School Health Programme – Sharing of Data and Information with the HSE

  • 22 January, 2025
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Dear Parent/Guardian,

The HSE’s school health programme is part of Ireland’s free universal programme of clinical care for all children.

It  includes:

  • eyesight and hearing screening
  • vaccines
  • dental checks

Sandymount Park ETSS has facilitated the programme for a number of years through the:

  • distribution of consent forms for participation
  • use of the school premises by the HSE team

New legislation

Every school has obligations under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

As part of this, I want to share a recent update to legislation. This update is about the sharing of pupil data with the HSE. The Minister for Health has signed two new statutory regulations. These are the:

  1. Infectious Diseases (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2024
  2. Health (Provision of Information for Health Examination and Treatment Service) Regulations 2024

Information request to the school

A HSE school health team  will contact the school when planning their visits. They will ask for information about children who are eligible for the programme.

Under the regulations, the school must provide the following information:

  • the name, address, date of birth and sex of the pupil
  • the mother’s birth surname
  • contact details (including the name, phone number and email address of their parent/guardian)
  • the pupil’s PPSN (if any)
  • the name of the school which the pupil attends and the school roll number

The school has a legal obligation to provide the data to the HSE within 10 days of a request from them.

Why the information is needed

The nurse uses these details to send in consent forms and any other relevant information to the school.  The data also helps to make sure the programme reaches as many children as possible. It allows the nurse to follow up with families who do not return the consent form, providing additional information to make sure children do not miss out  on the service.

You will  continue to have the choice to consent to your child taking part in the services offered by the programme.

I have attached a note to parents/guardians from the HSE. This will give you more information about the school health programme.

Yours sincerely

Paula Mulhall

Principal