Privacy notice for children’s centre registrations

This privacy notice explains the personal data that we collect and use as part of Devon’s children’s centres which deliver services for children aged 8 years and under and their parents/carers. Action for Children deliver these services on behalf of Devon County Council.

Devon County Council is the ‘data controller’ for any personal data that you provide when registering with a children’s centre service. As such, we will ensure that this data is processed in line with our organisation’s data protection policies and in line with your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulations and associated data protection laws currently applicable in the UK.

Lawful basis

We collect and use registration information under the following lawful basis:

  • Consent – for example, when we ask for your permission to send you information about relevant services/newsletters.
  • Contract – in order to deliver children’s centre services which you have requested.
  • Legal obligation – for example to comply with a statutory obligation to deliver Early Childhood Services as part of the Children Act 2004, the Child Care Act 2006 and Working Together (2015) Statutory Guidance. For further information about the Acts noted above see www.legislation.gov.uk.
  • Public task – in order to plan and provide children’s centre services as part of the public interest of the Local Authority and comply with our statutory requirements.

What personal data do we collect?

We collect information that is provided by you when you register with a children’s centre, this includes:

  • personal information – for example, name, address, date of birth, contact information
  • household characteristics – for example, ethnicity, household composition, disability, illness, employment status
  • service use – for example, information about the different services that you attend.

How do we use your personal data?

We collect and process information about you:

  • So that Devon children’s centre services can plan and provide appropriate support and services tailored to you and your family. Where necessary we will look at the characteristics of your family so that services can be tailored to your circumstances.
  • To allow us to plan services that meet the needs of families in Devon and to check that the services are working well. As part of this we may make contact to ask for your feedback on services.
  • To allow us to check that services are accessible to a range of different groups of people within our communities (for example, accessible to those in different places and/or with a range of different backgrounds and characteristics).
  • To enable us (if users agree and have given explicit consent) to send you information about services and events taking place by text, email, telephone or post.

If you do not wish to provide your personal data, this will not result in services being denied to you. However, it may limit our effectiveness in providing a service to you. We will be better able to provide services that meet your needs if we can collect some information from you.

Who will we share your personal data with?

Your information may be passed to other professionals working with us or on our behalf, to provide services to you and your family and to judge the effectiveness of services.

This may include:

  • Action for Children who deliver the children’s centre services on behalf of Devon County Council
  • The Early Help Service and Targeted Families Service within Devon County Council who may help to coordinate any services that you require
  • health visitors and midwifery services
  • education services (for example, portage, special educational needs).
  • Social Services
  • Job Centre Plus and Learn Devon.

If you require a specific service from one of the other above partners, your consent and agreement to contact the above organisations and share your information would be requested. We are legally obliged to share information with other agencies if there are safeguarding concerns about you or your child.

How will we store your information?

We take data security very seriously. Only authorised staff will be able to access your information which is stored in a database which uses ‘https’ technology. Regular audits are carried out to ensure data access is secure and safe.

How long will we hold your personal data?

Devon County Council will retain your personal data for only as long as is necessary, and in line with our organisation’s data retention schedules.

Exercising your rights

Under the Data Protection Act 2017 and the EU General Data Protection Regulations you have the following rights:

  • The right of access to your own personal data.
  • The right to request rectification or deletion of your personal data.
  • The right to object to the processing of your personal data.
  • The right to request a copy of the information you provide us in machine-readable format.
  • The right to withdraw your consent to any processing that is solely reliant upon your consent.

Should you wish to find out more about Devon County Council’s data protection policies or exercise your rights noted above please contact our Data Protection Officer.

Your right to complain

In the event that you wish to complain about the way that your personal data has been handled by Devon County Council, you should write to the Data Protection Officer and clearly outline your case. Your complaint will then be investigated in accordance with the Council’s customer feedback procedure. If you remain dissatisfied with the way your personal data has been handled, you may refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office whose contact details are below:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Changes to how we may process your personal data during the COVID-19 crisis

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be necessary for Devon County Council to change the way that we process your personal data, to ensure we can protect public health and deliver essential services to you and the public during this crisis. For more information read our COVID-19 privacy notice.