Privacy notice

Visitors to our website

When you visit our website we use Google analytics to collect standard internet log information and details of visitors and behaviour patterns. This information is processed in such a way that does not identify anyone. The information gathered via our websites’ servers helps us to improve the content, design and performance of the relevant site.

If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, we will make a clear statement to this effect. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it. The EWC ensures that the platform that their website is hosted on is kept up to date with the latest software and security updates, HTTPS access is enabled to ensure end to end encryption and our servers are regularly scanned by an external company to check that our servers are not vulnerable to any malicious attack.

Use of cookies

Education Workforce Council events

Secure E-mail communication

Our Fitness to Practise work use Intralinks and Criminal Justice Secure Mail. For anything else we use Egress Switch, which facilitates the secure transfer of emails and documents to non-secure e-mail addresses to ensure we meet security and data protection requirements. Please see the egress FAQs for more information.

We also monitor any e-mails sent to us, including file attachments, for viruses or malicious software. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any e-mail you send is within the bounds of the law.

Where we obtain your information

Directly from you

Application for registration
Throughout your communication with us as a registrant including through the use of “MyEWC” service.

From others

From initial teacher training institutions if undertaking a course or programme leading to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in Wales.
From employers, Pensions Agency, other teaching regulators and public bodies

What information is held on the Register of Education Practitioners?

Personal details held on the Register include registrants’ name, contact address, employment, qualifications and professional development details. We have seven registration categories, for further details https://www.ewc.wales/site/index.php/en/registration/applying-for-registration In addition, the EWC has a responsibility to record those awarded Qualified Teacher Status in Wales each year.

We have a legal obligation to hold and maintain the Register. For more information on the requirement to register please visit https://www.ewc.wales/site/index.php/en/registration/applying-for-registration

A sub-set of the data from the Register (forename, surname, employer, registration category and any disciplinary orders) is publicly available. We are not responsible for how the publically accessible information is used by those who access it.

Lawful basis for processing

The Education (Wales) Act 2014 (and any subsequent amendments) and associated regulations/legislation, sets out our functions and the information we may hold. We process your personal information so that we can provide services for you, carry out public functions (public task), and comply with applicable laws and regulations (legal obligation).

In some cases we process your personal information based on legitimate interest which means we have a genuine and legitimate reason and we are not harming any of your right and interests. Some examples of when we might use this approach include data analytics on our website. For some of our activities such as human resources functions we rely on contract as a lawful basis.

The main legal basis we rely on to process personal data is article 6(1)(e) of the GDPR, which allows us to process personal data when this is necessary to perform our public tasks as a regulator.

If the information you provide us contains special category data, such as health, religious, ethnic information or information related to our Fitness to Practise work the legal basis we rely on to process it is article 9(2)(g) of the GDPR, which also relates to our public task and the safeguarding of your fundamental rights. And Schedule 1 part 2(6) of the DPA2018 which relates to statutory and government purposes and Schedule 8 part 1 and 6 which relates to conditions for sensitive processing. Our purpose is to investigate and take regulatory action in line with our statutory duties. Processing of personal data relating to law enforcement - GDPR and Part 2, Chapter 2 DPA 2018.

The legal basis we rely on for processing things such as human resources related personal data is article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR, which relates to processing necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request, before entering a contract. The legal basis we rely on to process any information provided as part of an employment application which is special category data, such as health, religious or ethnic information is article 9(2)(b) of the GDPR, which also relates to our obligations in employment and the safeguarding of fundamental rights and article 9(2)(h) for assessing work capacity as an employee. And Schedule 1 part 1(1) and (2)(a) and (b) of the DPA2018 which relates to processing for employment, the assessment of your working capacity and preventative or occupational medicine.

How we use the information held on the Register

The information we hold on the Register is set out in legislation and enables us to perform our regulatory function.

On behalf of the Welsh Government we administer funding for induction and process information obtained from Induction Notification Forms, Induction Funding Claim Forms and Short Term Supply Notification Forms to fulfil this function. The information submitted on these forms is shared with and will be used by third parties involved in supporting the Induction period i.e. the appropriate body for the induction namely local authorities and consortia, the external verify and the induction mentor. This information will only be used by these third parties for the purposes of Induction.

We use Pebblepad, to deliver the online induction profile and the professional learning passport. For more information, please see Pebblepad’s privacy policy https://www.pebblepad.co.uk/l/privacy.aspx.

We regularly produce statistical and research reports which summarises key information from the Register. This information to feed into workforce planning and to inform policy development. On occasion, we use the information to keep you updated about professional issues.

