Privacy Policy

Effective from 7th August 2026

How we use your personal data

Virtual Learning UK (VLUK) and our partners are committed to protecting your personal data and seek to comply with UK Data Protection Legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. As a Data Controller, we take our legal obligations seriously and maintain structured data governance practices.

VLUK collects personal data at various stages of your engagement with us. We collect and process two categories of data.

Standard Personal Data: Names, contact information, academic progress records, and registration details. Special Category
Personal Data e.g Health details, medical records, and ethnicity/diversity information.

Our Lawful Bases for Processing

We process your personal data relying on the following legal bases under Article 6 of the UK GDPR:

  • Public Task / Legal Obligation: For fulfilling our educational delivery responsibilities, statutory requirements, and reporting to funding bodies such as the Department For Education (DfE).
  • Performance of a Contract: For administering your enrolment, programme participation, and academic support.
  • Legitimate Interests: For processing basic interest queries, managing applications, and improving our services, provided your privacy rights do not override these interests.

Where we process Special Category Data (e.g., medical information for emergency support or safeguarding, ethnicity for statutory reporting), we do so under specific legal conditions outlined in Article 9 of the UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (such as explicit consent, vital interests in emergency scenarios, or substantial public interest for statutory monitoring).

Disclosure of Your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where lawful and necessary:

  • Educational & Delivery Partners: Sports/performing arts/Creative Media partner organisations directly involved in delivering your programme.
  • Funding & Regulatory Bodies: Funding partners and Department for Education (DfE) to meet statutory reporting, funding, and audit obligations.
  • Medical Professionals: Emergency medical services and healthcare professionals to ensure your safety and well-being during your studies.

We require all third-party data processors to respect the security of your data, treat it in accordance with UK data protection laws, and process it strictly under our documented instructions.

International Data Transfers

We store and process your data primarily within the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA). If we need to transfer personal data outside the UK or EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are put in place—such as UK International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTA) or standard contractual clauses—to guarantee your data receives an equivalent level of protection.

Data security

We maintain technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, or disclosure. We have established incident response procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach. Where legally required, we will notify you and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) without undue delay if a breach poses a risk to your rights and freedoms.

Data Retention

We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying any legal, accounting, statutory funding (e.g., DfE audit requirements), or reporting mandates. Retention periods are governed by our internal Data Retention Schedule. Once data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymized.

Your Legal Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have a range of rights regarding your personal information:

  • Right of Access: Request details of the personal data we hold about you (Subject Access Request).
  • Right to Rectification: Request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Right to Erasure: Request the deletion of your personal data where there is no compelling legal reason for us to keep processing it.
  • Right to Object / Restrict: Object to or request restriction of processing in specific circumstances.
  • For a full explanation of your individual rights, please visit the ICO Guide to Individual Rights.

Exercising Your Subject Access Rights (SAR)

You can request access to your data free of charge. However, we may charge a reasonable administrative fee or decline to comply if your request is manifestly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. We will respond to your request within one calendar month of receipt. If your request is complex or you have submitted
multiple requests, we may extend this response period by up to an additional two months (notifying you of the extension within the initial month).

To make a Subject Access Request or exercise any rights, please contact our Data Protection Lead: Gemma Halsey Email: gemma.halsey@vluk.org

Keeping your data up to date

We are required to ensure the personal data we hold is accurate and up to date. Please inform us of any changes to your details during your time with us. We may also contact you periodically to confirm your details remain correct.

Complaints

If you have any questions or concerns regarding how we process your personal data, please contact us first so we can resolve the issue: Email: info@vluk.org

You also have the right to lodge a formal complaint at any time with the UK supervisory authority for data protection:

  • Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): www.ico.org.uk Helpline: 0303 123 1113

We review this Privacy Notice regularly and reserve the right to update it at any time. Any significant updates will be communicated to you directly.

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