Last reviewed: August 2026
Education Otherwise Association (UK Registered Charity No. 1055120) is the “data controller” for the personal information described in this policy.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information openly, fairly, and responsibly. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we keep it safe, and your rights under UK data protection law (including the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018).
What information we collect
- Contact details: Name, postal address, email, phone number.
- Membership and financial records: Details needed to process memberships, payments, donations and Gift Aid claims.
- Helpline and advice records: Information you share when you contact our helpline, advice service, or email support.
- Sensitive information: If you ask us for advice about home education, special educational needs (SEN), disability, or your child’s health, you may choose to share sensitive details about your family. We only use this because you’ve chosen to share it with us, and we handle it with extra care and confidentiality.
- Feedback and communications: Anything you send us through surveys, forms, social media, or online communities such as our Facebook group.
- Website usage: Basic technical information, including cookies, about how you use our site.
How we collect it
- We collect information directly from you when you:
- Apply for or renew membership.
- Donate or submit a Gift Aid declaration.
- Contact us for advice, information, or helpline support.
- Complete a survey or form, or join one of our online communities.
- Visit and use our website.
Why we use your information
We only use your information where we have a proper legal reason to do so:
- Contract: Managing your membership, taking payments, and providing the benefits you signed up for.
- Legitimate interests: Answering enquiries, giving advice, running and improving the charity, keeping our systems secure, and updating members on things that matter to home educators.
- Legal obligation: Keeping financial and tax records, for example for HMRC.
- Consent: Optional cookies, optional marketing, and any sensitive information (such as health or SEN details) you choose to share with our advice team.
- Sensitive (“special category”) information: Where advice about your child involves details like health, disability or SEN, we only hold and use this because you have actively shared it with us for the purpose of getting advice. We keep it confidential and only accessible to the staff or volunteers helping with your enquiry.
We never sell or rent your information to anyone.
Who we share it with
We share information only with trusted organisations that help us run the charity, for example, website hosting, email, payment processing and IT support providers. They are required to keep your data secure and can only use it for the job we’ve asked them to do.
We may also share information if the law requires it, or where necessary to protect a child’s safety or wellbeing.
Data sent outside the UK
Some of the online tools we use (like email or hosting services) may store data outside the UK. When this happens, we make sure proper legal safeguards are in place so your information stays protected to UK standards.
How long we keep information
We only keep information for as long as we need it:
- Financial and Gift Aid records: 6 years after the end of the financial year, as required by HMRC.
- Helpline and advice enquiries: 3 years after your enquiry is closed, then securely deleted.
- Membership records: Kept while your membership is active and deleted or archived 3 years after it ends.
After these periods, records are securely deleted or destroyed.
Keeping your data safe
We protect your information by:
- Only giving access to staff and volunteers who need it for their role.
- Using password protection, encryption and secure systems.
- Safely destroying paper and electronic records once they’re no longer needed.
- Regularly reviewing how we handle data.
Automated decisions
We don’t use automated decision-making or profiling that affects you legally or significantly.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- Access: ask for a copy of the information we hold about you.
- Correction: ask us to fix anything inaccurate.
- Deletion: ask us to erase your information in certain circumstances.
- Restriction or objection: ask us to limit or stop certain uses of your data.
- Portability: ask for your data in a format you can transfer elsewhere.
- Withdraw consent: at any time, where we rely on your consent (for example, optional cookies).
To use any of these rights, just get in touch using the details below.
Cookies
Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit our website. We use:
- Strictly necessary cookies: needed to make the site work properly and securely.
- Analytics cookies: help us understand how the site is used, so we can improve it (we use Google Analytics). These only run if you agree via our cookie banner.
- Preference cookies: remember your settings, like display choices.
You can manage or turn off cookies any time through your browser or our website’s cookie settings.
Links to other websites
Our website sometimes links to other sites, such as Facebook, government guidance, or partner organisations. This policy only covers Education Otherwise; please check the privacy policy of any other site you visit.
Contact us
Post: Education Otherwise Association, 61 Bridge Street, Kington, Herefordshire, HR5 3DJ
Telephone: 0300 1245690
Not happy with how we’ve handled your data?
You can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator:
Website: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
