King's College London

Privacy Notice

Who are we?

The research described here is for a LiSS DTP funded PhD studentship at King’s College London, led by supervisors, Dr Hannah Dickson, and Dr Alice Wickersham. The PhD student is Angeliki Evripidou. This research study is being conducted within the King’s College London governance framework which ensures that our work is carried out to high scientific and ethical standards.

LiSS DTP, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), is the sponsor for this study which is based in the UK. We will be using information from the National Pupil Database which has been linked to Police National Computer records to undertake this study. The data owners and data controllers are the Department for Education (DfE) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Angeliki Evripidou from King’s College London has made an application to the DfE and MoJ to use the National Pupil Database and Police National Computer.

All data will be accessed via an ONS Secure Research Service (SRS) Secure Room at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London.

If you need to contact us about this privacy notice, please write to Hannah Dickson (hannah.dickson@kcl.ac.uk) or Angeliki Evripidou (angeliki.evripidou@kcl.ac.uk).

Why are we processing your personal information?

We are processing your personal information as part of a research study which aims to

• Investigate the associations between exclusion (fixed-term or permanent) during secondary school and alternative provision with persistent offending as a juvenile (10-17 years) and/or as a young adult (18-20 years)
• Investigate how does secondary school exclusion (fixed-term or permanent) and alternative provision influence the pathway to persistent offending during adolescence and young adulthood.

What is the source of the personal data?

We will be using data from the National Pupil Database (data owner: Department for Education) which has been linked to the Police National Computer (data owner: Ministry of Justice). The Department for Education collects personal data from educational settings and local authorities via various statutory data collections.

These data are not publicly available but can be accessed with permissions from both data owners. The research team are not able to facilitate access to the data.

For more information, please visit the Department of Education’s NPD data sharing process website. 

What categories of personal data are being collected?

This analysis will focus on pupils born between 1 September 1991 and 31 August 1994. We will request data on pupil characteristics (including birth month and year, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (i.e. idaci score), and special educational needs status), school outcomes (including school type, exclusion history), and offending information (including offence date, start age, and type).

How do we keep your information safe and secure?

All data will be accessed electronically via an AOC compliant certified ONS SRS Secure Room at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. Data are not permitted to leave this setting. The secure room is a locked office that is only accessible with ID and key, and the ONS SRS is only accessible to ONS Accredited Researchers with an SRS login and password.

The data files used for analysis will be de-identified, meaning identifiable information will be removed (e.g., name, address, email, phone number). Angeliki Evripidou is the ONS Accredited Researcher who will be accessing the data for this project.

Outputs will contain only anonymous, aggregated data. To ensure that no sensitive or personally identifiable data are released, we will follow guidance set out in the ONS Safe Research Training on maintaining data confidentiality and apply Statistical Disclosure Control, by:

• Complying with the ‘Five Safes Framework’
• Looking at data to identify disclosure risk
• Options for avoiding cell counts <10 (cell suppression; detail reduction; rounding; redesign output, etc.)
• Complying with SRS procedures for output, pre-publication and publication clearance

What is our ‘legal basis for processing’?

Data protection legislation allows us to use personal information in this way because it is required for our public purpose as a teaching and research institution. Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller (GDPR Article 6(1)(e)). The condition for processing special categories of data is that it is necessary for archiving, scientific, historical research or statistical purposes (GDPR Article 9(2)(j)).

Crime is a global problem with poor health and social outcomes for victims and perpetrators. Processing the data is in the public interest, as it addresses critical societal challenges related to education and persistent offending in adolescence (ages 10-17) and young adulthood (ages 18-20). By examining the effects of these educational experiences, the research aims to inform policy decisions that could improve early interventions, and support youth in education.

We believe this project is in the public interest because it will contribute to evidence-based policy making that will benefit a large number of people in the UK and demonstrate the potential of administrative data. Ultimately, these efforts will contribute to improved public safety and community wellbeing across the United Kingdom.

How long do we keep your information for?

Access to the data for the purpose of this project only will be held for 3 years (06/2025 – 06/2028) via the ONS SRS. The research team are not responsible for data storage and archiving in the SRS — this responsibility lies with the ONS.

Do we share your information with other organisations?

The research team will not share your information with any external organisations. The research team are not responsible for data sharing with other organisations - this responsibility lies with the ONS.

What are your rights and who can you contact if you have a concern?

King’s College London will not be directly storing these data — this responsibility lies with the ONS. The research team will only access the data electronically via an AOC compliant certified ONS SRS Secure Room at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London.

For any data that the university does hold about you, you can find out more about how the university deals with your personal information, including your rights and who to contact if you have a concern, via the university’s core privacy notice.

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter. If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that is not lawful you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Our Data Protection Officer is Ms Olenka Cogias and you can contact them at Research Ethics Office 3rd Floor, 5-11 Lavington Street London SE1 0NZ; or email info-compliance@kcl.ac.uk

Lawful Basis for Data Sharing by the Data Controllers

The Department for Education (DfE) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), as data controllers, are responsible for determining the lawful basis under which data can be shared with third parties such as King’s College London. According to their privacy notices and internal governance procedures, identifiable data can be shared for approved research projects where there is a strong public interest, appropriate safeguards in place, and where consent is not feasible or required.

Confirmation has been obtained from the data controllers to ensure the data sharing complies with their legal and ethical obligations

General enquiries

For general enquiries relating to the study, or to find out more about how we use your information, please contact Hannah Dickson (hannah.dickson@kcl.ac.uk) or Angeliki Evripidou (angeliki.evripidou@kcl.ac.uk).).

Our privacy notices are regularly reviewed and updated.