Smart School Councils Privacy Notice

This notice explains how Smart School Councils uses, shares, and stores personal data. It was last reviewed in May 2026 and will next be reviewed in May 2027.

Smart School Councils as Data Controller

We are the Data Controller for personal data we collect directly from website visitors, members, and people who contact us. Our contact details for data protection matters are at the bottom of this notice. For pupil data entered into our Class Meeting Tool, the School is the Data Controller and we are the Data Processor. See our Data Sharing Agreement for the details.

Visitors to our website

We use Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity to collect anonymous information about how visitors use our website. Microsoft Clarity records anonymous session interactions (clicks, scrolls, mouse movements) which help us understand and improve the user experience. Neither service collects information that personally identifies you.

To opt out of Google Analytics across all websites, visit tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. To opt out of Microsoft Clarity, use the browser-level Do Not Track setting or visit clarity.microsoft.com.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. We use cookies to make our website work and to collect anonymous usage information. To manage your cookies, see aboutcookies.org.

Sending resources and updates

We use ActiveCampaign to send our free school council guide, newsletters, and other resources. ActiveCampaign collects opening and click statistics. See ActiveCampaign's privacy policy for details. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of any email we send.

Email support

We use Front to handle email support enquiries from teachers. Front collects standard email interaction statistics. See Front's privacy policy for details.

Our website and platform hosting

Our marketing website at smartschoolcouncils.org is built on Squarespace. Our Class Meeting Tool platform is built on WordPress and hosted by Outlandish on AWS in the EEA. Our school onboarding, partnership data, and question bank are hosted by Supabase in the United Kingdom (eu-west-2 London region). Our marketing and tooling pages, school search service, and ActiveCampaign proxy run on Hostinger servers in the United Kingdom.

Members and Class Meeting Tool users

For Schools that become members of Smart School Councils, we provide email support using ActiveCampaign. We hold data on each member School and usage statistics to provide accurate support. For Schools that use our Class Meeting Tool, we collect the data set out in our Data Sharing Agreement. No pupil last names, contact details, or special category data are collected. Pupil first names and class names are not shared externally or published online.

Partnership and cohort sharing

Schools that join a partnership cohort (with a Local Authority, multi-academy trust, or diocese) may have a defined, limited subset of data shared with the Partner Organisation under a separate Cohort Data Sharing Addendum. The data shared in this case is restricted to the lead teacher's name and email, class meeting topics, and anonymised vote counts. Pupil comments, names, action items, and any sensitive data are never shared with the Partner Organisation.

Complaints to us

If you make a complaint to us, we will create a file with the details. This will normally contain your identity and any other individuals involved. We use this information only to handle the complaint and to monitor our service quality. We retain complaint files for two years after closure.

Your rights

You have the following rights under the UK GDPR:

  • The right to be informed about how your data is used

  • The right of access

  • The right to rectification of inaccurate data

  • The right to erasure

  • The right to restrict processing

  • The right to data portability

  • The right to object

  • Rights in relation to automated decision-making

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at greg@smartschoolcouncils.org.

Complaints to the ICO

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Changes to this notice

We review this notice annually. It was last updated in May 2026.

How to contact us

Greg Sanderson, Smart School Councils, The Gateway, 85-101 Sankey Street, Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 1SR. Email: greg@smartschoolcouncils.org