Data Protection and Privacy Notice May 2024

Data Protection Officer: Jenny Walker (trustee) & Pam Biddulph (manager & trustee)

Introduction

We record and share information about children and their families (data subjects) in line with the eight principles of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) (2018).

The eight principles state that personal data must be:

1. Personal information must be fairly and lawfully processed
2. Personal information must be processed for limited purposes
3. Personal information must be adequate, relevant and not excessive
4. Personal information must be accurate and up to date
5. Personal information must not be kept for longer than is necessary
6. Personal information must be processed in line with the data subject’s rights
7. Personal information must be secure
8. Personal information must not be transferred to other countries without adequate protection (in circumstances where this may happen e.g. Facebook additional permission is sought from the parent/carer)

We are committed to ensuring that any personal data we hold about you and your child is protected in accordance with data protection laws and is used in line with your expectations.

This privacy notice explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it and how we protect it.

What personal data do we collect?

We collect personal data about you and your child to provide care and learning that is tailored to meet your child’s individual needs. We also collect information in order to verify your eligibility for funded childcare as applicable.

Personal details that we collect about your child for the pre-school and on behalf of Essex County Council (some of which are for monitoring purposes) include your child’s:

• name,
• date of birth,
• address,
• health and medical needs including the name of your child’s health visitor/social worker if applicable,
• development needs,
• special educational needs if applicable,
• gender
• country of birth
• first language
• ethnicity
• nationality
• religion
• GP’s name, address and telephone number

Where applicable we will obtain child protection plans from social care and health care plans from health professionals. Additional permission is sought in these circumstances.

We will also ask for information about who has parental responsibility for your child, who has legal access and any court orders pertaining to your child.

Personal details that we collect about you include your:

• name,
• home address,
• phone numbers,
• emergency contact details,
• email address for correspondence
• family details
• religion
• anyone who must not collect your child from the preschool
• bank account details, if necessary, for any invoice refunds due to unplanned pre-school closures

All of this information is collected from you directly on the 09.01b Little Doves Registration, Sessions Requested and Permission Form (except bank account details which will be asked for separately if the need arises) and from identity documents; from correspondence with you; or from health and other professionals.

To allow Little Doves to apply for the government childcare funding for your child you will be asked to complete an Essex County Council Funded Early Education Entitlement form. On this form we will ask for::

• your national insurance number or unique taxpayer reference (UTR), if you’re self-employed
• your national asylum support service reference (if applicable)
• your date of birth
• your gender

We may also collect information regarding benefits and family credits that you are in receipt of.

Personal details of your nominated person to collect your child in an emergency/authorised person to pick up your child that we collect are:

• name
• address
• telephone number
• relationship to child

Why we collect this information and the legal basis for handling your data

We use personal data about you and your child in order to provide childcare services and fulfil the contractual arrangement you have entered into. This includes using your data to:

• contact you in case of an emergency
• support your child’s wellbeing and development
• manage any special educational, health or medical needs of your child whilst at our setting
• carry out regular assessment of your child’s progress and to identify any areas of concern
• maintain contact with you about your child’s progress and respond to any questions you may have
• process your claim for funded childcare, where applicable
• process your claim for working parents funding for 2 year olds, extended funded early years entitlement (30 hours) childcare where applicable and to apply for EYPP funding where applicable
• keep you updated with information about our service and notify you of service changes or issues
• send you our e-newsletter
• apply for tax refund on Gift Aid donations
• to meet the Charity Commission requirement of being able to verify donors and consider any conditions attached to donations

With your consent on the Little Doves 09.01b Registration, Sessions Requested and Permission Form, we will also:

• record your child’s activities for their individual learning record. This may include photographs and videos.
• share videos of the children with the parents/carers (and staff/trustees) taking part in particular activities in the pre-school, for example, the nativity. To enable sharing, a cloud storage system (e.g. Dropbox) or an encrypted messaging service (e.g. WhatsApp) may be used..
• upload photographs onto the Little Doves CP Closed Facebook Page and website. Parents/carers are asked to sign that they agree to the terms and conditions of Facebook, being aware that the data (including photos) can be stored outside the EU. You will have the opportunity to withdraw your consent at any time for images taken by confirming so in writing to Pam Biddulph, manager.
• sign you up for our free parent e-newsletter which provides useful information for parents
• transfer relevant information regarding your child to their primary school when necessary

We have a legal obligation to process safeguarding related data about your child should we have concerns about their welfare (see 09.01b Little Doves Registration, Sessions Requested and Permission Form for circumstance when this might be done). 

You are able to withdraw your consent at any time, for images being taken of your child and/or for the transfer of records to the receiving school, by confirming so in writing to the setting. You can also unsubscribe from receiving our parent e-newsletter by notifying the setting.

Who we share your data with

As a registered childcare provider in order for us to deliver childcare services it is necessary for us to share data about you and/or your child with the following categories of recipients:

• Ofsted – during an inspection or following a complaint about our service
• banking services (as applicable)
• Essex County Council, for example:
  • when your child receives either their Funded Early Years Entitlement
  • when your child receives working parents funding for 2 year olds or 30 hours extended early years entitlement funding
  • annual Early Years Census
  • Common Assessment Framework
  • If you require more information about how Essex County Council and DfE store and use this data please go to essex.gov.uk/FEEE (see paragraph headed ‘Early Years census and personal data’)
• the government’s eligibility checker (where you claim working parents funding for 2 year olds or 30 hours extended early years entitlement funding)
• HMRC (Gift Aid)
• our insurance underwriter (if applicable)
• auditors
• our setting software management provider
• healthcare/special educational needs professionals (additional permission will be sought for this)
• the school that your child will be attending
• another pre-school your child is attending (additional permission will be sought for this)