1.Introduction

Debate Mate Limited is a company registered in the United Kingdom under number 8663430 and whose registered office is at Tripod Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton Hill, London, SW2 1RW.

Our Privacy Policy is part of our commitment to protect any personal information which you may provide to us through this website or by other means. Please note that this Privacy Policy does not apply to other websites which may be linked through this website. Personal Information which you provide to other websites will be subject to the Privacy Policies of those websites.

The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) in Europe and other related laws protecting personal data (the “Law”) regulate the way in which all personal data is held and processed.  This policy describes how personal data must be collected, handled, stored, disclosed and otherwise “processed” to meet the Debate Mate Limited’s (referred to as ‘The Company’ throughout this policy) data protection standards and to comply with the Law. The meaning of the terms “personal data” and “processing” are provided in sections 4 and 5 below.

Debate Mate Limited  regards the lawful and correct treatment of personal data as integral to our successful operations, and to maintain the confidence of the people we work with. To this end, we fully endorse and adhere to the principles of the Law.

2. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that:

(A)       everyone involved in the processing of personal data at the Company is fully aware of, and complies with, the requirements of the Law; and

(B)       data subjects (a “data subject” being a person to whom personal data relates) are aware of their rights under the Law.

3. Scope

All staff, consultants and other authorised third parties who have access to any personal data held by or on behalf of the Company must adhere to this policy.

4. Personal Data

In this policy, “personal data” includes any data which relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data or from that data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, Debate Mate Limited or its representatives or service providers. In addition to factual information, it includes any expression of opinion about an individual and any indication of the intentions of the Company or any other person in respect of an individual. References to a “data subject” are to the individual whose data is being used.

Certain personal data is considered to be particularly sensitive and is subject to stricter rules regarding its processing. These categories of personal data are referred to as “sensitive personal data” and include any personal data relating to the racial or ethnic origin of the data subject; their political opinions; their religious (or similar) beliefs; their physical or mental health condition; details of criminal offences or criminal convictions  (including the commission or alleged commission of any offence, any proceedings for any offence committed or alleged to have been committed and the disposal of such proceedings or the sentence of any court in such proceedings) and genetic and biometric data.

Debate Mate Limited only holds personal data which is directly relevant to its dealings with a given data subject. That data will be held and processed in accordance with the Law and this policy. When we collect your personal data:

  • When you visit our website ( www.debatematelimited.com) and submit your Personal Details if you sign up for an account.
  • When you purchase a service, we will collect personal/ company identifying information for payment purposes.
  • When you engage with us on Social Media (Linked/Instagram).
  • During scoping business calls/ meetings.

Personal data collected by Debate Mate Limited generally collected in order to:

(A)       ensure that Debate Mate Limited can facilitate efficient transactions with, and perform its obligations and exercise its rights under contracts with, third parties including, but not limited to, its customers, partners, associates and affiliates;

(B)       efficiently manage its employees, contractors, mentors,and consultants;

(C)       efficiently and effectively manage its business, including its relationship with teachers and schools; and

(D)       meet all relevant obligations imposed by law.

5. Processing Personal Data

The word “process” (and any derivative term) includes any operation that is carried out in respect of personal data, including but not limited to collecting, storing, using, disclosing, transferring or deleting personal data.

An explanation of the lawful grounds for which personal data may be processed by Debate Mate Limited is provided in section 9 below.

Personal data may be disclosed within Debate Mate Limited and may be passed from one department to another in accordance with the data protection principles and this policy. Under no circumstances will personal data be passed to any department or any individual within Debate Mate Limited that does not reasonably require access to that personal data in order to achieve the purpose(s) for which it was collected and is being processed.

No department or individual within Debate Mate Limited may process personal data for any reason other than for the lawful purposes for which it was collected and is being processed.

6. Cookies

We use small text files commonly known as cookies to collect information on the performance of our Website. Personal information is not collected; the data simply allows us to monitor how well our website is working and insights to improve the user experience. We may from time to time run remarketing campaigns through Google which will display advertisements for our products on some of your future browsing on websites that support digital display advertising.

(Information on cookies can be found here www.aboutcookies.org).

