This Privacy Notice is regularly reviewed and may be updated or revised at any time. It was last updated in February 2026. It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes.
- Introduction
- What personal data do we collect?
- How we use personal data
- Legal Basis for processing
- Who do we share personal data with?
- How long do we keep personal data?
- Automated decisions
- Your rights
- Data Protection Officer.
Introduction
Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in the Wigan Council Primary Privacy Notice.
This notice provides additional privacy information for Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND).
The SEND Team privacy notice explains how we collect, use, and protect personal information when delivering statutory SEND services. This includes processing referrals for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment, carrying out the assessment, managing annual reviews of EHC Plans, and identifying suitable school placements to be named in Section I of the plan. The notice ensures transparency about why data is needed, how it is used, and the rights individuals have under data protection law.
The team also processes early health notifications from health professionals to identify children who may have special educational needs and disabilities. This information is used to initiate EHC needs assessments where appropriate and to allocate early years additional resources to support children transitioning to school.
What personal data do we collect?
To carry out activities and obligations as a SEND service we process the following personal data:
- Name of the child/young person
- Date of birth of the child/young person
- Address of the child/young person
- Name and contact details of the parent/carer(s) of the child/young person
- Special Educational Needs, education/school history, progress, attainment, attendance and any exclusions
- Unique Pupil Number and/or Unique Learner Number of the child/young person
- Any social care needs
- Relevant details about family, household, living circumstances and/or information about the parent/carer(s) of the child/young person.
We also process the following Special Category Data:
- Health information of the child/young person (including their NHS patient number)
- Information about your race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation.
We also process Criminal Offence data, where relevant.
How we use personal data
The main purposes for processing your personal data are:
- To ensure that professionals and services understand how they can best support and help you and your child/young person
- To support our work with your child in their school or setting, or in your home or another setting for those children who are unable to attend school because of ill health
- To develop an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) if this is the outcome of the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment
- To initiate formal consultations with education settings to determine whether they can meet the needs of the child/young person, prior to naming an early years setting, school or college in an EHCP
- To signpost you and your child/young person to appropriate avenues of support
- To inform local demand and determine which services, interventions and provisions need to be commissioned in the Wigan Council area
- To help develop and improve local services.
Legal Basis for processing
The lawful bases we rely on for processing your personal data are:
- It is necessary to fulfil a legal obligation under the following:
- Children and Families Act 2014 (Part 3) – Legal framework for SEND identification, EHC needs assessments, plans, and reviews
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 – Details statutory processes for EHC assessments and plans
- SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015; updated 2024) – Statutory guidance on implementing SEND law
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 – Early duties for inclusion in mainstream education
- Equality Act 2010 – Protects disabled children and ensures reasonable adjustments
- Data Protection Act 2018 & UK GDPR – Governs lawful processing of personal and special category data
- Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Provides public access to information held by public authorities, including SEND services
- Education Act 1996 (Parts IV & VI) – Duties relating to SEN provision and appeals.
- It is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority.
The condition we rely on for processing your special category data and criminal offence data is:
- Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law):statutory etc and government purposes.
Who do we share information with?
In addition to the general reasons for data sharing described in the Council’s Primary Privacy Notice, we share data with and collect data from the following when required:
- Other teams within Wigan Council including, but not limited to, Educational Psychology Service, Targeted Education Support Service, Special School Outreach Service, Early Learning Childcare Team, Specialist Sensory Education Team, Ethnic Minority Achievement Service, Inclusion Service, Youth Offending Team, Children’s Social Care and Family Hubs
- Therapy Services (i.e. Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy)
- Community Paediatrics
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
- Health service providers including but not limited to GPs
- Educational establishments, including nurseries, schools, free schools, academies, independent schools, alternative education providers, further education colleges, Diocesan boards as necessary.
This is not an exhaustive list.
How long do we keep personal data?
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any future legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
We must continue to retain necessary data in accordance with our corporate records policy to fulfil legal, statutory and regulatory requirements.
Automated decisions
All the decisions we make about you involve human intervention.
Your rights
More information on how to seek advice to exercise your rights, raise a concern or complain about the handling of your personal data by the council can be found in Wigan Council Primary Privacy Notice.
Data Protection Officer
If you wish to raise a concern or seek clarification about any aspect of this notice, please contact our Data Protection Officer. Please provide documents to prove your identity along with a description of your concern.
We will respond to all requests within one month.
If you are unhappy with the way that we handle your concern you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) (external link).
Document information
Owner: Cath Pealing, Assistant Director Education
Author: Kellie Williams, Service Lead - SEND
Version and date: V2.0 February 2026