Data Protection Statement – Parents, Carers and Emergency Contacts

The Trafford and Stockport College Group is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy statement explains how we collect, use and share your personal information, and your rights in relation to the personal information we hold.  The Trafford and Stockport College Group is the controller of all personal information held by our colleges, and is subject to the Data Protection Act (2018) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

We may collect, use and share your personal information in order to protect the health and wellbeing of our students and support their learning and development.

What data do we collect and use?

The categories of personal information that we collect, hold and share include:

• Personal information (such as name, address, telephone number, email address, and relationship to the student)
• Contact history (such as correspondence and meeting notes)

Your personal information may be provided directly by you or by the student when they enrol or update their contract information. In some cases, contact details may also be provided as part of safeguarding or emergency contract processes. Failure to supply such information may mean that we are unable to enrol a student onto a course at any Trafford and Stockport College Group College.

Why do we collect and use your information?

We use your information to:

• Contact you in the case of an emergency
• Comply with the law regarding data sharing
• Comply with legal obligations around the health, safety and wellbeing of our students

This information is processed under the following lawful bases under the UK GDPR:

• Public Task – where processing is necessary for the Group to provide education and support students
• Legal Obligations – where processing is required to comply with safeguarding, health and safety, or other statutory requirements

In the case of parents and carers of students who were under the age of 18 at the start of the academic year (31 August), we use your information to:

• Support our student’s learning
• Report on student progress and attendance
• Facilitate the provision of appropriate guidance and pastoral support
• Assess and improve the quality of our services

How long is your data stored for?

We store your information securely and in line with our Data Protection Policy and associated procedures. Electronic records relating to parents, carers and emergency contacts are usually deleted one year after the student leaves the Group. Where parent or carer contact details form part of the student’s main paper record, these may be retained for up to 7 years in line with the retention period for student record before being securely destroyed.

We are required to hold safeguarding records for a longer period of time and, on some rare occasions, your personal information may be included in these records and therefore held for up to twenty five years.

Will your information be shared?

We routinely share your information with:

• Work experience and industry placement employers if relevant to the student’s course
• The relevant Local Authority
• Software suppliers who may access our systems to support them and maintain them

Where organisations process personal data on behalf of the Group, they do so as data processors under contractual agreements which require them to process personal data only in accordance with our instructions and to apply appropriate security measures.

We do not share your information with anyone unless it is necessary and in line with the lawful basis for processing listed above, or with your explicit consent. Where data is routinely shared, a data processing agreement will be established to ensure the protection of the information.

How do we protect your data?

Your data is held securely on the Trafford College Group’s network or in a secure cloud location provided by one of our IT partners. Our databases are accessible to those colleagues who need to use information in their day-to-day activities or as part of our arrangements to keep students safe.

All colleagues have completed the Group’s data protection training programme and receive regular updates to keep their knowledge and understanding up to date.  The Trafford College Group ensures that appropriate data sharing agreements are in place prior to sharing your personal data with any partners.

What are your rights?

The Data Protection Act (2018) and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) give individuals a number of specific rights in relation to their personal information.  You have the right to:

• Be informed of the identity of the controller, the reasons for processing their personal data and other relevant information necessary to ensure the fair and transparent processing of personal data;
• Request access to the information we hold about you (Subject Access Request);
• Object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress;
• Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
• Request transfer of your personal data to another organisation where applicable;
• Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent;
• Prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing;
• Object to decisions being taken by automated means (please note we have no such systems);
• In certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, erased or destroyed; and/or

Please contact the Data Protection Officer if you would like to discuss any concerns: dpo@tscg.ac.uk.

Contacting the Trafford and Stockport College Group

You will find up to date information about our Data Protection Officer, how to make a request for your personal information, and other useful information about Data Protection on our website : Data Protection – The Trafford & Stockport College Group (tscg.ac.uk)

You can also write to the Data Protection Officer at dpo@tscg.ac.uk or:

Data Protection Officer
Trafford and Stockport College Group
Manchester Rd
Timperley
Altrincham
WA14 5PQ

Where can you find out more information?

If you have a concern relating to the way we are collecting or using your personal data, we would always ask you to raise your concern with us in the first instance.  You can e-mail the Data Protection Officer at dpo@tscg.ac.uk.  

You may also raise concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection matters, via https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

Version: 3.0  
Issued: May 2026