Privacy Policy

Last updated: 9 November 2026

CTSW Skills Ltd (“CTSW”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of learners, parents and carers, employers, staff, visitors and other people who contact us. This policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information when you visit ctswskillsltd.co.uk/, enquire about our education and training services, apply for a course or apprenticeship, or otherwise interact with us.

1. Who we are

CTSW Skills Ltd is a private training organisation based in Plymouth, providing education, training and progression pathways for young people and adults. The company is registered in England and Wales under company number 11376498. CTSW Skills Ltd is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy, unless we tell you otherwise.

CTSW Skills Ltd
West Wing, Drakes Hill Court, 27 Burrington Way, Honicknowle, Plymouth, Devon, PL5 3LR, United Kingdom
Telephone: 01752 782 046
Email: learning@ctswskillsltd.co.uk
Website: ctswskillsltd.co.uk/

2. Whose information we may collect

Depending on your relationship with CTSW, we may process information about:

Prospective and current learners, including pre-16 learners, post-16 learners, apprentices and adult learners.
Parents, carers, guardians and other representatives who contact us or support a learner.
Employers, placement providers, training partners and their staff.
People who apply for jobs, work with us, visit our premises or contact us through the website.

3. The information we collect

Identity and contact details: name, date of birth where needed, address, telephone number, email address and emergency contact details.
Enquiry and application details: course or programme of interest, education history, qualifications, application information and communications with our team.
Learning and progress information: enrolment, attendance, assessments, achievements, qualifications, support arrangements and progression information.
Safeguarding and welfare information: information relevant to learner safety, welfare, support needs and safeguarding concerns, where necessary and appropriate to our responsibilities.
Additional support information: information about special educational needs, disabilities, health or adjustments where it is necessary to assess and provide appropriate support. This may include special category personal data.
Employer and placement information: employer contact details, workplace arrangements, apprenticeship information and communications about training or progress.
Website and technical information: IP address, browser and device information, pages visited, form submissions and information collected through cookies or similar technologies, where enabled.
Communications and records: emails, telephone notes, feedback, complaints, incident records and other correspondence with CTSW.

4. How we collect information

We may collect information directly from learners, parents or carers, employers, applicants and other people who contact us. We may also receive relevant information from schools, local authorities, employers, education or training partners, awarding organisations, government bodies and other organisations involved in education, funding, learner support or safeguarding. We collect limited technical information automatically when people use our website, depending on the technologies in operation.

5. How we use personal information

To respond to enquiries and provide information about courses, qualifications, apprenticeships and other training opportunities.
To process applications, assess suitability, manage enrolment and provide education and training.
To monitor attendance, learning progress, achievement, support requirements and progression.
To communicate with learners, parents or carers, employers and relevant education or training partners.
To provide appropriate learner support, including additional learning support and safeguarding or welfare support.
To administer funding, assessment, examinations, qualifications, audits and reporting requirements.
To manage recruitment, employment, visitors, premises security, health and safety and business administration.
To respond to feedback, complaints, incidents and requests to exercise legal rights.
To maintain and improve our website, systems, services and information security.
To meet legal, regulatory, contractual and public-interest responsibilities.

6. Our lawful bases for processing

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for using personal information. Depending on the circumstances and the information involved, we may rely on:

Legal obligation: where processing is necessary to meet legal or regulatory duties applying to an education and training provider.
Public task: where processing is necessary for a task carried out in the public interest or under official authority, where this basis applies to the relevant activity.
Contract: where processing is necessary to take steps at your request or perform an agreement, such as an apprenticeship or training arrangement.
Legitimate interests: where necessary for our legitimate operational interests, such as responding to enquiries, managing relationships, maintaining security and improving services, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights.
Consent: where we ask for consent for a specific activity and rely on it as our lawful basis. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Where we process special category information, such as health or disability information, we will also identify and rely on an applicable additional condition under data protection law. Where information about criminal convictions or offences is processed, we will do so only where permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

7. Safeguarding and sensitive information

As an education and training provider, CTSW may need to collect and use information to help protect learners and respond to safeguarding or welfare concerns. We will handle this information carefully, restrict access to people who need it for their role and share it with relevant authorities or professionals where necessary and lawful to protect an individual or meet our safeguarding responsibilities.

8. Who we may share information with

We share personal information only where necessary, appropriate and lawful. Depending on the circumstances, recipients may include:

Schools, colleges, local authorities and other education providers involved in a learner’s education or support.
Employers, apprenticeship providers, workplace mentors and placement organisations.
Government departments, funding bodies, regulators and public authorities, where required for funding, monitoring, inspection or statutory purposes.
Awarding organisations, examination bodies and qualification providers.
Safeguarding agencies, social care services, the police, health professionals or other relevant bodies where necessary to protect a learner or meet legal duties.
Parents, carers or guardians where appropriate and lawful, taking account of the learner’s age, circumstances and rights.
Website hosting, IT, communications, learning platform and other service providers acting on our behalf.
Professional advisers, insurers and legal representatives where necessary.

We do not sell personal information. Where a supplier processes information for us, we require appropriate confidentiality and security safeguards. Some organisations may act as independent controllers and will process information under their own privacy notices.

9. International transfers

If a service provider processes personal information outside the United Kingdom, we will take steps required by UK data protection law to ensure that an appropriate level of protection applies, such as an adequacy regulation or an approved contractual safeguard where required.

10. How long we keep information

We retain information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, taking account of education, funding, safeguarding, employment, audit, contractual and legal requirements. Retention periods may differ for learner files, safeguarding records, applications, staff records, financial records and general enquiries. We apply retention arrangements appropriate to the record type and securely delete or anonymise information when it is no longer required, unless the law requires a longer period.

11. Keeping information secure

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration or disclosure. Access is limited to people who need information for their responsibilities. No method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

12. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and subject to legal exemptions, you may have the right to:

Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Ask us to erase information in certain circumstances.
Ask us to restrict or object to certain processing.
Request information you provided to us in a portable format, where applicable.
Withdraw consent where we rely on consent.

These rights are not absolute and may be limited where, for example, we must retain or disclose information to meet legal, safeguarding or regulatory responsibilities. To make a request, contact us using the details in section 1. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

13. Children and young people

Our services may be used by learners under the age of 18. We take particular care when handling children’s personal information and consider their age, understanding, rights and welfare when responding to requests or sharing information. Where appropriate, we may communicate with a parent, carer or guardian, while also respecting the learner’s rights and confidentiality.

14. Cookies and website use

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies. Please see our Cookie Policy for information about cookie categories and how to manage your choices.

15. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to external websites, resources or services. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please review the relevant privacy information before providing personal information to another organisation.

16. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we use your personal information, please contact us first so we can investigate. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes to our services, website, data processing or legal requirements. The latest version will be published on this page with its updated date.

18. Contact us

For questions about this policy or to exercise your data protection rights, contact:
CTSW Skills Ltd
West Wing, Drakes Hill Court, 27 Burrington Way, Honicknowle, Plymouth, Devon, PL5 3LR
Email: learning@ctswskillsltd.co.uk
Telephone: 01752 782 046