SEND Team privacy notice

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Team is responsible for coordinating and delivering statutory services for children and young people aged 0–25 with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This includes managing the Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment process, issuing and reviewing EHC Plans, and working with families, education providers, health and care professionals to ensure appropriate support is in place.

The SEND Team carries out its duties under the Children and Families Act 2014, including:

Coordinating statutory EHC needs assessments
Gathering and reviewing information and advice from relevant professionals
Issuing and maintaining EHC Plans
Monitoring provision and progress through annual reviews
Responding to enquiries from families
Supporting disagreement resolution and mediation processes
Managing appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDT)
Administering and approving High Needs Funding and Early Years SEN Inclusion Funding

We work in a coordinated way with other children and young people’s services within Cheshire West and Chester Council and with external partners to ensure the best possible outcomes for children and young people with SEND. This includes early years, school and post-16 settings, health and social care services, and other statutory bodies.

The SEND Team processes personal data relating to individual children and, where necessary, members of their family, to fulfil its legal duties and deliver appropriate support.

What information we collect, use, and why

Whenever you get in touch with us either in person, by phone or online, we need to collect certain information to ensure we can provide the best possible support. This information helps us identify you, understand your needs, and tailor our services accordingly.

We categorise the information we collect into three main types: personal data, special category data, and criminal data.

Personal Data

We collect the following personal data to deliver our services:

Name, address, and contact details: To identify and communicate with you and your family, and to coordinate assessments, reviews and support.
Date of birth: To verify identity and determine eligibility for SEND services.
National identifiers (e.g., NHS number): To access relevant health records and ensure coordinated support.
Parent/carer names and contact details: To engage families in the SEND process and ensure appropriate communication.
Education details: Including current and previous settings (nurseries, schools, colleges), to assess educational needs and coordinate provision.
Professional contact details: For individuals involved in SEND support (e.g., educational psychologists, health professionals, school staff), including name, job role, workplace and contact information.
Views and wishes of the child or young person: To ensure their voice is heard in decisions about their education and support. This may be gathered directly, including in one-to-one conversations without parents/carers present.
Registration details for SEND-related events: Including name, email address, job role and workplace, when professionals register for workshops, training or consultations.
Case file information: Including EHC needs assessments, advice received, decisions made, annual reviews, tribunal documentation, and correspondence.

Special Category Data

We collect the following special category data to deliver our services:

Details of special educational needs and disabilities: To assess needs and plan appropriate support.
Physical or mental health information: To understand barriers to learning and coordinate health and care provision.
Racial or ethnic origin: To ensure equality and diversity in service provision and monitor outcomes.
Religious or other beliefs: Where relevant to educational or care planning.
Social care involvement and outcomes: Including looked-after status, safeguarding concerns, and multi-agency input.
Information gathered under statutory duties: Including advice from educational psychologists, health professionals, social workers and others, as required by the SEND Code of Practice.

All special category data is processed with appropriate safeguards in place, in line with data protection legislation and SEND statutory guidance.

Criminal Data

We collect the following criminal data to deliver our services:

Youth offending history or custodial status: Where relevant to the child or young person’s education and care planning, including coordination with Youth Offending Teams and custodial establishments.

Sources of Information

We collect most of the information directly from you, your child or young person, and your family during the SEND process. This includes information shared during meetings, assessments, reviews, and written correspondence.

We also receive information from a range of other sources to ensure we can deliver services effectively and meet our legal obligations. These include:

Educational settings: Nurseries, schools, colleges and post-16 providers currently or previously attended, who provide information about progress, needs and provision.
Early education providers: Including pre-schools, childminders and other early years settings.
Health professionals and services: Including GPs, school nurses, mental health services, educational psychologists, NHS Trusts, Foundation Trusts, Local Health Boards, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), and other NHS providers.
Social care services: Including children’s and adult social services, where relevant to the child or young person’s needs.
Youth Offending Teams and youth custodial establishments: Where the child or young person is involved in the youth justice system.
Other departments within Cheshire West and Chester Council: Where coordinated working is required to improve outcomes.
Other local authorities: Where the child or young person has moved between areas or receives support across boroughs.
Tribunals and legal bodies: Including the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability), where appeals or legal processes are involved.
Law enforcement agencies: Where we have a legal duty to cooperate or where required by law.
Commissioned providers of education, health or care services: Who deliver services on our behalf.
Independent advice and guidance providers: Such as contracted SEND consultants or mediation services.
Local multi-agency forums: That provide SEND advice, support and guidance.
Other third-party organisations: Where the law allows us to collect or share information.

