Privacy notice

(with Cookie notice in section 15)

We collect, store and process the personal data of individuals (“you”) such as our beneficiaries, staff, volunteers, research subjects, partners, and donors in order to carry out our functions. We are committed to protecting, respecting and keeping safe any personal information that is shared with us or that we receive from others.

This notice outlines how we protect your personal data, including how such data will be collected, used and stored, and thus comply with data protection law. This notice applies to all personal data processed by us in whatever form, whether it be manual or electronic, in the UK or overseas. All staff and volunteers are responsible for working in line with our Data protection and GDPR policy.

 

1. WHO WE ARE

Dream Lab Foundation (“DLF”, “the charity” or “we”) is an international non-profit organisation registered as a charity in England and Wales (charity number: 1205675). We run a number of services involving children, young people, and adults, including educational and wellbeing programmes, mentoring, support, and research activities.

 

2. DEFINITIONS

“Cookie” means a small text file that is downloaded onto ‘terminal equipment’ (e.g. a computer or smartphone) when an individual accesses a website. It allows the website to recognise the device and store some information about the user’s preferences or past actions.

“GDPR” means General Data Protection Regulation, the EU’s agreed standards for data protection which came into force on 25 May 2018 and that are also written into and implemented in UK law through the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

“Personal data or information” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable living person, whether they can be identified directly or indirectly. In this document, “data” refers to personal data.

“Processing” means any operation or set of operations performed on personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclose by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.

“Special category of personal data” means personal data which is more sensitive and needs greater protection. For example, information about an individual’s: race or ethnic origin, politics, religion, trade union membership, genetics, biometrics, health, sex life and sexual orientation.

 

3. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DATA

We are a Data Controller because we decide:

  • what information we collect;

  • how we collect it;

  • why we want to collect it; and

  • what we do with it.

We work with delivery partners to run or promote some of our programmes. In some situations, the partner will also be a Data Controller and where this is the case, we will have appropriate sharing arrangements in place. You can always ask to see our partners’ privacy notices.

 

4. BASIS FOR PROCESSING YOUR INFORMATION

Under the GDPR and the DPA, we must have a legal reason to collect, keep and use your data. We will only process your data if at least one of the following six legal bases is satisfied:

  • Consent provided to us by you (or in certain circumstances, from a guardian/parent on your behalf).

  • Contract where the processing is necessary for a contract we have with you, or because you have asked us to take specific steps before entering into a contract.

  • Legal obligation where we are legally obliged to collect or process data.

  • Vital interests where the processing is necessary to protect someone’s life.

  • Public task where the processing is necessary for us to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.

  • Legitimate interests (ours and other parties) unless there is a good reason to protect your data which overrides those legitimate interests.

 

5. PARENTAL/GUARDIAN CONSENT

If you are 13 or under, parental/guardian consent will be required to allow us to collect or use any personal information about you. We may request further information to confirm whether appropriate consent has been obtained and provided for your parent/guardian.

 

6. WHERE WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM

We collect personal information in the following ways:

  • Information you provide to us: We collect personal information directly from you, when you (or a parent/guardian) complete profile forms for one of our programmes, or make enquiries about our programmes, when you visit our website or use our services; when you register with us for a mailing list; when you apply to become a volunteer; when you make a donation; or when you communicate with us by email, letter or over the phone. We collect information at different stages of your interaction with us.

  • Information we receive from others: We receive information about you from organisations, like:

    • schools, colleges, universities, or other education organisations,

    • councils and other public sector organisations,

    • previous employers,

    • businesses, charities or community groups that form part of our partner network,

    • fundraising sites like JustGiving or Virgin Money Giving or event organisers such as the London Marathon.

Once we have information from these organisations, it will be covered by our privacy notice as well as by theirs. You should check their privacy notice to understand how they process your information.

  • Information we get from your use of our website and services: We collect information about the services you use and how you use them, like when you our website or view and interact with our adverts and content.

  • Information from publicly available sources: We obtain some information from publicly available sources such as Companies House, the Charity Commission register, newspaper articles, open postings on social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

When visiting our website, registering for a course, or speaking to a member of our team, we may ask you if you want to sign up for our newsletter. The newsletters contain information about upcoming courses and general news and updates. You may opt out of these emails at any time via the opt-out link at the bottom of each email or letting us know by email.

