Privacy Policy

1. About this privacy policy

Wirral Montessori respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information we hold about children, parents, carers, prospective families, staff and visitors.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information, including information submitted through our website.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Wirral Montessori is responsible for the personal information it collects and uses.

2. Information we may collect

The personal information we collect depends on your relationship with the nursery.

For parents, carers and prospective families, this may include:

• Name and contact details
• Email address and telephone number
• Child's name, age and date of birth
• Information relating to a nursery place or proposed start date
• Information provided when arranging a nursery visit
• Emergency contact information
• Medical, allergy, dietary or additional-needs information where necessary
• Attendance and authorised collection information
• Information relating to funding, fees and payments
• Communications between you and the nursery
• Photographs or recordings where appropriate consent has been obtained
• Any other information you choose to provide to us

We may also collect information about children where this is necessary to provide childcare, meet safeguarding responsibilities, support their development or comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

3. Information collected through our website

When you use our website, we may collect information that you provide through our forms.

For example, our Contact and Arrange a Visit forms may collect information including your name, email address, telephone number, your child's age or date of birth, preferred start date and information you choose to include within your enquiry.

We use this information to respond to your enquiry, arrange visits and provide information about the nursery and our services.

Our website may also collect limited technical information through cookies and similar technologies. Further information will be available in our Cookie Policy.

4. How we use personal information

We may use personal information to:

• Respond to enquiries from parents and prospective families
• Arrange nursery visits
• Process applications and registrations
• Provide childcare and early-years education
• Maintain children's records
• Communicate with parents and carers
• Manage attendance and collection arrangements
• Protect children's health, wellbeing and safety
• Meet safeguarding responsibilities
• Support children's learning and development
• Administer nursery fees and funding
• Maintain appropriate records
• Meet Ofsted and other regulatory requirements
• Comply with legal obligations
• Manage and improve our website and services

We will only use personal information where we have an appropriate lawful basis for doing so.

5. Our lawful basis for using information

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful reason for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may process information because:

• It is necessary to provide a service or fulfil an agreement with you
• We have a legal obligation to process the information
• It is necessary to protect the vital interests of a child or another person
• It is necessary for a task carried out in the public interest
• We have a legitimate interest in processing the information and that interest does not override your rights
• You have given us your consent

Some information relating to children may be considered particularly sensitive. Where we process this type of information, we will ensure that an appropriate legal basis and additional condition for processing applies.

6. Children's information

As an early-years provider, we necessarily process personal information relating to children.

This can include information about a child's health, development, attendance, learning, dietary requirements, allergies, additional needs and safeguarding.

We take particular care when handling children's information and only collect and use information that is necessary for providing appropriate care, supporting development, maintaining safety or meeting our legal and regulatory responsibilities.

7. Sharing personal information

We do not sell personal information.

We may share information where necessary with organisations or individuals involved in providing or supporting nursery services, or where we are legally required to do so.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

• Local authorities
• Ofsted
• Healthcare professionals
• Safeguarding organisations or agencies
• Schools or other education providers
• Funding bodies
• Professional advisers
• IT, website and software providers that process information on our behalf
• Other organisations where disclosure is required by law

Where third-party organisations process personal information on our behalf, we expect them to handle that information securely and in accordance with applicable data-protection law.

8. Safeguarding

Protecting children is our highest priority.

Where we have safeguarding or child-protection concerns, we may need to share relevant information with appropriate authorities or professionals.

Where permitted or required by law, this may take place without consent where doing so is necessary to protect a child or another individual.

9. How long we keep information

We only retain personal information for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet our legal, regulatory and safeguarding responsibilities.

Different types of nursery records have different retention periods.

When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised where appropriate.

10. How we protect your information

We take appropriate steps to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

Access to personal information is limited to people who have a legitimate reason to access it.

We also take reasonable steps to ensure that third parties processing information on our behalf provide appropriate protection for that information.

11. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data-protection law provides you with rights over your personal information.

These may include the right to:

• Ask for a copy of personal information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Ask us to delete personal information in certain circumstances
• Ask us to restrict how information is used
• Object to certain uses of your information
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Request the transfer of certain information where applicable

Not every right applies in every situation, and some nursery records may need to be retained because of legal, safeguarding or regulatory requirements.

To exercise your rights, please contact us using the details below.

12. Cookies and third-party services

Our website may use cookies and third-party services necessary for the website to function or to help us understand how it is used.

Some pages may also contain third-party content or services, such as embedded maps.

Further details about the cookies and services used by the website are provided in our Cookie Policy.

13. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to external websites.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites. We recommend reviewing the privacy information provided by those organisations when visiting their websites.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, legal requirements or the way we process personal information.

The latest version will always be published on our website.