal data was obtained from a source other than yourself or your representative, we will inform you of the origin of the information within 1 month, unless that information is being used to contact you, in which case, that information should be provided to you at the latest, upon first communication with you.  However, it is not necessary to provide that information in cases where you already possess the information, where recording or disclosure is expressly laid down in law or where provision of the information proves impossible or would involve disproportionate effort.

What sort of information do you keep?

We may use the following information about you to make sure that we provide you with the right service, advice or support. 

Personal data:

  • Name
  • Identification number
  • Location data
  • Online identifier
  • One or more factors specific to the:-
    • physical
    • physiological
    • genetic
    • mental
    • economic
    • cultural
    • social identity of that natural person.

Special categories of personal data:

  • Racial or ethnic origin
  • Data concerning Health
  • Data concerning Education
  • Data concerning Offences against Children or Vulnerable adults
  • Data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

 

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