07 Record Keeping
07.01a Privacy notice
Clare’s Little Bears Daycare, Pre School and Forest School
Stanmore Hall, Stanmore Road, Stevenage SG1 3QE
Hampson Park, Webb Rise, Stevenage SG1 5QU
07389 896692
Introduction
Personal data is protected in accordance with data protection laws and used in line with your expectations. This
privacy notice explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, the control you have over
your personal data and the procedures we have in place to protect it.
What personal data 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 free childcare as
applicable.
We may collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, data will be collected from you directly in the
registration form; from identity documents; from correspondence with you; or from health and other
professionals.
▪ Personal details that we obtain from you includes your child’s:
- name, date of birth, address, and health, development and any special educational needs
information. We will also ask for information about who has parental responsibility for your child and
any court orders pertaining to your child.
- Where applicable we will obtain details of your child’s social worker, child protection plans from social
care, and health care plans from health professionals and other external agencies.
▪ Personal data that we collect about you includes:
- your name, home and work address, phone numbers, email address, emergency contact details, and
family details.
- A password and a photo of any person that may be collecting your child, but would not normally do
so, so that they can be identified. This should be done via Famly.
▪ If you apply for government funded childcare, we will also collect:
▪ your national insurance number or unique taxpayer reference (UTR), if you’re self-employed. We
may also collect information regarding benefits and family credits that you are in receipt of.- We also collect information regarding benefits and family credits. Please note that if this information
is not provided, then we cannot claim funding for your child.
Why we collect personal data and the legal basis for handling your data
We use personal data about you and your child in order to provide childcare and early education services and
to fulfil the contractual arrangement you have entered into. This includes using your data in the following ways:
▪ to support your child’s wellbeing and development
▪ to effectively manage any special education, health or medical needs of your child whilst at the setting
▪ to carry out regular assessment of your child’s progress and to identify any areas of concern
▪ to maintain relevant contact about your child’s wellbeing and development
▪ to contact you in the case of an emergency
▪ to process your claim for free childcare and early education, if applicable
▪ to enable us to respond to any questions you ask
▪ to keep you updated about information which forms part of your contract with us
▪ to notify you of service changes or issues
▪ to keep you updated with information about our service
▪ Company events, open days and day trips
With your consent, we would also like to:
▪ collect your child’s ethnicity and religion data for monitoring purposes
▪ record your child’s activities for their individual learning journal (this will often include photographs and videos
of children during play). You will have the opportunity to withdraw your consent at any time, by confirming so
in writing.
▪ We have a legal obligation to process safeguarding related data about your child should we have concerns
about their welfare.
▪ We also have a legal obligation to transfer records and certain information about your child to the school that
your child will be attending (see Transfer of Records policy).
Who we share your data with
As a registered early years provider in order to deliver childcare and early education services it is necessary for
us to share data about you and/or your child with the following categories of recipients:
▪ Ofsted, when there has been a complaint about the childcare and early education service or during an
inspection
▪ banking services in order to process chip and pin and/or direct debit payments
▪ the local authority, if you claim Early years childcare funding
▪ the governments eligibility checker as above, if applicable
▪ our insurance underwriter, where applicable
▪ with outside agencies such as Advisory Teachers, Speech and Language Therapists with regard your child’s
development
▪ the school that your child will be attending
▪ Clare’s Little Bears Accountant (RE Accounts)
We will also share your data:
▪ if we are legally required to do so, for example, by a law enforcement agency, court
▪ to enforce or apply the terms and conditions of your contract with us
▪ to protect your child and other children; for example, by sharing information with medical services, social
services or the police
▪ if it is necessary to protect our rights, property or safety or to protect the rights, property or safety of others
▪ with the school that your child will be attending, when s/he transfers, if applicable
▪ if we transfer the management of the setting out or take over any other organisation or part of it, in which
case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer so that they may continue using
it in the same way
Our nursery management and communication software provide (Famly) may be able to access your personal
data when carrying out maintenance task and software updates on our behalf. However, we have a written
agreement in place which place this company under a duty of confidentiality.
We will never share your data with any organisation to use for their own purposes.
How do we protect your data?
We take the security of your personal data seriously. We have internal policies and strict controls in place to try
to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed and to prevent unauthorised
access.
Where we engage third parties to process personal data on our behalf, they are under a duty of confidentiality
and are obliged to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of data.
Where do we store your data?
Data is stored on password protected laptops
Paper documents are stored in a locked secure cabinet.
How long do we retain your data?
We retain your data in line with our retention policy a summary is below:
▪ You and your child’s data, including registers are retained 5 years after your child no longer uses the setting,
or until our next Ofsted inspection after your child leaves our setting.▪ Medication records and accident records are kept for longer according to legal requirements.
▪ Learning journeys are maintained by the setting and available at your request when your child leaves.
Records are kept and archived in line with our data retention policy.
▪ In some cases (child protection or other support service referrals), we may need to keep your data longer,
only if it is necessary in order to comply with legal requirements. We will only keep your data for as long as
is necessary to fulfil the purposes it was collected for and in line with data protection laws.
Your rights with respect to your data
As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can:
▪ request to access, amend or correct the personal data we hold about you and/or your child. Any request to
see the child’s personal file by a parent or person with parental responsibility must be made in writing to the
setting leader or manager.
▪ request that we delete or stop processing your and/or your child’s personal data, for example where the data
is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing or where you wish to withdraw consent
▪ request that we transfer your and your child’s personal data to another person
If you wish to exercise any of these rights at any time please contact the manager at the setting by email,
telephone or when you attend the setting.
How to ask questions about this notice
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about any aspect of this notice or how we handle your data
please contact the manager at the setting.
How to contact the Information Commissioner Office (ICO)
If the manager is not able to address your concern, please contact Clare Cole.
If you are concerned about the way your data is handled and remain dissatisfied after raising your concern, you
have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner Office (ICO). The ICO can be contacted at
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF or
Changes to this notice
We keep this notice under regular review. Any changes to this notice will be shared with you so that you may be
aware of how we use your data at all times.
This policy was adopted by Clares Little Bears
On 1st January 2026
Date to be reviewed. 1st January 2027
Signed on behalf of the provider
Name of signatory Clare Cole
Role of signatory (e.g. chair, director or owner) Owner/Manager