If you chose to carry on your profession elsewhere, we may be approached by a professional regulator and other competent authority outside of the United Kingdom to validate the information that you provide to them.

When we disclose information about you

Who has access to the Register?

Registrants have access to their own record. Specific limited information is also available to employers and the general public, this is set out in legislation. The Register was developed and is maintained by a third party provider, Miller Technology. For more information, please see MillerTech’s privacy policy http://www.millertech.co.uk/privacy-policy

Redstor are used as a data management platform to store an encrypted copy of our data. Their privacy policy is available https://www.redstor.com/privacypolicy

How can I access/update my record on the Register?

Suitability and Fitness to Practise

In the event that you are subject to our Fitness to Practise proceedings, in the majority of cases, the hearing can be attended by any member of the public or press more information is available on our Fitness to Practise pages (https://www.ewc.wales/site/index.php/en/fitness-to-practise/what-is-fitness-to-practise).

Hearing outcomes including the full name, employer and details of the decision are published on the EWC website. Disciplinary orders are also available on the public register search function.

Research

The EWC has a remit to provide advice to policy makers and others on matters related to the education workforce, teaching and learning. To fulfil our remit the EWC undertakes research which then may be published on our website or presented at one of our policy briefings which are attended by education stakeholders and practitioners. When you participate in our education related research any information collected is used to undertake a statistical analysis of the data. Where appropriate the EWC may link responses to the data held on the Register of Education Practitioners in order to analyse the data by other characteristics such as age and gender. When published the information is presented at an aggregated level only. If we ever intend to share the data with a third party it would be anonymised and participants would be advised of this at the outset of the research

Registrants who apply for a grant under the Research Bursary Scheme

When registrants apply for a research bursary under the EWC scheme, they submit their information in an application form, provide details of their proposal, and an outline of the project’s potential cost. Any personal information that is provided in the application and during any research that has been awarded a grant, are used only for the purpose of reviewing the grant application and the ongoing administration and management of any grants that are awarded. We may also publish information about projects on our website.

Council, Fitness to Practise members and Initial Teacher Education accreditation board members

Personal details held include full name and contact details (home address, personal e-mail and contact telephone number), a register of interests and evidence of employment status (for financial purposes). Contact details are held to ensure Council and Fitness to Practise Committee members are sent meeting details or applicable circulations, any relevant papers and for operational and business continuity reasons. A pen picture, their register of interest and a short biography of each Council Member is publically available on our website. Annually Council members are required to participate in the ‘Members’ Review Process’ which includes completing a self-evaluation form. Collectively, this feeds into an anonymised report sent to the Welsh Government written by the Chairperson of Council. The paperwork is retained for four years after the conclusion of the members’ service.

Job applicants, current and former EWC employees

The EWC is the data controller for the information you provide during the process unless otherwise stated. If you have any queries about the process or how we handle your information please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Application and assessment

Our human resources team will use the contact details you provide to us to contact you to progress your application.

We will use the other information you provide to assess your suitability for the role you have applied for. We do not collect more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes and will not retain it for longer than is necessary. You don’t have to provide what we ask for but it might affect your application if you don’t. Our human resources team will have access to all of this information. Hiring managers will be provided with a copy of your application form to shortlist applications for interview.

You will also be asked to provide equal opportunities information. This is not mandatory information – if you don’t provide it, it will not affect your application. This information will not be made available to any staff outside of our human resources team, including hiring managers, in a way which can identify you. Any information you do provide, will be used only to produce and monitor equal opportunities statistics.

Information generated as a result of assessment and interview will be held by the EWC. If you are unsuccessful following interview for the position you have applied for, we may ask if you would like your details to be retained in our talent pool for a period of twelve months. If you say yes, we would proactively contact you should any further suitable vacancies arise.

Conditional offer

If we make a conditional offer of employment we will ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete pre-employment checks to progress to a final offer. We are required to confirm the identity of our staff, their right to work in the United Kingdom and seek assurance as to their trustworthiness, integrity and reliability.

You will therefore be required to provide:

Proof of your identity and your highest qualification – you will be asked to attend our office with original documents, we will take copies.
We will contact your referees, using the details you provide in your application, directly to obtain references.

If we make a final offer, we will also ask you for the following:

Bank details – to process salary payments.
Emergency contact details – so we know who to contact in case you have an emergency at work.
Membership of a Civil Service Pension scheme – so we can send you a questionnaire to determine whether you are eligible to re-join your previous scheme.

Use of data processors

Data processors are third parties who provide elements of our recruitment service for us. We have contracts in place with our data processors. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do it. They will not share your personal information with any organisation apart from us. They will hold it securely and retain it for the period we instruct.

