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Privacy policy: course enrolment form

Your personal data and your rights

How do we capture and use your data?

We collect personal data from you at enrolment, induction, throughout your course and sometimes after you leave us.

We collect this information from you directly but also on paper, online, by surveys, through CCTV/camera and sometimes we collect information from other organisations such as the DfE and the local education authority. The information we collect is used to help us provide learning services and to enable you to benefit from education and training, pastoral care, learning support, financial support and to evaluate and improve the quality of our services.

We may enrol you to our virtual learning resource centres, or other learning environments to support you in your learning.

We are also required to provide personal data to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) who are responsible for funding, planning and encouraging education and training in England.

What data do we capture and use?

We collect a range of data including name, contact details, nationality, residency, previous qualifications, employment and educational history, assessment results, attendance information, destination information and information about employment or work placements you undertake whilst studying with us.

We also collect and use sensitive data such as ethnic group, socio-economic indicator, criminal convictions, disability, special educational needs, relevant medical background or information about whether you are a carer or care leaver and other things that might indicate you would benefit from our support services or bursaries.

We may ask for more detailed information if we need to assess whether it is appropriate for you to study your chosen course. For example, if you have a significant medical need that affects our ability to keep you or someone else safe.

Why do we need to capture and use your data?

We process your personal data and share it with the organisations listed below because we are legally obliged to do so or because we need to do so in order to deliver the education/training required by our students.

Specifically:

  • Because it is part of our funding agreement with OfS, the ESFA or other funding organisations
  • So we can submit Individualised Learner Record to the ESFA
  • So we can identify your personal record and register you for a Unique Learner Number (ULN)
  • so we can update your personal record with the Learner Record Service and if necessary amend any errors 
  • So we can identify and provide financial or learning support you may be entitled to
  • So we can comply with the “September Guarantee” or other government educational legislation/obligations
  • So we can administrate mandatory surveys (e.g., Graduate Outcomes Surveys and National Student Surveys) and use feedback to improve our services
  • So we can fulfil our obligations under the Government’s immigration and counter-terrorism duties
  • So we can maintain a “Travel Plan” which is required if we need to develop college buildings
  • To support you in securing employment or in progression to a higher course or a better job
  • To safeguard yourself or other individuals
  • So that we can register you with appropriate awarding organisations
  • So we can provide appropriate learning resources

Who has access to your data?

Your data will be shared with our employees to provide services to you. Only staff who need access to your data will be able to use it.

The personal information you provide will also be shared with the following organisations as required:

  • The Education & Skills Funding Agency (see below)
  • If you study an HE course with us - the Office for Students (OfS, previously HEFCE), the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and/or the University & College Admissions Service (UCAS)
  • The Departments for Education and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • The Student Loans Company (if you apply for or take a student loan)
  • The Learner Records Service
  • The UK Visa & Immigration Service
  • The police (where we are legally obliged to do so, otherwise we will ask you first)
  • Social services (where there is a safeguarding risk, otherwise we will ask you first)
  • The European Social Fund or organisations operating on its behalf (if your education is eligible to be part funded by them)
  • The Local Education Authority and Connexions
  • Auditors, Ofsted or other formal regulatory bodies for the education sector
  • Awarding organisations/Exam boards
  • Industry skills bodies if your training includes registration of certification with them
  • Third parties who are contracted to provide IT/Learning Resource services to us
  • Your sponsor or employer
  • Your previous education provider along with any agencies who have supported you (we will usually ask for your consent)

We may also share your contact details with other organisations if we need them to contact you on our behalf. Where we do this, the organisations in question will be required to appropriately protect your data against misuse and will destroy your personal data when they have used it to contact you on our behalf. Your data will not be used by those organisations for any other purpose than the purposes defined by us.

How the Education & Skills Funding Agency uses your personal information

B&FC is a data processor on behalf of the ESFA which operates on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Department Education (DfE).

Personal data we share with the ESFA is used to exercise the functions of these government departments, to meet statutory responsibilities (including those under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009) and to create and maintain your unique learner number (ULN) and a Personal Learning Record (PLR).

Those organisations will securely destroy your personal data when it is no longer needed for these purposes. The information you provide may be shared with other organisations for education, training, employment and well-being related purposes, including research.

This will only take place where the law allows it and the sharing complies with data protection legislation. The English European Social Fund (ESF) Managing Authority (or agents acting on its behalf) may contact you to perform research and evaluation that informs the effectiveness of training. You may also be contacted after completion of your course by organisations acting on behalf of government education funding agencies to establish whether you have entered employment or gone onto further training. The ESFA needs your consent to use your data for any other purpose. You can select your preferences when you receive a copy of this document. 

Read more about how the ESFA and DfE use your data, organisations with whom they regularly share data, how long they retain your data and how you can withdraw any consent you have given here.

How B&FC uses your personal information

  • B&FC may share information about your progress with your employer or other sponsor if they are paying all or part of your fees. If you do not want us to do that, you will need to pay your own fees. Please contact our Student Administration office to make your payment and change your preferences.
  • If you give us name and contact details for a ”next of kin”, we may contact them in an emergency. You need to give us consent to share other information with them.
  • B&FC (or our partners) are required to contact you to monitor Learner Outcomes (including student destinations and employment). We will use the contact details you give us to do this and we may share those details with organisations contracted by government agencies to perform this important task.
  • B&FC needs your consent to use your data for any other purpose. You can select your preferences when you receive a copy of this document.
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