If you do not want us to use cookies in this way you may disable their use (for more information on how to do this visit www.dma.org.uk). If you do not disable cookies, you are consenting to their use on this Website. Please note if you do disable cookies the performance of the website may be affected and you may not be able to take advantage of the full range of services we offer.

We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website. Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies, which are stored on users’ computers. The information generated relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of the website. Google will store this information and their privacy policy is available at: http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html

7. The Data Protection Principles

Any person processing personal data must comply with the following core principles:

(A)       Lawfulness, fairness and transparency. Personal data must be processed fairly, transparently and lawfully. An individual’s personal data must not be processed unless there is a lawful ground for doing so and a data subject must be informed of how and why their personal data will be processed by the Company upon or before collecting it.

(B)       Purpose limitation. Personal data must be processed only for specified and lawful purposes.  Personal data must not be processed in any manner which is incompatible with those purposes.

(C)       Data minimisation. The personal data that is processed must be adequate, relevant and limited to the minimum data necessary for the lawful purposes for which it is processed.

(D)       Accuracy. Personal data must be accurate and, where appropriate, kept up-to-date. Any personal data which is incorrect must be rectified as soon as possible.

(E)        Data retention. Personal data must be kept for no longer than is necessary in light of the lawful purpose(s) for which it is processed.

(F)        Rights of data subjects. Personal data must be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects. Data subjects will have the right to see copies of their personal data, to have inaccuracies corrected and to object to the processing of their personal data or to have their personal data deleted if it is no longer required by the Company for another important reason.

(G)       Security. Personal data must be protected against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage through appropriate technical and organisational measures.

(H)       International data transfers. Personal data must not be transferred to a country or territory outside of the European Economic Area unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data.

(I)         Accountability. The Company and its third party service providers are responsible for and must be able to demonstrate their compliance with this policy.

8. Consent

Personal data must only be processed if the purpose of the processing satisfies one of the lawful grounds permitted under the Law. There are various legitimate reasons for which personal data can be collected and used.  One such reason is that the individual has consented to the use of their data. Other applicable reasons are described in section 9 below.

If consent is being relied on to justify using a person’s personal data, it must satisfy each of the following criteria:

(A)       the consent must be limited to specific processing activities;

(B)       the data subject must have been informed about the processing activities in sufficient detail so as to be able to fully understand what they are consenting to;

(C)       the consent must be “freely given”. In other words, the data subject must have a genuine free choice as to whether they give the consent. Consent will not be freely given where there is a “significant imbalance of power” such that the individual does not really have a free choice about giving consent;

(D)       the performance of a contract or delivery of a service cannot be made conditional upon the data subject giving their consent to the data processing, unless the data processing is required in order to perform the contract or deliver the service;

(E)        the consent must be given by way of an unambiguous statement or some other clear, active communication by the data subject, such as signing a form. Consent cannot be inferred from silence or inactivity (for example, the use of pre-ticked boxes); and

(F)        the consent to the processing of personal data must be clearly distinguished from other matters that the data subject is asked to agree to (for example, it should not be buried within the terms of a broader contract that the data subject is asked to sign).

Where the processing relates to sensitive personal data, the data subject’s “explicit” consent must be obtained, ideally by way of a signed statement or other means which very clearly and demonstrably indicate the consent of the data subject.

A record of consents should be retained by the Company to evidence that it has been authorised to carry out the processing of a data subject’s personal data.

It is important to note that a data subject has the right to withdraw their consent at any time and it must be as easy for a data subject to withdraw consent as it was for them to provide it in the first place. It is important that there are appropriate processes in place to promptly action any withdrawal of consent.

9. Grounds for Processing Personal Data

As noted above, consent is not the only basis on which personal data can be collected and used.  There are other lawful grounds for processing personal data that Debate Mate Limited may be able to rely upon.

This section describes the lawful grounds for processing which are most likely to be relevant to Debate Mate Limited’s processing activities. If you are unable to satisfy one of these grounds then you should contact the Executive Director and Educational Development Director via dataprotection@debatemate.com for advice as to whether the proposed processing activities can be undertaken.