We also gather information in line with the SEND Code of Practice, which sets out the professionals and agencies we must consult during statutory assessments. Parents and carers may also suggest additional sources of information.

We only collect information from these sources where it is relevant, necessary and lawful to support the delivery of SEND services.

What is your personal information used for?

We use your personal information to deliver SEND services effectively, meet our legal obligations, and ensure children and young people receive the support they need. This includes:

Identifying and assessing special educational needs and disabilities
Clarifying the nature of a child or young person’s needs and the support required to help them achieve their outcomes
Coordinating statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessments
Making decisions about whether to issue an EHC Plan
Determining the content of an EHC Plan, including outcomes, placement and provision
Monitoring the provision specified in an EHC Plan and reviewing progress through annual reviews
Supporting disagreement resolution, mediation and appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDT) - We also use your information to support both informal and formal dispute resolution processes, including mediation and appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDT)
Responding to enquiries from families and providing advice and guidance
Making decisions about additional funding (e.g. High Needs Funding, Early Years SEN Inclusion Funding)
Assessing eligibility for specialist equipment
Coordinating support across education, health and care services
Evaluating and quality assuring the services we provide
Support multi-agency quality assurance of EHCPs: We use redacted information from Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and supporting reports in structured quality assurance sessions. These sessions are held securely and involve reviewing anonymised content to identify strengths, improve practice, and ensure the voice of children, young people and families is reflected in plans. No identifiable data is retained or shared outside the process.
Analysing service provision and effectiveness to support future service delivery planning
Informing future commissioning of services and educational placements
Keeping families informed about SEND-related news and developments
Enabling coordinated working with other teams and organisations
Helping to resolve disagreements and ensure appropriate provision is in place

We only use your information where it is relevant, necessary and lawful to support the SEND process and improve outcomes for children and young people.

Who Do We Share Your Information With?

We only share your personal information where it is necessary, lawful and proportionate to deliver SEND services and meet our legal obligations.

If a child or young person is undergoing an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment, we will share information with all professionals we have asked to provide advice. Parents and carers will be informed who we are contacting as part of this process.

We also share information with:

Educational settings: Including current nurseries, schools or colleges, preferred placements named by parents/carers, and other settings being considered. This is necessary to assess all suitable options, including those that meet the ‘Nearest for Need’ requirement. We will inform parents/carers which settings we are sharing information with.
Other departments within Cheshire West and Chester Council: Where coordinated working is required to improve outcomes for children and young people.
Commissioned providers of education, health or care services: Who deliver services on our behalf.
Schools, colleges, early years providers and training providers: To ensure appropriate support is in place.
Local multi-agency forums: That provide SEND advice, support and guidance.
Educational psychologists: Involved in statutory assessments and reviews.
Other local authorities and external health or social care providers: Where the child or young person has moved between areas or receives support across boroughs.
Department for Education: For statutory reporting and compliance.
Independent advice and guidance providers: Such as contracted SEND consultants or mediation services.
Mediation and support services: Involved in disagreement resolution or appeals.
The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability): Where formal appeals are submitted.
Multi-agency quality assurance participants: We share redacted Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and supporting reports with professionals involved in structured quality assurance sessions. These sessions are held securely and are designed to evaluate the quality of EHCPs, share good practice, and improve service delivery. No identifiable data is retained or distributed beyond the session, and all participants are reminded of their confidentiality obligations.

Law enforcement or other authorities: Where required by law.

We share the EHC Plan, the advice used to develop it, and information from annual reviews with relevant settings and professionals. We only share the minimum information necessary to achieve the intended purpose, in line with our commitment to data minimisation.

We share information in line with our legal duties under the Children and Families Act 2014, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014, and the SEND Code of Practice (2015). These laws require us to consult with relevant professionals, consider all suitable educational placements, and support statutory processes such as mediation and tribunal appeals.

Data Processors

We use data processors to support the delivery of SEND services and ensure secure, efficient management of personal information. These processors provide systems and services that help us record, store, and manage case information, coordinate multi-agency support, and fulfil statutory duties.

The data processors we use include:

Electronic case management systems: Used to securely store personal information, including assessments, EHC Plans, correspondence, and review documentation. These systems are accessible only to authorised staff within the SEND Team and related children’s services.
Council-approved IT and cloud service providers: Used to host and protect data, including scanned documents and internal records.
Commissioned service providers: Including education, health and social care organisations who deliver services on our behalf and process data under our instruction.

All data processors act under our instruction and are contractually required to comply with data protection legislation. They do not use your information for their own purposes. Access to your data is restricted to authorised personnel only, and all systems are subject to appropriate security controls including encryption, access management and audit logging.

