Teacher hand delivered certificate usually given out in class.

[howmanycorners]

I don’t know what to make of this, dc is in primary school and every week someone gets a certificate.
Suddenly I saw my child’s teacher walk past the lounge window at about 8 pm and post a certificate through the door.
Aibu to find it a bit strange and wonder why she did this having had to look up our address and purposely drive to our house when all certificates are handed out in school and she would see my child in the morning?

I suggest that you look up the law. There has to be "need" and in this case there was no need.

I’m a head teacher, I think it’s a bit odd.

I know it, thank you. It was perfectly reasonable for her to put something through the door. No breach, even if you are desperate to try and find one.

The breach is gaining access to the address information.

Did you ask her?

@howmanycorners

Did you ask the school yesterday what the reason was? I’m intrigued now.

employee of the week certificates are not a thing where I work - one for the suggestion box perhaps.
However, if my employer put something through my letterbox, without phoning me or asking for my permission or checking whether it was overstepping boundaries, I would not have an issue with it.

Yes, I think we all need to know what happened on the Friday.

Under which of the 6 lawful bases do you think the teacher was permitted to access the address?

www.gov.uk/guidance/data-protection-in-schools/data-processing-a-school-is-permitted-to-do#personal-data-the-justifications

3 or 4 of them comfortably.

Teachers have that access at all times anyway.

Really? Which ones and how?

None of them apply.

Most of them do. Clearly you just want an argument and to demonise a kind act by a teacher, that's fine but I will leave you to it now I think as this is feeling rather unpleasant. Again, a sad thing after a simple and small act of kindness.

Nothing happened on the Friday, teacher was on the door, my child came out first as does every child who is child of the week but she wasn’t waiving a certificate because it was already at home.

But they don't get to chose to use the information for whatever they want. They can't access it for non essential reasons. Even if that access is in their heads - they cannot use it for non essential reasons

So you had the ideal opportunity to ask about Thursday and..

It isn't a GDPR breach. Basically parents give their addresses for the purposes of communication, and that must include communication by any means unless parents specify otherwise. Schools have the right to make random visits, e.g. for welfare purposes.

@howmanycorners she could have been checking on your family situation (hearing if there are commotions going on) and using the certificate as an excuse to get close enough to hear. For her to do this though, a concern would have been brought to the school’s or her attention (maybe your DC said something).

The fact that you are so put-out by the teacher posting a bit of card through the door makes me think you are aware she may be trying to discreetly spy.

No, they don't. At least one would need to be satisfied and none of them are. It is a breach.

1. Consent: the OP did not consent to her data being accessed for the purpose of unannounced home visits

1. Contract: the OP does not have a contract with the school which is reliant upon a certificate being delivered to her home

1. Legal obligation: the school doesn't have to deliver a certificate to comply with any law

1. Vital interests: delivering the certificate will not protect anybody's life

1. Public interest: delivering a certificate is not in the public interest

1. Legitimate interests: fails the 3 part test on necessity, as the certificate could have been delivered at school

You think people who want to defend their right to privacy must have something to hide?

That is odd then. Did you ask any other mum's if she had delivered their child one too?

No not at all. You’ve twisted it.

Again, unless parents insist on having "No visits for non-essential reasons" noted as a condition for giving their address, that is not a valid limitation in law. Certainly schools can't turn up and demand entry, but there really is nothing to stop them posting an innocuous piece of paper through the slit handily provided in doors for precisely that purpose.

Honestly, do people who make a fuss about this also object to, say, political canvassers who keep address data? It's not as if addresses are a big secret, there is such a thing as the electoral register.

Just ask her about it then

She had the ideal opportunity on Friday and yet she didn’t..