Early Help Service Privacy Notice

This privacy notice explains how the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) Early Help Service collects, uses and shares personal information about you and your family.

Kensington and Chelsea’s Family Services provide support to children and families through the Early Help Service. RBKC is registered as a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 2018.

This notice applies to all personal information collected by the Early Help Service, whether the information is collected by letter, email, telephone, online, face-to-face or by any other method.

You should read this notice alongside the Children’s Services Privacy Notice: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/data-protection/childrens-services-privacy-notice

What is the Early Help Service?

The Early Help Service supports families when difficulties first arise. It includes:

• Targeted Early Help teams – supporting families early to help them find solutions quickly
• Parenting support – including parenting programmes and training sessions to build confidence and practical skills
• School Inclusion Programme – family practitioners working in schools to support pupils, families and school communities with education-related advice and advocacy
• Early Years Family Practitioners – providing support to families with children under 5 to help children reach developmental milestones

Why we use your information

We use personal information to:

• assess and identify the needs of children and families
• record contact with you, including visits and meetings
• understand the views, wishes and feelings of children and parents or carers
• make sure your family receives appropriate help and support
• tell other public or voluntary services about support which may help you
• provide advice, emotional support, practical help and safety measures
• monitor how our services are used to ensure they meet local needs
• evaluate how effective our services are for children and families
• help prevent and detect crime or fraud and support the work of other public bodies

What information we collect

The personal information we collect may include:

• personal and family details
• lifestyle and social circumstances
• health needs
• financial details
• employment and education details
• NHS number
• housing needs
• visual images
• details of appearance and behaviour
• student and pupil records
• case file information, including your views about needs and support

The lawful basis for processing personal data is Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR (public task).

For special category data, the condition is Article 9(2)(h).

How we collect your information

We collect information when you:

• request support from the Early Help Service
• are referred by another service that already supports you or your family

Usually, referrals are received by telephone, email or through the online form: Early Help Family Hub Referral

Referrals are recorded on our secure case management system, Mosaic. We may also collect referral information verbally via the Early Help Duty Desk.

You do not have to accept support from Early Help. However, we will keep a record that a referral was received.

If you accept support, we will collect further information during phone calls or meetings. This helps us assess needs and record the progress made.

Where appropriate, we will work with you to create a Team Around the Family (TAF) plan. This plan:

• sets out the support agreed with you
• names the professionals involved
• is shared with services supporting your family, unless you tell us not to

The plan is stored securely as part of your records.

Who we share your information with

Your information is stored securely on Mosaic.

With your agreement, we may share information with other services involved in supporting your family.

We may also share information without consent if:

• there is a risk of serious harm or threat to life
• it is needed to prevent or detect crime or fraud
• we are required by law or a court order

Any sharing is carried out in line with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Sharing information with the Department for Education (DfE)

We share information with the Department for Education (DfE) about children and families who receive Early Help support.

Before sharing, we remove names, addresses and other details which could identify individuals. Any remaining identifying information is held securely and separately.

The data is shared securely using password-protected systems.

The DfE uses this information to:

• understand how Early Help services support families
• produce reports for councils
• analyse Early Help support nationally

Reports only include general information and never include names or addresses.

Why the DfE collects this information

The DfE is delivering reforms through the Families First Partnership Programme. Data is collected to understand:

• the challenges children and families face
• which professionals lead support
• the outcomes of that support

More information is available in the DfE’s Personal Information Charter.

How long we keep your information

We keep your information only for as long as required by law and in line with the council’s corporate retention schedule.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• request access to your personal information
• object to or restrict how we use your data
• request deletion of your information where appropriate
• ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected
• request transfer of your information if you move to another authority
• not be subject to automated decision-making

To access your information, submit a Subject Access Request by emailing: [email protected]

Keeping your information up to date

Please tell us as soon as possible if your personal details or circumstances change, so our records remain accurate.

If you have concerns

If you believe we have not handled your information correctly, email: [email protected]

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Changes to this privacy notice

We may update this privacy notice if services change. The latest version will always be published on this page.