Data Controller

Cheshire West and Chester Council is the Data Controller for the personal information processed by the SEND Team. This means we are responsible for determining how and why your personal data is used in relation to the delivery of SEND services, including Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessments, EHC Plans, funding decisions, and multi-agency coordination.

We ensure that your information is processed securely, lawfully and in accordance with data protection legislation and SEND statutory guidance. If you have any questions about how your data is used, or wish to exercise your rights, you can contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer using the details provided in the “Your Rights” section of this notice.

The Lawful Basis for Processing

We collect and use personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The lawful bases we rely on vary depending on the type of data and the purpose of processing.

We are committed to the principle of data minimisation. This means we only collect and share the minimum amount of personal information necessary to fulfil our statutory duties and support the child or young person.

Personal Data (UK GDPR Article 6)

We process personal data under the following lawful bases:

Legal Obligation (Article 6(1)(c))
Processing is necessary to comply with our legal duties under SEND legislation, including the Children and Families Act 2014, the Education Act 1996, and the SEND Regulations 2014.
Public Task (Article 6(1)(e))
Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority. This includes assessing SEND needs, issuing and reviewing EHC Plans, coordinating multi-agency support, and fulfilling statutory reporting duties.

Special Category Data (UK GDPR Article 9 and DPA 2018 Schedule 1)

We process special category data, such as health information, ethnicity and religious beliefs, under:

Substantial Public Interest (Article 9(2)(g)), relying on:

Statutory and Government Purposes: To fulfil legal duties under SEND legislation.
Equality of Opportunity or Treatment: To monitor and improve access to services.
Safeguarding of Children and Individuals at Risk: To protect vulnerable children and young people.
Support for Individuals with a Particular Disability or Medical Condition: To ensure appropriate support and provision.

Health and Social Care (Article 9(2)(h))
Processing is necessary for the provision and management of health or social care services, including medical diagnosis and coordination of care.

Criminal Offence Data (UK GDPR Article 10 and DPA 2018 Schedule 1)

Where relevant, we process information about criminal convictions and offences under:

Statutory and Government Purposes (Schedule 1, Part 2, Paragraph 6)
This includes coordination with Youth Offending Teams and custodial establishments where SEND provision is required.

Consent and Parental Objections

Most data we process as part of the SEND and EHC Plan procedures does not require the consent of parents or carers. Once a parent or carer agrees to engage with the SEND process, we are legally required to collect and use personal data to carry out statutory assessments, make decisions about provision, and coordinate support.

By engaging with the SEND process, parents/carers confirm their understanding and acceptance that personal data will be processed and shared as part of the procedure. We will ask for written confirmation of this engagement. If any part of the process requires consent, we will clearly explain this and seek it separately.

If a parent or carer does not wish personal data to be used or shared, we will be unable to progress the application, as we would not be able to assess needs or identify appropriate settings. Similarly, while we will consider parental objections to sharing data with specific schools or agencies, we are required to assess all available options and will continue to share data where it is necessary and lawful to do so.

As part of the SEND process, we ask parents and carers to confirm in writing that they understand and accept that personal data will be processed and shared in line with statutory requirements.

Legislation We Rely On

We rely on the following legislation when using your personal information to meet our legal obligations and deliver SEND services as part of our public tasks. These laws set out our duties to assess needs, issue and review Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans, coordinate multi-agency support, and ensure appropriate provision is in place.

Children and Families Act 2014

Part 3, Sections 19–77: Establishes the legal framework for identifying, assessing and meeting the special educational needs of children and young people. It sets out the duties of local authorities to carry out EHC needs assessments, issue EHC Plans, and coordinate education, health and care provision.
Section 46: Specifies the retention period for SEND records, requiring data to be held until the young person’s 31st birthday.
Purpose: Aims to improve support for vulnerable children and families, including reforms to adoption, family justice and SEND provision.
Key Provisions:

Promotes integrated support through EHC Plans
Requires joint working between education, health and social care
Introduces shared parental leave

Education Act 1996

Part IV, Sections 312–332: Requires local authorities to identify children with special educational needs and ensure appropriate support is provided.
Section 323: Places a duty on local authorities to conduct assessments of children’s educational needs.
Purpose: Provides a comprehensive framework for education in England.
Key Provisions:

Mandates full-time education for children aged 5–16
Places responsibility on parents to ensure suitable education
Requires local authorities to support children with SEND

Care Act 2014

Purpose: Represents a significant reform in adult social care, focusing on well-being and person-centred care.
Key Provisions:

