Privacy notice: Processing of personal data, student welfare register

Personal data is processed for the purposes of organising and providing the pupil and student welfare services that are laid down in the Student Welfare Act.

Date of publication: 23 December 2022

1. Data controller

City of Espoo, Growth and Learning Committee

​​​​​​​2. Person responsible for the register

Early childhood education: Virpi Mattila, Director of Early Childhood Education

Upper secondary education: Tapio Erma, Director of Upper Secondary Education

Basic education: Juha Nurmi, Director of Basic Education

3. Contact person of the register

Principals / unit directors are responsible for tasks related to the register with regard to the school / early childhood education unit that they manage. The data subject can contact the principal / unit director to receive more detailed information about the register or their own rights. 

​​​​​​​4. Data Protection Officer

​​​​​​​5. For what purpose is personal data processed?

According to section 21 of the Student Welfare Act, the education provider must maintain, as a data controller, a register of multi-professional individual student welfare services (student welfare register). The register contains student welfare reports drawn up in connection with an educational institution’s multi-professional individual student welfare services as well as the expressions of will given by a student or their legal representative.

​​​​​​​6. On what grounds is personal data processed?

Article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union: processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.

​​​​​​​7. What data is processed?

A multi-professional team of student welfare experts is put together, if necessary, to support an individual student. They will assess the student’s need for support and take care of the organisation of the necessary services. 

The group’s responsible person will enter in the student welfare report any information necessary for the organisation and provision of individual student welfare services. This report is written on a printed form, accompanied by a completed consent form. Entries can also be made by the other members of the group, notwithstanding any obligations of confidentiality. Typically, information is entered in a student welfare report by the person who convenes the group of experts. 

A student welfare report is drawn up in a continuous form and in chronological order and includes the following information concerning an individual student:

1) name, personal identity code, municipality of residence and contact information and, for a minor or an otherwise incompetent student, the name and contact information of a guardian or other legal representative;

2) subject matter and the person who started the process;

3) measures taken when assessing the student’s situation;

4) information on the handling of the matter at the student welfare group’s meeting, the persons participating in the meeting and their positions, the decisions made at the meeting, the plan for implementing the decisions, and the parties responsible for implementation and monitoring; 

5) measures taken;

6) the date of the entering of information, and the person who made the entry and their occupational or professional position.

If information in a student welfare report is disclosed to a third party, the document must also indicate what information has been disclosed, to whom and on what basis.

PUBLIC ACCESS TO AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF DATA:

The data in the student welfare register is confidential.

GROUNDS FOR CONFIDENTIALITY:

The data is confidential on the basis of section 22 of the Student Welfare Act, section 24, paragraph 30 of the Act on the Openness of Government Activities, section 40 of the Basic Education Act and section 58 of the Act on General Upper Secondary Education.

​​​​​​​8. What are the sources of data?

Data is obtained from the pupils/students and their guardians or other legal representatives.

Notwithstanding the obligation of confidentiality, those participating in the organisation and provision of a student’s individual student welfare services have the right to obtain from each other and disclose to each other and to an authority responsible for student welfare such information that is necessary for the organisation and provision of individual student welfare services (Student Welfare Act, section 23, subsection 2).

If a student transfers to another educational institution, the previous education provider has to request the consent of the student or, if the student does not have the ability to understand the significance of the consent, of their guardian or other legal representative for transferring to the new education provider such confidential information from the student welfare client register that is necessary for the continuity of student welfare services (Student Welfare Act, section 23, subsection 3).

Those participating in pupil welfare work have the right to obtain from one another information necessary for the appropriate arrangement of instruction for the pupil (Basic Education Act, section 40, subsection 2).

Notwithstanding secrecy provisions, the holder of information shall have the right to provide information on a student’s state of health and functional capacity necessary for the performance of the recipient’s duties to a person responsible for student healthcare for the purpose of ensuring the student’s health and safety and to guide the student to support services where necessary (Act on General Upper Secondary Education, section 58, subsection 1, paragraph 3).

Based on the specific written consent of the data subject or the pupil’s guardian or other legal representative, data may also be obtained from other parties. Data may be obtained if there is a specific provision on such access or on the right of such access in an act (Act on the Openness of Government Activities, section 26).

​​​​​​​9. Will data be disclosed or transferred outside the city?