 

7. WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We may collect or use different types of personal information depending on our relationship with you, i.e. whether you are a beneficiary, staff, volunteer (including trustee), research subject, or partner. The types of personal information may include:

  • Your title, name, gender and date of birth;

  • Contact details (address, email, phone number, social media contact details);

  • Family details (e.g. number of siblings);

  • Health information (including dietary requirements, allergies and health conditions);

  • Health and safety information;

  • Records of consent, where appropriate;

  • Referral and government agency involvement including residential status, care status and funding;

  • Information regarding your school or college history including qualifications and grades/predicted grades;

  • Employment details;

  • Immigration status;

  • Language requirements;

  • Personal information used for the purpose of research, e.g. interests and activities;

  • Website user information (including user journeys and cookie tracking);

  • Recorded images, such as photos or videos;

  • Records of meetings and decisions;

  • Contact preferences;

  • Information relating to compliments or complaints; and

  • Any other information provided by yourself at our request.

We may also collect more sensitive information about you, called special category of personal data and this includes:

  • Racial and ethnic origin;

  • Political opinions;

  • Religious or philosophical beliefs;

  • Genetic information;

  • Biometric information (where used to identify someone);

  • Health information (including disabilities, mental health and drug/alcohol abuse);

  • Sexual orientation, gender; sexuality and any additional needs requirements; and

  • In certain circumstances we will also collect data in regard to criminal history (e.g. DBS checks). Where this information is collected, we will tell you why it is required.

If you are a donor or partner, we may also collect or use:

  • Payment details (including card of bank information for transfers and direct debits); and

  • Gift Aid status and records of donations.

Where appropriate, we may also ask your interests and motivation for supporting Dream Lab Foundation, although we will never make this question mandatory, and only want to know the answer if you are comfortable providing us with that information.

If you are under 13, you should ask permission of a guardian/parent before sending personal or sensitive information to anyone online.

 

8. WHAT WE DO WITH YOUR INFORMATION

We will use your personal information to run, fund, develop and evaluate our programmes and services. Specifically, the data will be used to/for:

  • Provide and administer services, products or information that you have asked for;

  • Provide information about other services, products or information we think might interest you where you have consented to being contacted;

  • Check your eligibility to attend programmes;

  • Making decisions about your participation in our programmes;

  • Send surveys to evaluate the impact of our programmes or services;

  • Offer you opportunities to take part in research;

  • Keep records of your relationship with us and record the contact we have with you;

  • Ensure we know how you prefer to be contacted;

  • Evaluate the services you have received for effectiveness and impact;

  • Financial monitoring and auditing;

  • Complying with our legal obligations, policies and procedures;

  • Fundraising and marketing where you consent;

  • Equal opportunities monitoring;

  • Complying with health and safety obligations; and

  • Report on operational performance through aggregation of data and to fulfil our contractual obligations to funders.

If you support us, for example by making a donation, volunteering, registering to fundraise, or signing up for an event, we will mainly use your information to:

  • Provide you with the services, products or information that you asked for;

  • Provide you information about other services, products or information we think might interest you where you have consented to being contacted;

  • Administer your donation or support your fundraising, including processing Gift Aid;

  • Send you surveys, and for market research;

  • Invite you to events;

  • Keep a record of your relationship with us and record the contact we have with you; and

  • Ensure we know how you prefer to be contacted.

We may also use personal information to carry out due diligence in line with our Donations Policy so that we are fundraising in accordance within the law, the Code of Fundraising Practice, and our internal policies and procedures.

 

9. HOW WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION UP TO DATE

We will review our records to ensure your data is as accurate as possible. If we believe the information we hold is not up to date, we will attempt to promptly update our records. Similarly, if you believe any of the information we hold is inaccurate or your circumstances change, please let us know and we will ensure our records are updated as soon as possible.

 

10. WHO WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH

We share your data within Dream Lab Foundation with people who need to see it in order to provide you with our services. We are committed to protecting your data and therefore it will never be sold to external organisations and will only be disclosed to those acting as partners, agents and data processors carrying out work on our behalf.

 

11.  HOW WE KEEP YOUR DATA SAFE

We aim to ensure that appropriate, physical, technical and managerial controls are in place to protect any personal information you may provide to us. All staff and volunteers (including trustees) are responsible for working in line with this our Data protection and GDPR policy.

Where we use external companies to collect or process data on our behalf, we carry out comprehensive checks on them before we work with them and ensure that contracts are in place that set out our expectations and requirements. We may need to transfer your personal data outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) to allow them to perform services on our behalf (for example invitation or participation in an event outside of the EEA in support of Dream Lab Foundation). In doing so your data may be stored or processed outside of the EEA. Where this happens, we will endeavour to ensure that your data is being processed in accordance with the appropriate security requirements in line with our legal responsibilities, and by submitting your details in such circumstances you agree to this transfer.

