Privacy Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

Signal Hill Secondary School respects the privacy of students, parents and guardians, teachers, staff, and visitors. This policy explains how personal information is handled through our public website and School Information System (SIS).

2. Information We Collect

Depending on an individual's relationship with the school and use of our services, we may collect:

• Students: Name, date of birth, student ID, enrolment details, class assignments, timetable, attendance, grades, assessments, and relevant emergency contact or medical information.
• Parents and Guardians: Name, contact details, residential address where required, and relationship to the student.
• Teachers and Staff: Name, contact details, and class or subject assignments.
• Website and System Users: Session cookies, IP addresses, access times, and technical or security logs necessary for system operation and protection.

We aim to collect information appropriate to legitimate educational, administrative, and student welfare needs.

3. How We Use Information

Personal information is used for school-related purposes, including:

• Managing enrolment, attendance, timetables, assessments, grades, and report cards.
• Supporting teaching, student welfare, and school administration.
• Communicating with students, parents, guardians, and staff.
• Providing access to appropriate school services and records.
• Meeting applicable educational reporting, recordkeeping, and legal requirements.
• Maintaining the security, reliability, and integrity of our systems.

We do not sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising. Information may be disclosed to authorised service providers or other recipients where necessary for school operations or permitted or required by applicable law.

4. Access to Information

Access to student and staff records is restricted according to authorised roles and responsibilities:

These restrictions are implemented through permissions and procedures applicable to the relevant system. Users must not access, disclose, or use records beyond their authorised responsibilities.

5. Security and Integrated Systems

The school uses the public website and SIS to provide school information and administrative services.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, loss, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, authentication, secure connections, appropriate backups, and security monitoring, as implemented in our systems.

No online service can be guaranteed completely secure. Suspected privacy or security incidents will be handled according to applicable school procedures and legal requirements.

6. Service Providers and Disclosure

We may rely on authorised third-party providers for services such as hosting, email, storage, or system maintenance. Such providers may process information as necessary to provide their services, subject to applicable arrangements and safeguards.

Information may also be disclosed to authorised educational authorities or other parties where permitted or required by law.

7. Retention and Disposal

School records are retained for as long as necessary for their authorised purposes, subject to applicable educational, legal, administrative, and archival requirements.

When information is no longer required, it will be securely disposed of or anonymised where appropriate and permitted. Retention and disposal arrangements may also apply to backups and service providers.

8. Cookies and Technical Logs

Our website and portal use essential session cookies to support authentication, maintain sessions, and protect user accounts. Technical logs may be collected for security, troubleshooting, and service reliability.

We do not use third-party tracking or behavioral advertising cookies.

9. Requests and Privacy Concerns

Students, parents or guardians, staff, and other relevant individuals may contact the school to raise privacy concerns or request access to or correction of personal information, subject to applicable law and any relevant restrictions.

The school may need to verify the identity of the requester and, where relevant, their authority to act on behalf of a student.

10. Changes to This Policy

This policy may be updated when our services, information-handling practices, or applicable requirements change. The current version and effective date will be published on the school's website.