The data in the student welfare register is confidential. It may be disclosed with the written specific consent of the person in question or, if they do not have the ability to understand the significance of the consent, of their legal representative or on the basis of a provision that authorises its disclosure (Student Welfare Act, section 22).

Notwithstanding the obligation of confidentiality, those participating in the organisation and provision of a student’s individual student welfare services have the right to obtain from each other and disclose to each other and to an authority responsible for student welfare such information that is necessary for the organisation and provision of individual student welfare services (Student Welfare Act, section 23, subsection 2).

If a student transfers to another educational institution, the previous education provider has to request the consent of the student or, if the student does not have the ability to understand the significance of the consent, of their guardian or other legal representative for transferring to the new education provider such confidential information from the student welfare client register that is necessary for the continuity of student welfare services (Student Welfare Act, section 23, subsection 3).

Those participating in pupil welfare work have the right to disclose to one another and to the pupil’s teacher, principal and the authority responsible for education operations under the Basic Education Act information necessary for the appropriate arrangement of instruction for the pupil (Basic Education Act section 40, subsection 2).

Notwithstanding secrecy provisions, the holder of information shall have the right to provide information on a student’s state of health and functional capacity necessary for the performance of the recipient’s duties to the principal of an educational institution and those responsible for the security of the educational institution for the purpose of ensuring the safety to pursue studies as well as to a person responsible for guidance for studies for the purpose of guiding the student to other studies or support services (Act on General Upper Secondary Education, section 58, subsection 1, paragraphs 1 and 2).

The provider of education for students pursuing a vocational upper secondary qualification or attending preparatory education has the right to obtain information in certain situations, and it cooperates with the authorities and other parties that provide and organise student welfare services (Act on Vocational Education and Training, sections 40 and 99).

Based on the specific written consent of the data subject or the pupil’s guardian or other legal representative, data may also be disclosed to other parties. Data may be disclosed if there is a specific provision on such access or on the right of such access in an act (Act on the Openness of Government Activities, section 26).

School social workers, psychologists and therapists enter information processed in pupil welfare work in their client register (Aura) to the extent it is necessary, for example with regard to the agreed measures.

​​​​​​​10. Will data be transferred outside the EU/EEA?

Data will not be transferred.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​11. How long will data be stored?

Data is stored and destroyed in line with the City of Espoo’s records management plan and the applicable provisions and orders issued by the National Archives of Finland.

​​​​​​​12. How is data protected?

Personal data is processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection (General Data Protection Regulation, Article 5(1)(f)).

A. Electronic materials

Electronically stored register data (form templates) is appropriately protected from third parties with the help of firewalls and other technical protection measures. The register data is stored in an information system that requires users to log in with their username and password.

B. Manual materials

At the moment, student welfare reports are only available in paper form. Reports are not stored in any systems.

Student welfare reports and other documents included in the student welfare register are stored in paper form in a locked room / filing cabinet of the school / pre-primary education unit in question. 

​​​​​​​13. Rights of the data subject

​​​​​​​13.1 How can I access my data?

You have the right to obtain from the data controller a copy of the personal data that is subject to processing. The data controller must provide the data without undue delay and in any event within one month of receipt of the request. That period may be extended by two further months where necessary, taking into account the complexity and number of the requests.

If the data controller does not take action on the request of the data subject, the data controller must inform the data subject without delay, and at the latest within one month of receipt of the request, of the reasons for not taking action and of the possibility of lodging a complaint with a supervisory authority and seeking a judicial remedy.

Requests from the data subject and any resulting actions are free of charge. However, where requests from a data subject are manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular because of their repetitive character, the data controller may either charge a reasonable fee taking into account the administrative costs of providing the information or communication or taking the action requested, or refuse to act on the request.

​​​​​​​13.2 When can I request rectification of my data?

You have the right to have inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or unnecessary personal data that we store either rectified or completed by us.

​​​​​​​13.3 When can I request erasure of my data?

You have the right to have the data controller erase your personal data without undue delay under certain conditions. The data subject does not have the right to erasure if the processing of data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. In these cases, the data will only be erased after the statutory time limit.

​​​​​​​13.4 When can I request restriction of processing of my data?

If the data concerning you is inaccurate, you have the right to request that its processing be restricted until its accuracy has been verified.

​​​​​​​13.5 Right to lodge a complaint

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you feel that the processing of your personal data is in infringement of data protection legislation. You can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman: www.tietosuoja.fi(external link, opens in a new window)