Eligibility Criteria (Section 13): Establishes national criteria for care and support.
Prevention and Well-being (Sections 1–2): Emphasises early intervention and promoting individual well-being.
Carers’ Rights (Sections 10 and 20): Introduces entitlements for carers.
Assessment and Planning (Sections 9–12): Requires comprehensive assessments and personalised care plans.
Transition to Adult Services (Section 58): Ensures continuity of support for young people with SEND as they move into adulthood.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014

Purpose: Supplements the Children and Families Act 2014.
Key Provisions:

Sets out procedures for EHC needs assessments and issuing EHC Plans
Requires publication of the Local Offer
Establishes rights to mediation and appeals

SEND Code of Practice (2015)

The Code is issued under Section 77 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and must be followed by local authorities, schools, and health services unless there is a legally justified reason not to. It provides the statutory framework for how SEND support must be delivered.

Issued under Section 77 of the Children and Families Act 2014
Purpose: Provides statutory guidance for local authorities, schools and health services.
Key Provisions:

Identification and assessment of SEND
Creation, review and maintenance of EHC Plans
Involvement of parents and young people in decision-making
Joint working across education, health and social care

The Special Educational Needs (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014

Purpose: Enables parents and young people with EHC Plans to have more control over funding and services.
Key Provisions:

Allows requests for direct payments
Requires local authorities to provide information and monitor use

The Special Educational Needs and Disability (Detained Persons) Regulations 2015

Purpose: Ensures the educational needs of detained individuals with SEND are assessed and met.
Key Provisions:

Requires assessment of detained persons’ needs
Provides for EHC Plans to be prepared and reviewed in detention
Establishes mediation and appeal rights

International Data Transfers

The SEND Team primarily stores and processes personal information within the United Kingdom. However, in some cases, we may need to share information with organisations based outside the UK. This may happen when:

A child or young person has recently arrived from another country, and we need to liaise with overseas agencies to understand their previous education, health or care history.
A child or young person is moving abroad, and we are asked to share information with a new education authority or institution.
An international organisation is involved in supporting the child or family and requires relevant information to coordinate services.

Where personal data is transferred internationally, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information. These safeguards may include:

Adequacy decisions: Ensuring the country has been recognised by the UK government as providing an adequate level of data protection.
Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTAs): Legally binding agreements that ensure your data is protected to UK standards.
Technical and organisational measures: Including encryption, access controls and secure data handling procedures.

We only transfer personal data internationally where it is necessary, proportionate and lawful, and we will inform you where such transfers occur. In cases where the transfer is based on your request, we will ask for your written consent before sharing the information.

Retention Period

We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is needed to deliver SEND services and meet our legal obligations. The length of time we retain your information depends on the nature of the support provided.

SEND records are retained until the child or young person’s 31st birthday, in accordance with Section 46 of the Children and Families Act 2014. This includes records relating to Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessments, EHC Plans, reviews, and funding decisions.
Records for looked-after children are retained until their 75th birthday, or for 15 years from the date of death if the child dies before the age of 18. This reflects statutory requirements for safeguarding and care planning.

We retain information in both electronic and scanned formats. Paper documents are securely scanned and stored within our case management system, and original paper copies are disposed of in confidential waste.

Retention periods are determined based on legal requirements, statutory guidance and best practice, including from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We regularly review our retention schedules to ensure information is not kept longer than necessary.

If we need to use your information for research or reports, your information will be anonymised and any information taken from notes (hand written or typed) during any consultation sessions will be securely destroyed. The information will continue to be used in a summarised and anonymised form in any research reports or papers that are published. The anonymised information in the papers that will be of historic interest and will be held in public archives indefinitely

How Your Information Is Stored

Your information is held securely on an electronic case management system and, where necessary, in scanned or paper formats. Any paper documents provided by you or other professionals are scanned and uploaded to your digital record or stored in a secure paper file.

Each child or young person has a unique reference number, and access to their record is restricted to authorised staff within the SEND Team or other children’s services directly involved in their support. Every staff member has a unique login and password, and system access is monitored to ensure that only those who need to view your information can do so.

We regularly review access permissions and audit system use to ensure your information is protected in line with data protection legislation and Council policies.

Your Rights

The UK GDPR provides you with a several rights to control what personal information is used by us and how it is used by us.

Further guidance about these rights can be accessed from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website

If you are not happy about the way your personal data is being used, or you require further information about how we process your personal data, you can contact Council’s Data Protection Team:-

Online: Contact the DPO
By post: Data Protection Officer, The Portal, Wellington Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BA

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office using the following details:

Website: Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Instant Message: Live Chat
By post: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113