Non-sensitive personal data

The legal grounds for processing non-sensitive personal data include:

(A)       where the data subject has given their consent to the processing of their personal data. The requirements for obtaining a valid consent are explained in section 8 above;

(B)       where the processing is in the Debate Mate Limited’s legitimate interests and does not cause unwarranted prejudice to the data subject;

(C)       where the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party, or for the taking of steps (at the request of the data subject) with a view to entering into a contract; or

(D)       where the processing is required by law.

Sensitive personal information

Sensitive personal data is subject to stricter legal controls and the circumstances in which it can be processed are more limited than in respect of other personal data. The legal grounds for processing sensitive personal data include:

(A)       where the data subject has given their explicit consent;

(B)       where the processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising rights of Debate Mate Limited or the data subject in the field of employment law or social security law;

(C)       for the purposes of occupational health or the assessment of the working capacity of an employee;

(D)       for equal opportunity purposes, where the processing is necessary for the purpose of identifying or keeping under review the existence or absence of equality of opportunity or treatment between persons of different racial or ethnic origins, with a view to enabling such equality to be promoted or maintained; or

(E)        where the processing is necessary for the purpose of, or in connection with, any legal proceedings, obtaining legal advice, or establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.

The lists above set out the commonly applicable grounds for using personal data and sensitive personal data.  There are other grounds that have more limited application.  If you are unable to satisfy one of these grounds then you should contact the Educational Development Director and the Executive Director via dataprotection@debatemate.com for advice as to whether the proposed processing activities can be undertaken.

Fair Processing Information

Any forms (whether paper-based or web-based) that gather data on an individual should contain a statement explaining what the information is to be used for and to whom it may be disclosed.

Regardless of how personal data is obtained (whether it is obtained from the data subject or from a third party), the data subject must be provided with certain information about the processing of their personal data by the Company. This information must be provided at or before the time at which the personal data is collected (or, if the personal data is obtained from a third party, within a reasonable time of obtaining the personal data or at the time of the first communication with the data subject, whichever is earlier).

10. Disclosure of Data

Debate Mate Limited must ensure that personal data is not disclosed to unauthorised third parties. All staff should exercise caution when asked to disclose any personal data to a third party. This section does not apply to data processors, which are addressed bove.

Personal data should not be disclosed orally or in writing to third parties without the consent of the data subject and approval from the Executive Director and Educational Development Director.

In some circumstances, the Law permits the disclosure of personal data without needing to obtain the prior consent of the data subject. Such disclosures might (depending on the circumstances) be permitted where this is:

(A)       necessary to safeguard national security;

(B)       necessary for the prevention or detection of crime, in the substantial public interest, and where obtaining consent from the data subject would prejudice that purpose;

(C)       necessary for the administration of justice;

(D)       necessary to comply with applicable law; or

(E)        necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject (this refers to life and death situations), but only where their consent cannot be obtained.

Requests for personal data from third parties must be supported by appropriate paperwork and any disclosures must be approved by the Educational Development Director and the Executive Director.

The information provided to the data subject must include the following:

(F)        the identity and contact details of the Executive Programme Director and Educational Development Director;

(G)       the categories of personal data collected in relation to the data subject;

(H)       if the personal data is not obtained from the data subject, the source(s) of the personal data;

(I)         the purpose(s) for which personal data will be processed, including the legal ground for the processing (see section 8 above). If the legal ground involves “legitimate interests”, a description of those legitimate interests must also be provided;

(J)         if personal data is processed based on the data subject’s consent, an explanation of the data subject’s right to withdraw their consent at any time;

(K)       the categories of personal data that may be disclosed to third parties and the reasons for these disclosures;

(L)        if the data processing is a contractual requirement, whether the data subject is obliged to provide the personal data on that basis, and the possible consequences of a failure to provide the information;

(M)      any intention to transfer the personal data outside the European Economic Area and information about the level of protection that will be afforded to the transferred data (including details of how the legal requirements for the transfer will be satisfied);

(N)       information about the existence of any automated decision making (for example, profiling) undertaken by Debate Mate Limited’s based on the personal data, including details of the logic involved and its impact on the data subject;

(O)       the period for which the personal data will be retained, or (if it is not possible to provide a specific time period) the criteria that will be used to determine the retention period;

(P)        a general description of Debate Mate Limited’s policies and practices with respect to protecting the confidentiality and security of personal data;

(Q)       the existence of the data subject’s rights; and

(R)       any other information that is necessary to guarantee that the processing of the personal data is fair in the circumstances.

