Data Protection Statement – Applicants for Courses and Apprenticeships

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).

This data protection statement relates to people applying to study full time, part time and apprenticeship programmes at any of our Colleges.  We may collect, use and share your personal information in order to manage the admissions process and assess your eligibility to study with the Group, and to carry out our public task of providing education and training.

What data do we collect and use?

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

• Personal information (including name, unique learner number, address and contact details, previous address, employment status, your eligibility for pupil premium whilst at school, emergency contact/parent or carer details, photographs and other media);
• Prior educational records information (such as previous qualifications attained and grades);
• Characteristics (such as residency status, nationality, and date of birth)

We may also collect, store and use information about you that falls into ‘special categories’ of more sensitive personal data. This includes information about:

• Characteristics (such as ethnicity and gender);
• Medical information (such as relevant medical or health conditions);
• Special educational needs information (such as special educational needs declarations, disability details, details of additional learning support requirements)

In some circumstances we may collect information about criminal convictions where this is necessary for safeguarding purposes of where required by law.

The majority of the personal information you provide to us is necessary for us to fulfil our public task and contract with you to provide educational services tailored to your needs.  Failure to supply this information may mean that we are unable to progress your application to study with us.

We may obtain information from third parties, such as your previous school or the local authority where applicable, ensuring continuity of support for those with additional learning needs and monitoring of safeguarding concerns.

Why do we collect and use your information?

We collect your information to help us to meet our legal obligations and to carry out the public task of providing education to young people.  We use your information to:

• Support your plans for learning
• keep you safe
• provide appropriate guidance and support
• keep you informed about issues affecting and related to your application
• assess and improve the quality of our services
• comply with the law regarding data sharing
• comply with our contractual obligation

We rely on the following lawful bases under the UK GDPR:

• Article 6(1)(e) – Public Task, where processing is necessary for the Group to provide education and training
• Article 6(1)(c) – Legal Obligation, where we must comply with statutory duties relating to education, safeguarding and funding requirements
• Article 6(1)(b) – Contract, where processing is necessary to take steps prior to entering into a learning agreement with you.

Where special category data is processed, this is done in accordance with Article 9 of the UK GDPR, for example where necessary for equality monitoring safeguarding or the provision of additional learning support.

How long is your data stored for?

We store your information securely and in line with our Data Protection Policy and associated procedures.  Applicant information will usually be retained for up to one year after the admission cycle for which you applied. If you continue as a student, your personal file including your application details becomes part of your student file and is kept as described in our Privacy Statement for Students. 

Will your information be shared?

We may share applicant information with:

• The college’s local authority and the local authority where you live, and if different, the local authority you lived in whilst at school
• The Department of Education (DfE)
• The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)
• Your parent/carer/emergency contact if you are aged under 18 at enrolment for your safety, wellbeing and to support your learning
• Your previous school to help them with their public task to monitor destinations
• External software suppliers who provide the systems we use to track applications

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 information about our applicants with anyone unless it is necessary and in line with the lawful basis for processing listed above, or with the consent of the applicant concerned. Where data is routinely shared, a data processing agreement will be established to ensure the protection of applicants’ information.

How do we protect your data?

Your data is held securely on the Trafford and Stockport 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 and Stockport 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