Sage - If you accept a final offer from us, some of your personnel records will be held on Sage which is an internally used HR records system. Here is a link to their Privacy Notice: https://www.sage.com/en-gb/legal/privacy-and-cookies/.

MyCSP - If you accept a final offer from us, some of your details will be provided to MyCSP who are the administrators of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, of which the EWC is a member organisation. You will be auto-enrolled into the pension scheme and details provided to MyCSP will be your name, date of birth, National Insurance number and salary. Your bank details will not be passed to MyCSP at this time.

How long is the information retained for?

If you are successful, the information you provide during the application process will be retained by us as part of your employee file for the duration of your employment plus 6 years following the end of your employment.

If you are unsuccessful at any stage of the recruitment and selection process, the information you have provided, or that has been generated as part of the process until that point (such as interview notes), will be retained for 6 months from the closure of the campaign.

Anonymised information which tells us about the effectiveness of recruitment campaigns, for example, where candidates saw the vacancy advertised and equal opportunities information for monitoring purposes, will be retained for 6 years from the end of the campaign.

Accuracy of your information

We will strive to ensure that information about you is accurate and up to date when we collect or use it. You can help us to achieve this by keeping us informed of any changes to the information we hold about you.

What are your rights?

You may request to see your personal information or have it corrected. Under the Data Protection law (Data Protection Act 2018 and the General data Protection Regulations (GDPR) you have rights we need to make you aware of. The rights available too you depend on our reason for processing your information.

Right to be informed – privacy information is available via the EWC privacy notice;
Right of access - you have a right to see the personal information that we hold on you and some other supplementary data. These rights are commonly referred to as ‘subject access’. We will require proof of identity before disclosing any information. We will respond to your request without undue delay and at the latest within one month of receipt. There are exemptions which may mean that we do not need to comply with all, or part, of your request.
Right to rectification – you have a right to ask us to rectify information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Right to erasure– you have the right (in certain specific circumstances) for your data to be ‘erased’
Right to restrict processing – you have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information. This right is limited where the processing is based on legitimate interests and/or is for the purpose of research and statistics
Right to object to processing –you have the right (in certain specific circumstances) to object to processing
Right to data portability - the right to ask that we transfer information about you to another organisation. This right only applies if we are processing information based on your consent, or under a contract and the processing is automated.

Retention of information about you

The length of time we keep your information for will depend on why we need to process it. We hold your data for as long as is needed provide you with a service or conduct our business in accordance with our functions and our records management policy. We will keep it in line with our retention schedule, legislative requirements and best practice guidance until the data is no longer needed for the purpose it was collected. Following this the information will be destroyed and disposed of in a secure manner. If we are required to keep the information for statistical purposes we will anonymise or pseudonymise it where possible. More information available .

Information management strategy

We manage the information we hold with aim of reaching the right balance between making information more widely available to the public, whilst protecting individual confidentiality and ensuring that adequate protection is in place.

Our information management polices include how we:

respond to subject access and Freedom of Information requests
secure the information we hold
ensure the information created, collected and stored and is proportionate to the need , and is retained only for as long as it is needed.

Your right to complain

Freedom of information (FoI)

The Freedom of Information Act:

allows you to see information held by us;
requires us to have a publication scheme.

Some information is available via our publication scheme which can be viewed here . If the information is not available via our publication scheme to make a FoI request:

make a request in writing to the Data Collection and Reporting Manager;
state clearly the information or documents you would like to access, providing as much detail as possible;
provide your name and address;
state the media by which you would like the information to be sent to you, for example, by mail, fax or e-mail.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request and/or our response, you have a right to request an internal review or to make a complaint.
Complaints can be made through the EWC’s feedback and complaints process https://www.ewc.wales/site/index.php/en/about/feedback-and-complaints.html

Where you are dissatisfied with the way that your request for information has been dealt with and you have been unable to obtain satisfaction through discussion with the Officer dealing with the matter, you may request an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of our initial response. Please write to Elizabeth Brimble, Director of Qualifications, Registration and Fitness to Practise, Education Workforce Council 9th Floor, Eastgate House 35-43 Newport Road Cardiff CF24 0AB.

Your letter of appeal will be acknowledged within five working days and dealt with within 20 working days, providing full details of the outcome of the review.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review/ with our response you may appeal/have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. Requests for a review by the ICO should be made in writing to: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF

How to contact us

The EWC is the controller for the personal information we process. If you wish to talk though anything in our privacy policy, find out more about your rights or obtain a copy of the information we hold about you, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For general contacts please use https://www.ewc.wales/site/index.php/en/contact-us

Data Protection Officer’s contact details

Education Workforce Council