This information must be provided in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language that will be easy for the data subject to understand.

If any of the information described above changes after it has been provided to the data subject, the data subject must be provided with an updated copy of the information.

Third Party Service Providers

Where Debate Mate Limited instructs a third party to process personal data on behalf of the Company (referred to as a “data processor”), the third party must enter into a written agreement with the Company that:

(S)        provides details of the processing of personal data that they are being instructed to carry out;

(T)        requires the third party to process the personal data only in accordance with the Company’s written instructions and to the extent necessary for them to fulfil their obligations to the Company under the agreement;

(U)       requires the third party to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures and controls to ensure the confidentiality and security of the personal data; and

(V)       imposes any additional data processing obligations required by law. Guidance on the additional legal obligations that the agreement must include can be obtained from the Executive Director and Education Development Director.

The data processing agreement should be approved by the Educational Development Director and Executive Director, and signed by both parties before any personal data is transferred to the data processor.

When contracting with a data processor, it is important that Debate Mate Limited conduct appropriate due diligence both at the outset of the relationship and on a periodic basis thereafter, to ensure that the data processor is capable of complying, and does comply, with the requirements referred to in paragraphs (B) – (D) above.

11. International Transfers of Personal Data

Specific legal requirements apply to the transfer of personal data out of the European Economic Area (“EEA”). The “transfer” of data includes sending data to another country or allowing that data to be accessed remotely in another country, regardless of whether the Company transfers personal data outside the EEA itself or a data processor does so when acting on the Debate Mate Limited’s behalf.

Personal data must not be transferred outside the EEA unless the recipient country ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects. This requirement can be satisfied by:

(A)       the recipient country having been subject to an “adequacy determination” by the European Commission (to date, only a handful of countries are subject to an adequacy determination, such as Canada and Israel);

(B)       the entry into a data transfer agreement between the Company and the non-EEA recipient of the personal data which contains standard contractual clauses that have been approved by the European Commission; or

(C)       certification of a US recipient under the EU-US Privacy Shield scheme.

Before such a transfer takes place, you must first check with the Educational Development Director or Executive Director to determine whether the transfer is lawful. 

12. Retention and Disposal of Data

Personal data must not be retained for longer than is necessary for the lawful purposes for which it is processed. To achieve this, each category of personal data processed by the Debate Mate Limited  must be subject to a retention period which can be justified by reference to those lawful grounds. Retention periods must be monitored and, upon their expiry, the relevant personal data must be deleted or anonymised (so that it is no longer possible to identify the data subject to whom the personal data relates).

For example, once an employee has left Debate Mate Limited, it will not be necessary to retain all the information held on them because much of this is only required to administer the employment relationship, such as bank details for salary payments. Some data will need to be kept for longer periods than others, for example where it is necessary to retain certain records in order for Debate Mate Limited to comply with its legal obligations.

Personal data must be disposed of securely in a way that protects the rights and privacy of data subjects and ensures the permanent erasure of the data (e.g. shredding, disposal as confidential waste, or secure electronic deletion). Hard drives of redundant PCs should be wiped clean before disposal.

13. Data Protection and Data Security

It is critical that Debate Mate Limited protects the personal data in its possession or control by applying appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect the data.

In addition to the specific security policies that apply, all staff must comply with the following when processing and / or transmitting personal data:

(A)       Personal data, whether held electronically or in paper form, must be kept securely at all times. Debate Mate Limited staff, consultants and authorised third parties must ensure that appropriate technical and organisational measures are in place to prevent unauthorised or accidental access, use, disclosure, loss or damage when personal data is being processed (including but not limited to when it is at rest or in transit).  Technical measures, for example, include using encryption tools to protect personal data held in electronic form. Organisational measures, for example, include storing paper records containing personal data in locked cabinets.

(B)       It is essential that if personal data is lost, damaged, compromised, misdirected or stolen, or otherwise processed in an unauthorised manner, that it is reported to Educational Development Director or Executive Director via dataprotection@debatemate.com.

