Privacy

Find and explore is provided by the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE is the data controller for pages starting with 'find-npd-data.education.gov.uk'

If you follow a link to a service provided by another government department, agency or local authority, that organisation will:

  • Be the data controller
  • Be responsible for processing any data you share with them
  • Publish and manage their own privacy notice with details of how to contact them

What data we collect

The personal data we collect from you includes:

  • questions, queries or feedback you leave, including your email address if you contact us
  • how you use our emails - for example whether you open them and which links you click on
  • your Internet Protocol (IP) address, and details of which version of web browser you used
  • information on how you use the site, using Cookies and page tagging techniques

We use Application Insights software to collect information about how you use GOV.UK. This includes IP addresses. The data is anonymised before being used for analytics processing.

Application Insights processes anonymised information about:

  • the pages you visit on Find and explore
  • how long you spend on each page
  • how you got to the site
  • what you interact with while you're visiting the site

We do not store your personal information through Application Insights (for example your name or address) and we take steps to ensure that this information is not used, or combined with other datasets, to identify who you are.

We continuously test and monitor our data protection controls to make sure they’re effective and to detect any weaknesses.

Why we need this data

We collect information through Application Insights to see how you use the site and government digital services. We do this to help:

  • Measure how you use the website so it can be updated and improved based on your needs
  • Make improvements, for example improving the site structure and information architecture

We also collect data in order to:

  • gather feedback to improve our services, for example our application process
  • respond to any feedback you send to us, if you've asked us to
  • allow you to access other government services
  • monitor use of the site to identify security threats

Our legal basis for processing your data

The legal basis for processing personal data in relation to site security is our legitimate interests, and the legitimate interests of our users.

The legal basis for processing anonymised data for Application Insights is your consent.

What we do with your data

The data we collect may be shared with other government departments, agencies and public bodies. It may also be shared with our technology suppliers, for example our hosting provider.

We will not:

  • sell or rent your data to third parties
  • share your data with third parties for marketing purposes
  • use your data in analytics

We will share your data if we are required to do so by law - for example, by court order, or to prevent fraud or other crime.

How long we keep your data

We will only retain your personal data for as long as:

  • it is needed for the purposes set out in this document
  • the law requires us to

We will keep your email data until you unsubscribe. We will keep your feedback data for 2 years. We will delete access log data after 30 days.

Children’s privacy protection

Our services are not designed for, or intentionally targeted at, children 13 years of age or younger. We do not intentionally collect or maintain data about anyone under the age of 13.

Where your data is processed and stored

We design, build and run our systems to make sure that your data is as safe as possible at all stages, both while it’s processed and when it’s stored.

All personal data is stored in the European Economic Area (EEA). Data collected by Application Insights data may be transferred outside the EEA for processing.

Your rights

You have the right to request:

  • information about how your personal data is processed
  • a copy of that personal data
  • that anything inaccurate in your personal data is corrected immediately

You can also:

  • raise an objection about how your personal data is processed
  • request that your personal data is erased if there is no longer a justification for it
  • ask that the processing of your personal data is restricted in certain circumstances

If you have any of these requests, get in contact with us.

Links to other websites

Find and explore contains links to other websites.

This privacy notice only applies to Find and explore, and does not cover other government services and transactions that we link to. These services have their own terms and conditions and privacy policies.

Following a link to another website

If you go to another website from this one, read the privacy policy on that website to find out what it does with your information.

Following a link to Find and explore from another website

If you come to GOV.UK from another website, we may receive personal information from the other website. You should read the privacy policy of the website you came from to find out more about this.

Changes to this policy

We may change this privacy policy. In that case, the ‘last updated’ date at the bottom of this page will also change. Any changes to this privacy policy will apply to you and your data immediately.

If these changes affect how your personal data is processed, the DfE will take reasonable steps to let you know.

Last updated 24 October 2019