Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Statistics: privacy notice

How the data is collected and stored

What happens to your information?

The Scottish Government will receive ELC information from funded ELC settings. This information is approved by local authorities for the centres in their area prior to being submitted to the Scottish Government. Some local authorities provide the required data on behalf of the funded ELC settings in their area. Local authorities also provide information on centrally employed ELC staff to the Scottish Government.

As part of its data policy, Scottish Government will not publish or make publicly available any information that allows individual staff to be identified, nor will data be used by Scottish Government to take any actions in respect of individuals.

Who is processing the data?

ELC settings and local authorities enter the staff data using a form on the Scottish Government’s ProcXed system. The local authorities then approve the data provided by centres in their area. The local authorities also provide details of their centrally employed staff. Information Management Improvment and Evidence Unit (a team within the Scottish Government) then carry out further data processing to improve the accuracy of the data and allow analysts in the Scottish Government to receive an extract of the data. 

How will my data be kept secure?

Education data within Scottish Government is managed effectively by secure systems on secure servers and is treated and used as a valuable corporate resource subject to confidentiality restraints.

The data are processed in line with the existing data protection legislation. The data is used to inform planning of provision and the workforce required to deliver funded ELC across Scotland.

Retention of Data

ELC data within the Scottish Government is managed effectively by secure systems on secure servers and is exploited as a valuable corporate resource, subject to confidentiality restraints.

Regarding the retention of data, Article 5 of the GDPR “Principles relating to processing of personal data” states:

“personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by the GDPR in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals”.

The data are processed in line with this legislation.  The information collected will be used to inform planning and provision of education, and the linkage of such data to educational outcomes or health data.  For example, researchers or charities may be interested in applying for access to education data to meet their own research needs.