Education Companion Limited (“Education Companion”, “we”, “us”, “our”) takes privacy and data protection seriously. This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, share and protect personal data when providing our website, platform and related services (together, the “Services”).

This Privacy Notice should be read alongside:

our Platform Terms of Use;
any applicable Licence Agreement or Data Protection Addendum entered into with a school or trust; and
our Cookie Policy.

1. WHO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE APPLIES TO

This Privacy Notice applies to individuals whose personal data is processed in connection with Education Companion, including:

parents and carers;
pupils and students (current, former or prospective);
school, college and trust staff;
authorised users of the platform;
visitors to our website;
suppliers and professional contacts.

Where Education Companion processes personal data on behalf of a school or trust, that organisation will be the data controller, and this Privacy Notice should be read alongside the school or trust’s own privacy notice.

2. WHO WE ARE

Education Companion is operated by Education Companion Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 16158976).

Registered office:
21 Woodhill Road
Portishead
Bristol
BS20 7EU

Contact email: hello@educationcompanion.com

Our ICO registration number is: ZC034031

We will only process personal information about you in accordance with the UK Data Protection Legislation which for the purposes of this Privacy Notice shall mean: all applicable data protection and privacy legislation in force from time to time in the UK including without limitation the UK GDPR; the Data Protection Act 2018 (and regulations made thereunder) (DPA 2018); and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2426) as amended; and all other legislation and regulatory requirements in force from time to time which apply to a party relating to the use of personal data (including, without limitation, the privacy of electronic communications); and the guidance and codes of practice issued by the Commissioner or other relevant regulatory authority and which are applicable to a party (“Data Protection Legislation”).

3. WHAT EDUCATION COMPANION DOES

Education Companion provides a digital platform to help schools, colleges and trusts:

receive and manage parental complaints;
communicate securely with parents and complainants;
track complaint outcomes and compliance; and
improve policies and governance processes.

Education Companion acts as a data processor, following the documented instructions of the relevant school or trust.

4. PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT

4.1 Pupils / Students

Identification data: name, identifiers (e.g. UPN, ULN), student ID
Demographic data: date of birth, gender, year group
Contact and contextual data: address, timetable information, communications and complaint-related records

Education Companion does not routinely collect or require special category data about pupils. However, complaint submissions or supporting documents uploaded by schools, parents or carers may contain information relating to special educational needs, health, safeguarding, behaviour or other sensitive matters.

4.2 Staff

Identification and contact data: name, staff ID, work email, work phone
Role data: job title, timetable or responsibility information

4.3 Parents / Carers

Contact data: name, email address, phone number
Relationship data: relationship to the relevant pupil or student

4.4 Establishment Data

School or trust name, DfE number, governance details, contact details and organisational structure.

4.5 Former or Prospective Individuals

Data relating to former or prospective pupils or staff may be stored or archived where included in historical complaints or records and where no longer actively updated by the establishment.

Where complaint content or supporting materials include special category personal data (such as information relating to SEND, health, disability, ethnicity, safeguarding or behaviour), such data is processed solely on the instructions of the relevant school or trust, which remains the data controller for that information. Education Companion processes such data only as a data processor and does not determine the content or purpose of its inclusion.

5. HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL DATA

We collect personal data:

directly from schools, trusts or education bodies;
directly from users when they interact with the platform or contact support;
automatically through technical logs, cookies and similar technologies when our website or platform is accessed.

If personal data is withheld, we may be unable to provide some or all of the Services.

6. HOW WE USE PERSONAL DATA

Personal data processed through Education Companion is used for the following purposes:

managing and responding to complaints;
facilitating communication between schools, trusts and parents;
supporting compliance with statutory complaint procedures;
improving school policies and operational processes;
maintaining and improving platform functionality;
providing support and training;
analytics and service improvement;
complying with legal and regulatory obligations.

We only use personal data where permitted under Data Protection Law.

7. LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING

Depending on the context, we process personal data on the basis of:

contractual necessity (to provide the Services);
legitimate interests (to operate, improve and secure the platform);
legal obligations;
public task (where applicable to education governance);
consent, where required (particularly for certain sensitive processing).

8. SHARING PERSONAL DATA

We share personal data only where necessary and with appropriate safeguards in place.

This may include sharing with:

hosting and infrastructure providers (including Microsoft Azure, GoDaddy and Cloudflare);
CRM and communication providers (including HubSpot and Google Workspace);
analytics and performance tools;
AI service providers used to support functionality (including Azure AI services and other providers);
security and monitoring providers;
education-sector integration partners (including Wonde);
professional advisers and service providers.

All third parties are subject to contractual data-protection obligations and you can view all sub-processors here

9. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

Education Companion primarily operates in the United Kingdom.

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including adequacy decisions or recognised transfer mechanisms, in accordance with Data Protection Law.

10. DATA RETENTION

Personal data is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected.

Where an establishment ceases to provide updated information, data is archived and retained for five (5) years, unless earlier deletion is requested or required by law.

11. DATA SECURITY

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including:

encryption in transit and at rest;
access controls and role-based permissions;
audit logging and monitoring;
secure hosting environments.

Despite these measures, transmission of data over the internet is not completely secure, and users should take appropriate precautions.

12. YOUR RIGHTS

Where Education Companion acts as a data controller, individuals may have rights under Data Protection Law, including rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection and data portability.

Requests should normally be directed to the relevant school or trust as data controller. Where appropriate, requests may be forwarded to Education Companion for support.

13. COOKIES AND ANALYTICS

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

manage sessions and user preferences;
analyse usage and performance;
improve platform usability.

Further details are available in our Cookie Policy.

14. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time.
The latest version will always be available via our website, with the “Last updated” date clearly shown.

15. CONTACT AND COMPLAINTS

If you have questions about this Privacy Notice or our data practices, please contact:

Education Companion Limited
21 Woodhill Road
Portishead
Bristol
BS20 7EU
Email: hello@educationcompanion.com

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

We would, however, appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns first.