Our website address is: https://www.ukbsa.com/.
The BSA Group Services Limited (BSA Group) comprises entities owned all or in part by the Boarding Schools’ Association Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with registration number 4676107 and whose registered office is at 27 Queen Anne’s Gate, London, England, SW1H 9BU. As of September, 2021, the BSA Group includes the Boarding Schools’ Association (BSA), the British Association of Independent Schools with International Students (BAISIS), the Health in Education Association (Hieda), the Safeguarding and Child Protection Agency (SACPA), and TIOB (The Institute of Boarding). We take our responsibilities as a data controller seriously and are committed to using the personal data we hold in accordance with the law. This privacy notice provides detailed information about how we process personal data. Please read it carefully and, if you have questions regarding your personal data or its use, please contact the BSA Group at BAISIS@boarding.org.uk , BSA@boarding.org.uk or Sacpa@boarding.org.uk or by telephone on +44 (0)207 798 1580; or by post at Unit 11/12, Manor Farm, Cliddesden, Basingstoke, Hants, RG25 2JB.
We process personal data about prospective, current and past: member and non-member organisations, schools, school staff, BSA Group staff, training providers/contractors, information about students provided to us by the school and other individuals connected to a member organisation or school. The personal data we process takes different forms – it may be factual information, expressions of opinion, images or other recorded information which identifies or relates to a living individual. Examples include:
As an employer, we need to process criminal records information about individuals (particularly staff and contractors). We do so in accordance with applicable law (including with respect to safeguarding or employment) or by explicit consent.
We collect most of the personal data we process directly from schools (in some cases directly from teachers, training attendees, training providers and parents). We also collect data from third parties (working references, professionals or authorities) or from publicly available resources. Personal data held by us is processed by appropriate members of staff for the purposes for which the data was provided. We take appropriate technical and organisational steps to ensure the security of personal data about individuals, including secure use of technology and devices, and access to our online systems. We do not transfer personal data outside of the European Economic Area unless we are satisfied that the personal data will be afforded an equivalent level of protection. Some of our systems are provided by third parties, such as Microsoft Office suite and cloud storage, the BSA Group website, BSA Group’s newsletters, BSA Group mailings, and independent cloud storage providers. This is always subject to contractual assurances that personal data will be kept securely and only in accordance with our specific directions. We do not share or sell personal data to other organisations.
We process personal data to support the BSA Group’s function of promoting and supporting all of our members in the UK and internationally.
The processing set out above is carried out to fulfil our legal obligations (including staff employment contracts).
The BSA maintains contact with past school Heads/boarding school staff members who have requested to be kept on the BSA mailing lists and have provided their personal details to the BSA to this effect. This is so that the BSA can continue to invite these previous school members to BSA events, keep them updated with the boarding sector and provide them with useful and relevant information. The BSA asks that individuals requesting continued contact provide us with their data preferences to ensure that all communications are requested for and relevant. Individuals can opt out of these mailings at any time by emailing BSA@boarding.org.uk or by clicking on the ‘unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of email contact.
We retain personal data only for legitimate and lawful reasons and only for so long as necessary / required by law. Staff records are retained for seven years for purposes of providing references if requested. Details of school staff are updated yearly. Staff who have left the school are removed from our contact lists unless they request to continue to receive BSA contact. Press releases will remain on all BSA Group websites (News Archive, accessible via search function) and social media pages for a period of ten years in order to help support schools in the promotion of their brand. Press releases can be removed at any time by emailing BSA@boarding.org.uk.
You have various rights under Data Protection Law to access and understand the personal data we hold about you, and in some cases to ask for it to be erased or amended or for us to stop processing it, but subject to certain exemptions and limitations. You always have the right to withdraw consent, or otherwise object to receiving generic communications. Please be aware however that the BSA Group may have another lawful reason to process the personal data in question even without your consent. This usually relates to staff records (time worked with the BSA Group , HR purposes and for reference requests). If you would like to access or amend your personal data, would like it to be transferred to another person or organisation, or have some other objection to how your personal data is used, please make your request in writing to the Chief Operations Officer. We will to respond to any such written requests as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event within statutory time-limits, which is one month in the case of requests for access to information. We will be better able to respond quickly to smaller, targeted requests for information. If the request is manifestly excessive or similar to previous requests, we may ask you to reconsider or charge a proportionate fee, but only where Data Protection Law allows it. You should be aware that certain data is exempt from the right of access. This may include information which identifies other individuals, or information which is subject to legal privilege. We are also not required to disclose any confidential reference given by the BSA for the purposes of the education, training or employment of any individual.
We only hold pupil data when it has been provided to the BSA for the purposes of the promotion of a member school (though the BSA Website, social media pages and marketing content such as the Boarding School magazine).
Any data relating to safeguarding is provided to us by our member organisations and schools. The data is provided with all details of individuals involved already removed (even if these details are already available in the public domain). If an organisation , or school provides information that has not been anonymised, the Director of Safeguarding, Standards and Accreditation will remove all relevant data upon receipt of content. All safeguarding information is kept securely within the BSA Group system, with severely limited access. Safeguarding data will not be shared with any external agency, other than to comply with a legal obligation and where there is a lawful basis for it to be shared.
We try to ensure that all personal data held in relation to an individual is as up to date and accurate as possible. Please notify BAISIS@boarding.org.uk; BSA@boarding.org.uk; sacpa@boarding.org.uk; of changes to information, such as contact details.
Our privacy notice should be read in conjunction with our other policies and terms and conditions which make reference to personal data, including our Commitment to Care Charter and Staff Handbook. We will update this Privacy Notice when required. Any substantial changes that affect how we process your personal data will be notified on our website and to you directly, as far as practicable. If you believe that we have not complied with this policy or have acted otherwise than in accordance with Data Protection Law, you should notify the Chief Operations Officer. You can also make a referral to or lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), although the ICO recommends that steps are taken to resolve the matter with us before involving them. BSA Group Services Limited Registered in England and Wales. Registered No: 4676107 Registered Office: Unit 11/12, Manor Farm, Cliddesden, Basingstoke, Hants, RG25 2JB VAT Registration no: GB 809 7054 18
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