Data Protection - Square Bell

Privacy

We take data privacy very seriously. Your information is never shared with third parties without your schools’ consent.

Security

We are committed to making sure your data is secure. All data shared with Square Bell is done so using end to end encryption. Once it arrives it is encrypted at rest. We only request and process the minimum data required for a given project.

Legal Compliance

Square Bell is a Data Processor and abides by all of the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. All of our products and processes are designed to be GDPR-ready.

What is Square Bell’s data processing role?

We provide data processing services, such as data aggregation, validation, and analysis for education bodies. We do not collect data direct from pupils or students and we do not act as data controllers for any personal data about learners. The originating school or college remains the data controller for any learner information we process.

In order to deliver our services, we may collect or be given information about professionals working in schools and education institutions. You can also sign up to one of our mailing lists to receive regular information about our services. Square Bell is the Data Controller for this information and has a privacy notice that describes how we use it.

Want to find out more?

Data Protection Policy

This explains in full our data protection policy, and how we ensure privacy and security. This is also the document we require clients to agree to before using Square Bell.

Privacy Notice

This details our general privacy policy where Square Bell is the data controller, on use of data such as email addresses for marketing purposes.

How can I find out what data you have about me or make changes?

If you are an educational professional who works or has worked with us, please email Chris Mullarkey with your name and the institution(s) you work(ed) at. If you no longer have access to the email address we have for you, we may need further proof of your identity.

If you are a parent/carer or student, please direct any queries about your data to the relevant school, college, or university. As processors, we only have access to your data for the purposes specified by the data controller, which remains your school or college.

If you have any general queries about Square Bell’s services or facilities, or are not sure who you should speak to, please contact Chris Mullarkey by phone on 0115 7141234.

If you have a query or concern relating specifically to our data protection policies, please email dataprotection@squarebell.com to raise this with our data protection officer. We aim to respond to all such queries within ten days.

Preparing for the GDPR

The UK’s Data Protection laws will be changing on 25th May 2018 to support the General Data Protection Regulations and we have been making some changes in preparation for the expected legislation. This includes:

Appointing a data protection officer;
Revising our Terms of Service to include new information and support new obligations;
Auditing the data sets we hold to ensure the required information is recorded for each;
Reviewing our arrangements with data controllers and with providers of the services we use to process data;
Reviewing our data retention practices and formalizing time limits;
Drafting new policies and introducing new guidance for staff;
Making changes to our practice where appropriate, for example with regard to marketing messages.

This is an ongoing process, and the GDPR requires regular review of practices and policies. So we will be making further changes in the short and longer term, including as we discuss with partners what they need in order to comply or to improve their processes.