Data Protection

The information below is from the Department of Education, Data Protection in Schools, published 3.2.2023 and updated 20.3.25

You will need to provide data to support immunisation programmes in your school. This includes:

• sharing information leaflets and consent forms with parents or carers
• providing a list of eligible children and young people, and their parents or carer’s contact details to the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) team

Sharing these contact details does not mean that a vaccine will be given. A parent or carer will need to give their consent for a vaccine to be given to their child.

There is a lawful basis for you to share information with school immunisation teams under article 6(1)(e) of UK GDPR. This states that the information can be shared if “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 ”.

This means that the school can share this information with immunisation programmes as it is in the public interest.

Sharing information with immunisation programmes is part of the exercise of a school’s official authority. Schools also have a duty to support wider public health.

Data protection laws do not prevent you from sharing personal data where it is appropriate to do so in a fair and lawful way, and in this instance, it is beneficial to do so.