Privacy notice for children and young people

What is personal data and why do we collect it? 

Personal data is any information that relates to you as an individual that has not been made anonymous.  

We will only ever collect personal data that we need about you; before we collect any data about you we think about why we are collecting it. The data we collect may vary from person to person depending on what relationship we have with you.   

We collect personal data so that you can take part safely in activities or campaigns. Sometimes we collect data so that we can share your stories – but we will always ask your permission first. Sharing your story means people can learn about the work that we do and why it’s important.    

What information do we collect about you?

Personal data we collect may include: 

• Name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number so that we can keep in touch with you 
• Your age so that we know if you are under 18 as this affects whether we need consent from an adult to process your data and whether we send you marketing information 
• Contact details for your parents or guardians 
• Information about health conditions or disabilities that we need to know about to keep you safe or enable you to take part in activities 
• Information needed so that you can travel, such as passport details 
• Your stories about your life so that we can share them, if you agree, so that other people can learn about the work we do and why it is important 
• Diversity monitoring information, including information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health and religion or belief 

How do we collect the information? 

We collect information in a variety of ways.  

For example: 

• Through consent forms, before you get involved with activities or events with us 
• In an application when you apply to be part of a programme or activity 
• If you send us a CV for a work opportunity with us 
• When we request your passport details for travel or events 
• Forms completed by you or your parents or guardian  
• From talking to you! E.g when we ask you to share your story and we make a note of this. We will always make you aware when we are recording this information. 

What is diversity monitoring information? 

Where we collect and store special categories of personal data such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation, health or religion or belief, this is done for the purposes of “diversity monitoring”. 

We collect this data so that we can monitor how inclusive we are – looking at this data helps us to understand if we may have biases or if we need to work harder to engage people who belong to certain groups.    

The data we use for these purposes is collected with your consent, which can be withdrawn at any time. It is then made anonymous. You are entirely free to decide if you would like to provide this data and there are no negative consequences if you choose not to share this data. 

Who has access to your data? 

Data is stored in a range of different places (e.g. our network drives, which is our own individual computer storage at Plan UK). Data will always be stored securely and deleted when it is no longer needed, in line with our Data Retention Policy. We only share your information with people who need to have it to enable you to take part in activities or support our work or where we feel it is necessary for your own safety or wellbeing. 

How do we protect data? 

We have internal policies (such as a Data Protection Policy) and controls in place to try to ensure that data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by people who need it in the performance of their duties. This could include people working with you directly e.g. for campaigns or events and people who are using your information to communicate with other supporters of our work. 

Your rights 

As someone whose data we hold you have the right to ask for the following: 

• To access and obtain a copy of your data – this is everything we hold that relates to you 
• Tell us to change incorrect or incomplete data 
• Tell us to delete or stop processing your data 
• Object to the processing of your data where we are relying on our legitimate interests or your consent as the legal basis for processing
• Ask us to stop processing data for a period if data is inaccurate or you think

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact the organisation’s Data Protection Officer, email dataprotectionofficer@plan-uk.org. If you are under 18, your parents or guardian may need to help with this. 

If you believe that the organisation has not respected your data protection rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) using their help line 0303 123 1113 or by visiting their website. 

Last updated: January 2023