Music Programmes Evaluation: Privacy Notice

In line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we need to let you know how your information will be processed. In this privacy notice, we explain the legal basis for data processing, who will have access to your personal data, how your data will be used, stored and deleted, how to withdraw from the study, and whom you can contact with a query or a complaint.

About the study

The Department for Education (DfE) have funded the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to carry out an independent evaluation of three of the Department’s programmes and investments which support music provision in and out of schools in England. These include Music Hubs, which will be the primary focus of the evaluation, the Music Opportunities Pilot, and the Capital Investment Fund. The study is taking place from September 2024 to September 2027.

You can find out more about NatCen at natcen.ac.uk.

You can find out more about the DfE at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education

What is the lawful basis for processing this data?

For the purposes of the UK GDPR, the Department for Education is the Data Controller for this evaluation. This means that they are responsible for deciding the purpose and lawful basis for processing personal data from this study. NatCen is the Data Processor.

The lawful basis for processing personal data from this study is ‘public task’: Article 6 (1)(e) the processing is necessary for the Data Controller to perform a task in the public interest or for their official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.

Special category data

Special category data is personal data that needs more protection because it is sensitive. In order to lawfully process special category data, the Data Controller must identify both a lawful basis under Article 6 of the UK GDPR and a separate condition for processing under Article 9. The special category data we will be processing in the course of this study is (1) the ethnic background of the parents and pupils involved and (2) whether pupils have any special educational needs and disabilities. The lawful basis for processing special category data on this project is public task, and the condition under Article 9 is (j): archiving, research and statistics (with a basis in law). Even though the lawful basis for processing special category data on this study is public task, consent will be sought from parents and pupils before any data collection from them takes place. In addition, participants will be able to skip any questions that they do not wish to answer.

What personal data will be processed?

Personal data processed in this evaluation will include:

  • Names and contact details of schools in England, which will be shared by DfE with NatCen
  • Names and contact details of Music Hubs (before and after the programme of transformation starting in September 2024), which will be shared by DfE with NatCen
  • Survey data collected from school staff, Music Hub staff, parents and children and young people, which will be collected by NatCen via online surveys
  • Interview and focus group recordings, transcripts and notes, from data collection activities with school and Music Hub staff carried out by NatCen

Who will have access to personal data?

Access to personal data from this evaluation will be restricted to researchers at NatCen who are named in the project’s Data Security Plan and to authorised individuals at DfE.

McGowan Transcriptions (www.mcgowantranscriptions.co.uk) is the transcription service we use to transcribe our interview data. They will have access to recordings and transcriptions from all interviews and focus groups. McGowan Transcriptions is on the list of NatCen’s approved suppliers and is compliant with all NatCen’s information security policies.

How your personal data will be used, stored and deleted

Personal data collected as part of this evaluation will only be used for research purposes and processed in accordance with the UK GDPR. Data collected through the study will be analysed by the research team at NatCen.

Information and opinions gathered from focus groups, interviews and surveys with parents, children and young people, school and hub staff will be used to inform our process evaluation. All focus group, interview and survey responses will be anonymised before being analysed.

All data will be treated with the strictest confidence – no individual participants will be identified in any report arising from this research; no schools or Music Hubs will be named unless permission is granted.

Information collected during the study will be stored securely with names and addresses of participants removed and held separately.

NatCen will securely delete personal information 12 months after the evaluation is finished (by October 2028 at the latest) (with explicit permission of the DfE).

Withdrawing from the study

Participants may withdraw from taking part in the study at any time, in which case no further information will be collected from them. Where possible, we will also remove from our records any identifying information which has not yet been anonymised.

If you wish to withdraw from the study, please contact NatCen by telephone on 0808 1969507 or via musicprogrammes@natcen.ac.uk.

Your data protection rights

Under GDPR, you have the right:

  • to ask DfE for access to information about you that they hold
  • to have your personal data rectified, if it is inaccurate or incomplete
  • to request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing
  • to restrict processing of your personal data (i.e. permitting its storage but no further processing) by DfE
  • to object to direct marketing (including profiling) and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics
  • not to be subject to decisions based purely on automated processing where it produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you

Whom to contact with a query or a complaint

If you would like to know more about the study, please contact the NatCen research team on 0808 1969507 or via musicprogrammes@natcen.ac.uk.

If you would like to get in contact with DfE about the evaluation, please email music.hubs@education.gov.uk and include ‘Evaluation’ in the subject line. Further information about your data protection rights appears on the Information Commissioner’s website at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/. 

If you are unhappy with our use of your personal data, please let us know by contacting https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe and state the name of this project (Music Programmes Evaluation).

Further information on the rights available to you is also available from the Information Commissioner’s Office - the independent body responsible for regulating data protection within the UK. They can also deal with any complaints you may have regarding our use of your data:

  • Tel: 0303 123 1113 
  • Website: ico.org.uk  
  • Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Last updated

We may need to update this privacy notice periodically, so we recommend that you revisit this information from time to time. This version was last updated in August 2024 and will be reviewed as necessary during the course of the evaluation but annually as a minimum.