School of Education - PGCE privacy notice

Information you need to know

The School of Education is part of the University of Leicester, who are the Data Controller for your information. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email: dpo@leicester.ac.uk

This Privacy Notice provides information about how the University of Leicester collects and uses your personal information.

What is ‘personal information’?

‘Personal information’ means any information which relates to or identifies you as an individual.

What information are we collecting or using?

The personal data we process about you will be:

• your name and contact details, 
• information relating to complaints, appeals, Fitness to Practise and professionalism concerns.
• criminal convictions data, police cautions and DBS checks.
• information relating to academic and/or professional progression (including examination results)
• financial data, such as bursary payments and student fees.

In addition, the School of Education may process special category data including health issues and ethnicity. 

Why are we processing your data?

The School of Education collects and uses students’ data to manage and support students during their course. We require your data to assess progress, ensure safeguarding and welfare, and help with processes such as pre-registering for a Department for Education TRN number and applying for first jobs. The data is also used for administrative purposes like statistical analysis and handling complaints or disciplinary issues.

Some personal and sensitive data may be shared with external organisations when legally required, including the Disclosure and Barring Service, Ofsted, and the Department for Education. This information also helps the School confirm that PGCE graduates are fit to practise, provide references to employers, and meet reporting requirements for Ofsted.

The University of Leicester’s legal basis for collecting this data is: 

• The School of Education’s legal basis to process a student’s personal data is for the compliance of a legal obligation stated in the Education Act 2011 and the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009
• Special category data for Fitness to Practice purposes will be processed under our substantial public interest in the  safeguarding of individuals at risk and regulatory requirements relating to professions. 
• Otherwise, special category data will be processed with your explicit consent. 

Who will my personal information be shared with?

As expressed above the School may disclose a student’s personal data and special category data to external agencies to which it has a legal obligation, .

• • Department for Education
• • Ofsted
• • Teaching Regulation Agency
• • Office of the Independent Adjudicator
• • Disclosure and Barring Service

We may also share your data with school partners, other educational settings and external agencies contracted to work with the University under terms of confidentiality – such as University lawyers and external examiners. 

How long will the University of Leicester keep my data?

Data will generally be stored for six years after your last date of attendance. Certain information will be subject to different retention periods: notably, a summary academic record and information pertaining to any Fitness to Practise processes will be kept permanently.

What rights do I have regarding my data?

You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data, to object to or restrict how it is used, to request its transfer to another organisation, and to avoid decisions made solely by automated processes.

Some of the above rights are not absolute. If you want to exercise any of the rights described above, please contact the University’s Information Assurance Team via on the email at the end of this notice. 

We will do our best to respond quickly and within the timeframes set out by data protection law. To help us handle your request and improve our services, we may keep a record of our communications with you.  

Complaints to the University

If you are dissatisfied with the way the University have used your information, you should complain to the University’s Information Assurance Team via the email at the end of this notice.

Complaints to the ICO

If you are not satisfied with the way the University has handled your complaint, you also have the right to raise your concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is an independent authority which oversees how personal data is used. Guidance on how to contact the ICO can be found at www.ico.org.uk  

Changes to this privacy notice

This privacy notice was published in July 2026. If you have any questions about this privacy notice or if you would like to access any of your rights, please contact Information Assurance Services: ias@leicester.ac.uk