Questions and complaints

Who this is for

This is for you if a school keeps a record about you in Kestrel. You might be a student, a parent or a carer. It is written to be read by a young person, and a parent can use it too.

Asking is free. You will not get into trouble for asking, and you can ask as many times as you need to.

What you can ask for

Ask a question

Anything you want to know about the information kept about you. What is kept, who can see it, how long it is there for. You do not have to give your name to ask a question.

Ask for a copy

You can ask to see what is kept about you, and to be given a copy of it.

Ask for something to be fixed

If something about you is wrong, you can ask for it to be put right. The old version stays on the record with the dates it was there for, so the school can still answer what its record said last year.

Ask for something to be deleted

You can ask for information about you to be deleted. Some records a school has to keep by law, and if yours is one of those, the answer tells you which parts are kept, why, and the date that ends.

Ask how your information is looked after

You can ask what the school keeps about you, why it keeps it, how long it keeps it, who it gives it to, and where. The answer also tells you that no computer makes decisions about you on its own. A person always does.

Ask for something to be destroyed

You can ask for information about you to be destroyed. The school can only say no for a reason the law lists, such as a court case that needs it or a law that says it must be kept. Either way you are told in writing, and if the answer is no, you are told why and how to complain.

Complain

If you think your information has been handled badly, you can say so. A complaint is answered in writing, with what was found and what was done about it.

Who to ask

Ask your school first. Go to the office, or tell a teacher you want to ask about your information. You can ask in person, on the phone, or in writing. Your school keeps your record and knows who you are, so it can answer you fastest.

If your question is about Kestrel itself, or you would rather not go to the school, write to privacy@hoverpoint.io and say which school your record is at. Andrew Todd is the privacy officer at Hoverpoint Pty Ltd, the company that makes Kestrel, and that email reaches him.

You do not have to give your name

If you only want to ask a question, you can ask without saying who you are. The school writes down that somebody asked and what they asked about. It does not write down who you are, because it does not know.

For the other things on this page, the school has to know who you are. Two reasons: a copy of your record must not go to the wrong person, and an answer has to reach you. If you are asking about somebody else's child, the school checks that you are allowed to have their record.

What happens after you ask

What you asked for goes in a list the school keeps, on the day it arrives. The list has:

• a number, such as DSR-0004, that you can quote when you ask how it is going;
• the day you asked;
• what you asked for, and how it reached the school;
• the two dates the school has to answer by;
• the day it was answered, and what was decided.

Your name is not in that list. It has numbers and dates in it. If the school has worked out whose record you are asking about, the list points at that record, and a question asked without a name points at no-one.

You are told your request arrived within 5 working days, and you get the answer within 30 days. If the answer is no, you are told why, in writing.

Sometimes a request takes longer, because it covers a lot or the school has many to answer. Then the school can take up to 60 days, but only if it tells you so, and why, before the first 30 days are up. This is only for a copy, a fix, how your information is looked after, and destroying it.

If you are under 15, a parent or carer can ask for you. You can also ask for yourself.

If you are not happy with the answer

You have three places to go, and you can use them in this order.

1. Ask the school again. Ask the office to take it to the principal. Tell them what you asked for, what you were told, and why it does not answer your question.
2. Ask us. Write to privacy@hoverpoint.io. Tell us the number of your request if you have one.
3. Go to the Information Commissioner. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is the government body for privacy in Australia. It takes complaints at oaic.gov.au and on 1300 363 992. You do not need anyone's permission to go to them, and you can go to them at any point, including before you ask us.

If your school is in England

The law in England gives a school different times to answer, and a different place to complain. Everything else on this page is the same.

• You are told your request arrived within 5 working days, and you get the answer within one month.
• The month starts once the school knows it is really you. If your request covers a lot, the school can ask you which parts you need, and the month waits until you tell it.
• If a request is complicated, or you have sent several, the school can take two more months, so three months in all. It has to tell you so, and why, before the first month is up. This is for access, correction, deletion, how a child's information is handled, and destruction.
• If you are still not happy after asking the school, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the government body for personal information in the UK. It takes complaints at ico.org.uk and on 0303 123 1113.

Where to read more

The Privacy Policy for students says what your school keeps about you and who can see it. The Privacy Policy is the long version, for an adult. If your school has given you an account, the Acceptable Use Policy for students says what that account is for.