(C)       Care must be taken to ensure that appropriate security measures are in place for the deletion or disposal of personal data in accordance with section 14 above.

(D)       Personal data should not be disclosed except in accordance with sections 11 and 12 above.

14. Data Subject Rights

Data subjects are entitled to exercise certain rights in respect of their personal data. These rights include access to the personal data held by Debate Mate Limited about them, the right to require the rectification of their data (where it is incorrect) and in certain circumstances the right to object to the processing of their personal data or to require it to be erased.

Data subjects have a number of legal rights in relation to their personal data. These rights include:

(A)       the right to obtain information regarding the processing of their personal data and access to the personal data which Debate Mate Limited hold about them (or which is held on the Company’s behalf);

(B)       the right to receive a copy of any personal data which Debate Mate Limited processes about them;

(C)       the right to request that Debate Mate Limited rectify their personal data if it is inaccurate or incomplete;

(D)       the right to request that Debate Mate Limited erase their personal data in certain circumstances. This may include (but is not limited to) circumstances in which:

(1)    it is no longer necessary for Debate Mate Limited to retain their personal data for the purposes for which we collected it; or

(2)    Debate Mate Limited are only entitled to process the data subject’s personal data with their consent (i.e. because no other lawful ground for processing the personal data applies), and the data subject withdraws their consent; and

(E)        the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, if the data subject thinks that any of their rights have been infringed by the Company.

Requests to exercise these rights should be sent to the Executive Director and Educational Development Director immediately upon receipt.

15. Record Keeping

Accurate and up to date records of the processing activities carried out by the Company must be maintained within the organisation. These records must include:

(A)       details of the Executive Director and Educational Development Director;

(B)       the purposes of the processing;

(C)       the categories of data subject;

(D)       the categories of recipients of personal data;

(E)        the categories of transfers of personal data to countries outside the European Economic Area;

(F)        the envisaged time limits for erasure of the personal data (where possible); and

(G)       a general description of the technical and organisational security measures adopted by Debate Mate Limited.

The Executive Director and Educational Development Director will keep a central record of the Company’s processing activities and new processing activities or material changes to existing processing activities must be notified to the Executive Director and Educational Development Director.

16. Roles and Responsibilities

The Debate Mate Limited board of trustees are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the Company meets its legal obligations.

The Executive Director and Educational Development Director are responsible for:

(A)       keeping the Company board updated about data protection responsibilities, risks and issues;

(B)       reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies;

(C)       arranging data protection training and advice for employees;

(D)       handling all data protection queries for employees;

(E)        dealing with all requests from individuals to see the data the Company holds about them (Subject Access Requests); and

(F)        checking and approving any contracts or agreements with data processors.

The Executive Director and Educational Development Director are also responsible for:

(A)   ensuring all systems, services and equipment used for storing personal data meet acceptable security standards;

(B)    performing regular checks to ensure hardware and software if functioning properly; and

(C)    evaluating any third party services the Company is considering using to store or process personal data (i.e. cloud services).

17. Your Rights

In all the above cases in which we collect, use or store your Personal Data, you may have the following rights and, in most cases, you can exercise them free of charge. These rights include:

● the right to obtain information regarding the processing of your Personal Data and access to the Personal Data which we hold about you;

● the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of your Personal Data at any time. Please note, however, that we may still be entitled to process your Personal Data if we have another legitimate reason for doing so. For example, we may need to retain Personal Data to comply with a legal obligation, such as mentor DBS information;

● in some circumstances, the right to receive some Personal Data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and/or request that we transmit those data to a third party where this is technically feasible. Please note that this right only applies to Personal Data which you have provided directly to Debate Mate Schools Limited;

● the right to request that we rectify your Personal Data if it is inaccurate or incomplete;

● the right to request that we erase your Personal Data in certain circumstances. Please note that there may be circumstances where you ask us to erase your Personal Data but we are legally entitled to retain it;

● the right to object to, or request that we restrict, our processing of your Personal Data in certain circumstances. Again, there may be circumstances where you object to, or ask us to restrict, our processing of your Personal Data but we are legally entitled to refuse that request; and

● the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection regulator if you think that any of your rights have been infringed by us. 

You can exercise your rights by contacting us using the details listed in section 9 above.