Despite all of our precautions no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. So, whilst we will always strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information which you disclose to us and so wish to draw your attention that you do so at your own risk.

 

12. HOW LONG WE STORE YOUR DATA FOR

We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for us to provide our services, comply with our legal obligations, to maintain records, and carry out reporting. If you request that we stop sending you marketing materials we will keep a record of your contact details and appropriate information to enable us to comply with your request not to be contacted by us, we won’t keep any information that we don’t need.

 

13. YOUR RIGHTS

Under the GDPR, you have the right to find out what information we store about you, including the right to:

  • Be informed about how your data is being used;

  • Access personal data we hold on you;

  • Have incorrect data updated/rectified;

  • Have data erased;

  • Stop or restrict the processing of your data;

  • Data portability (allowing you to get and reuse your data for different services); and

  • Object to how your data is processed in certain circumstances (e.g. when you have withdrawn consent or objected for reasons related to your individual circumstances), including for direct marketing (including profiling) and for the purposes of research and statistics.

 

14. HOW TO ACCESS, CORRECT OR DELETE YOUR INFORMATION

If you wish to exercise your rights, please address your request by email to our Data Protection Officer using the contact details at the bottom of this privacy notice. To help us locate information about you (or in case we need to get in touch with you to obtain further information to help us locate your records), please include your full name, address and telephone number with your request. You don’t usually need to pay a fee to exercise your rights. If you make a request, we have one calendar month to respond to you.

If you do not want to receive any further information about Dream Lab Foundation and would like us to remove your name from our mailing list, use the unsubscribe link in the email you have received. You can also contact us using the details below.

 

15. COOKIE NOTICE

WHAT IS A COOKIE?

A cookie is a small text file that is downloaded onto ‘terminal equipment’ (e.g. a computer or smartphone) when you access a website. It allows the website to recognise that your device and store some information about your preferences or past actions.

WHAT COOKIES WE USE

We use four categories of cookies:

  • Category 1: Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the website. Without these cookies services you have asked for, like shopping baskets or e-billing, cannot be provided.

>>> In short, these cookies enable services you have specifically asked for.

  • Category 2: Performance cookies

These cookies collect information about how you use a website, for instance which pages you go to most often, and if you get error messages from web pages. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies you. All the information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works.

>>> In short, these cookies collect anonymous information on the pages visited.

  • Category 3: Functionality cookies

These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.

>>> In short, these cookies remember choices you make to improve your experience.

  • Category 4: Targeting cookies or advertising cookies

These cookies are used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are usually placed by third-parties such as Google Analytics, Squarespace Analytics, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube to collect data such as demographics and interest reporting. These cookies collect information about your browsing habits in order to make advertising relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaigns.

>>> In short, these cookies collect information about your browsing habits in order to make advertising relevant to you and your interests.

 

MORE ABOUT THIRD-PARTY COOKIES

When you visit our website, we use Google Analytics and Squarespace Analytics to allow us to track how popular our site is and to record visitor trends over time. Click here to read Google’s privacy policy, which includes information about how to access an Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Click here to read Squarespace’s privacy policy. From time to time, we embed external content from third party websites (e.g. YouTube) within our website. Our website may also contain links to other websites of interest (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter). These websites may also use cookies. The issue and use of cookies by third parties are subject to the privacy policies of these third parties. We have no access or control over third-party cookies. Once you have used these links to leave our site, you’ll no longer be covered by our data and privacy policy and we are unable to give any assurances about how your data will be used. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

 

HOW TO CHECK YOUR COOKIES

For the most common browsers, you can:

  • Review which cookies are active in your browser’s settings.

  • Clear cookies from your browser or device, either globally or from a specific website.

For help locating cookies on your device, visit your browser's documentation:

 

OPTING OUT OF COOKIES

You can opt out of all our cookies (except the strictly necessary ones) but if you choose to do so, our website may not function for you as we would like it to. You will find more information on how to eliminate or control cookies here.

 

CONTACT

If you have any questions about how we use cookies, please contact us.

 

16. FURTHER INFORMATION

The laws governing how your personal data can be used are:

  • General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR)

  • Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)

You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk to find out more or report a concern. They are the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.

 

17. CONTACT US

If you have any queries about this policy or any concerns (including complaints) about how we handle your information please contact our:

Data Protection Officer (DPO): Karen Pluess / karen@dreamlabfoundation.org

 

18. LAST UPDATED

This policy was last updated in June 2024. We may update this policy from time to time, so please check it regularly. If we make significant changes to this policy, we will announce on our website and we will also contact you to inform you of the changes that we have made.

A LAB FOR DREAMS