The services process personal information to manage and administer Learning Services either directly or jointly with partners and commissioned private and third-sector providers. This includes:

• delivering courses across Worcestershire
• creating and maintaining a Unique Learner Number (ULN) and an Individual Learning Record (ILR) for learners
• meeting statutory requirements, such as reporting to the Government on courses
• service improvement and planning
• prevention and detection of crime
• financial transactions
• research, including consultations
• equality monitoring

The service processes personal information relevant to individual cases, which may include but is not limited to:
 

• course details of the course(s) you have signed up to
• personal details, including name, address, date of birth, home and mobile phone numbers, and emergency contact information
• personal reference numbers such as Unique Learner Numbers, National Insurance numbers, and case management system references
• your education history, including current qualifications
• employment status details
• relevant financial information

We may also process special category (sensitive) information relevant to individual cases, including but not limited to:

• health or learning difficulties or physical disabilities
• ethnicity

The legal bases for processing this personal information are:

• contract for the supply of services
• compliance with a legal obligation
• tasks carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority
• consent, for example, for research questionnaires

We may need to share the personal information you provide or that we collect about you with partner organisations where relevant to the individual and/or their use of the learning provision. These include but are not limited to:

• other Worcestershire County Council services as appropriate, including Legal Services
• voluntary agency partners
• government departments
• national regulators and agencies
• other local authorities
• third-party contractors
• funding bodies
• Worcestershire District and City Councils
• The Department for Education (DfE), including the Learning Records Service (LRS) and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)
• the English European Social Fund (ESF) Managing Authority or its agents
• the National Careers Service

Information will only be shared when strictly necessary to provide effective services, and you may have the right to refuse. We will not pass your information to any other parties unless required by law or in all reasonable circumstances where disclosure is fair and warranted for processing purposes or subject to a data protection exemption.

Specific data-sharing agreements are in place with local agencies, and sometimes the law requires us to share your details with third parties, for example, to prevent crime.

The standard record retention periods are as follows:

• for courses funded solely by the ESFA, data is retained for 6 years after the academic year in which your enrolment occurs
• for courses funded through ESFA match-funding with the European Social Fund, data is retained for three years after the European Commission’s final payment. For the 2014–2020 ESF Programme, this is expected to be until at least 31 December 2030
• additional legal holds under the Inquiries Act 2005 may override standard retention periods

Further information about retention periods can be found in our Disposal Schedule (Excel spreadsheet)

You are entitled to:

• a copy or description of the personal data we hold about you, subject to lawful restrictions. See more information on how to Make a Data Protection Request
• rectification, restriction, objection, or erasure of your personal information depending on the service and legal basis. Please contact Valda Simms via email at vsimms@worcestershire.gov.uk or call 01905 843521 to exercise these rights

To comply with data protection legislation, we provide you with a copy of the Learning Records Service Privacy Notice. Please visit ILR Privacy Notice 2024–2025 for further details.

By signing up for our courses, you confirm that you have read this privacy notice.

Please see our overarching Privacy Notice for further contact details and if you have a complaint about your information rights.