Children’s Data Policy

Effective Date: 1st September 2025
Last Updated: 5th August 2025

This Children’s Data Policy outlines how School Scout Ltd (“School Scout”, “the Company”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) collects, processes, stores, and protects personal data relating to individuals under the age of 18 (“children”) through our online platform at www.schoolscout.uk (the “Platform”).

We are committed to protecting children’s personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and applicable guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

1. Scope of Policy

This policy applies to the collection and processing of personal data relating to children under the age of 18 when such data is submitted to School Scout by:

  • A parent, legal guardian, or authorised adult acting on behalf of the child; or
  • A registered user creating or managing a user account on the Platform that includes child-related information for school search or enquiry purposes.

This policy specifically covers children’s data used for:

  • School search personalisation
  • Direct enquiries to schools
  • Data-driven insights for platform development (in anonymised form only)

School Scout does not knowingly collect personal data directly from children under the age of 13. All child data must be submitted to the platform by an authorised adult.

2. Categories of Data We Collect About Children

The following categories of children’s personal data may be collected only when voluntarily submitted by a parent or guardian:

  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Current School

This data is collected exclusively to personalise platform features and facilitate meaningful engagement with schools. We do not collect children's contact details or sensitive categories of data (e.g. health or ethnicity) unless explicitly required and with additional safeguards in place.

3. Lawful Basis

School Scout processes children’s personal data under the following lawful bases:

  • Consent: Where explicit and informed permission is provided by the parent or legal guardian during account creation, enquiry submission, or interaction with our services.
  • Legitimate Interests: Where processing is necessary to deliver a personalised and efficient platform experience, including school recommendations and enquiry facilitation, provided such interests are balanced against the child’s rights and freedoms.

We conduct appropriate assessments to ensure the lawful and fair processing of children’s data in all cases.

4. Use of Children’s Data

We use children’s personal data solely for the following purposes:

  • Customising school search results and filters based on the child’s profile;
  • Supporting tailored recommendations and shortlist creation;
  • Enabling accurate and relevant enquiries to be submitted to selected schools;
  • Generating anonymised insights and trend data to inform school reporting or platform improvements.

We do not use children’s data for:

  • Direct marketing communications
  • Behavioural profiling or automated decision-making
  • Sharing with unauthorised third parties or advertising networks

Our principle of data minimisation governs all uses of data: we collect only what is necessary to fulfil the stated purposes.


5. School Scout AI as a Collection Channel

If a parent or guardian uses our School Scout AI assistant, they may voluntarily submit children’s information via open-text conversations. Where a child's information is discussed or entered, the parent or guardian remains responsible for ensuring lawful use under these Terms and the School Scout AI Use Policy.

Where this occurs:

  • Inputs are processed in accordance with this Policy and our AI Use Policy;
  • Conversations containing child data are flagged for secure handling and stored in encrypted form;
  • Prompts and responses are subject to data minimisation, pseudonymisation, and access restrictions;
  • Use of School Scout AI constitutes parental consent for processing child-related information provided during the interaction.

Parents are advised not to submit sensitive or unnecessary child data in open-form prompts.

6. Data Sharing

Children’s personal data may be shared with selected schools only under the following conditions:

  • The data was submitted by a parent or guardian via an enquiry form
  • The school is directly involved in the enquiry or application process

We do not:

  • Share children’s personal data with third-party marketers, advertisers, or data brokers
  • Sell or license access to any individual-level child data

Any third-party data processing is subject to contractual safeguards and appropriate data processing agreements.

7. Data Security Measures

School Scout maintains high standards of data security, with specific measures to protect children’s personal data. These include:

  • Encryption of all data in transit and at rest using industry best practices;
  • Access control policies limiting data access to authorised personnel only;
  • Pseudonymisation and anonymisation of identifiable data wherever feasible;
  • Regular audits of our systems and retention policies to identify and mitigate risks;
  • Training for staff on safeguarding, data protection, and responsible handling of children’s information.

All systems undergo routine security reviews to ensure resilience against unauthorised access, misuse, or data breaches.

8. Data Retention

Children’s data will be retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. Specifically:

  • Data linked to a parent/guardian account is retained while the account remains active;
  • Enquiry-related data is retained for a maximum of 12 months after submission;
  • After this period, personal identifiers will be anonymised or securely deleted.

Anonymised data may be retained for analytical or statistical purposes, provided it cannot reasonably be re-identified.

9. Parental Rights and Controls

In accordance with UK data protection laws, parents or legal guardians acting on behalf of a child have the right to:

  • Access a copy of the child’s personal data held by us;
  • Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data;
  • Request deletion of the child’s data where appropriate;
  • Withdraw consent for future processing at any time;
  • Object to the processing of their child’s data where applicable.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at datacontroller@schoolscout.uk. We may require verification of your identity and relationship to the child before responding.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Children’s Data Policy from time to time to reflect:

  • Changes in legal or regulatory requirements;
  • Enhancements to our data protection practices;
  • Updates to our platform, features, or services.

Any material changes will be communicated via our website. Continued use of the Platform after such changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about this policy or how we handle children's data, please contact:

Email: datacontroller@schoolscout.uk
Address: School Scout Ltd, 71–75 Shelton Street, London, WC2H 9JQ
We aim to respond to all legitimate requests within one calendar month.

This Children’s Data Policy was last updated on 29 October 2025.