Who is collecting and using your personal data?

The School and/or Devon County Council will act as a ‘data controller’ for any personal data that you provide to us. As such, we will ensure that the data you give us is processed in line with our organisation’s data protection policies and in line with your rights under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulations.

Should you wish to find out more about Devon County Council’s data protection policies please contact our Data Protection Officer.

What if you don’t provide your personal data?

We will require personal information in order to carry out an eligibility check for free school meal entitlement.

Please note that failure to provide your personal data may mean that your application for free school meals cannot be processed.

Why are we collecting your personal data?

We are collecting your personal data for the following purposes:

To confirm the personal details of the child(ren) for whom you are requesting an eligibility check for free school meals.
To confirm who you are and that you have the right to make an application.
To confirm your child’s details.
To enable you to provide personal details in order for us to check your eligibility with the Department for Education.

We rely upon The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) to process your personal data and on the DFE Guidance on checking free school meal eligibility to administer free school meal checks.

Who will we share your personal data with?

In order to deliver services to you, it may be necessary for us to share your personal data with the following organisations/partners:

The local authority where your child lives.
Your child’s school.
Other departments within this Local Authority as deemed necessary for safeguarding purposes and to support your child’s education.
The Department for Education.
Any government department with a statutory interest in the information.

How long will we hold your personal data?

We will retain your personal data for only as long as is necessary, and in line with our organisation’s record retention schedules.

Exercising your rights

Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulations you have the following rights:

The right of access to your own personal data.
The right to request rectification or deletion of your personal data.
The right to object to the processing of your personal data.
The right to request a copy of the information you provide us in machine-readable format.
The right to withdraw your consent to any processing that is solely reliant upon your consent.

Should you wish to exercise any of your rights, you should contact the Data Protection Officer at Devon County Council.

Your right to complain

In the event that you wish to complain about the way that your personal data has been handled by Devon County Council, you should write to the Data Protection Officer and clearly outline your case. Your complaint will then be investigated in accordance with the Council’s customer feedback procedure. If you remain dissatisfied with the way your personal data has been handled, you may refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office whose contact details are below:

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

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Changes to how we may process your personal data during the COVID-19 crisis

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be necessary for Devon County Council to change the way that we process your personal data, to ensure we can protect public health and deliver essential services to you and the public during this crisis. For more information read our COVID-19 privacy notice.