Evaluation of the Peep Exploring Together Programme

Supporting the foundations of Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths – Privacy Notice

Introduction

The Peep Exploring Together Programme - supporting the foundations of Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM) provides a package of training and resources to early years practitioners and families. The programme encourages parents to identify and make the most of STEM opportunities that are part of their everyday life – and then to explore these with their children in fun and engaging ways. It has been designed by Peeple, a charity whose main purpose is to support parents/carers, babies and children to learn together – by valuing and building on what families already do. Peep-trained practitioners and families share information and ideas from their evidence-based Peep Learning Together Programme (LTP) about how to make the most of learning opportunities that surround us in everyday life and play. Peeple are referred to as the ‘Delivery Team’ in this Privacy Notice.

Peeple had received funding to develop and evaluate the Exploring Together Programme from a grant issued by the Mercers’ Company, as part of their philanthropic special initiative in Early Years, Literacy and Transitions. The independent evaluation is a collaboration between the University of Oxford and the Institute for Employment Studies (IES). Together, these parties are referred to as the ‘Research Team’ in this Privacy Notice. The roles of each party named above are as follows:

  • Mercers’ are the funders of the evaluation project.
  • Peeple are responsible for designing the programme and providing training to the practitioners and parents/carers so that they each can implement it within their practice (in settings and homes).
  • IES and the University of Oxford will evaluate the programme; focusing on practitioners and their views of the training/resources and parents/carers and their children’s engagement with the intervention and the home learning environment, particularly in maths and science.
    The evaluation will enable an assessment of whether the programme could be implemented at a larger scale.

In line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), this privacy notice sets out how the Research Team will collect and use your personal data, and who you can contact with a query or a complaint.

We promise to respect any of your personal information which is under our control and to keep it safe. We aim to be clear when we collect your information about what we will do with it and let you know of any material changes to this notice.

What is the legal basis for processing my data?

Peeple and the University of Oxford are data controllers. IES are data processors.
Peeple’s legal basis for processing personal data is legitimate interests’ under Article 6 (1) (f) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The evaluation of the Exploring Together Programme fulfils one of their core business purposes (undertaking training, research, evaluation and information activities) and is therefore in their legitimate interest, that processing personal information is necessary for the conduct of the evaluation. The legal basis for the University of Oxford collecting personal data is ‘public interest task’ under GDPR Article 6(1)(e). This research will build on existing work by the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford finding out about what might support learning and development in the Early years.

What kind of information do we collect?

The research will involve:

Online questionnaires being sent to all parents to complete and return electronically (paper copies will be made available to parents but all data transferred will be electronic)

  • Interviews with key staff (e.g. settings managers and practitioners) in case study settings
  • Interviews with parents/carers in case study settings, who have consented to take part
  • Review of training programme and materials provided online by Peeple
  • Analysis of data from the delivery team.

What data are being collected, by who and why

The Delivery Team will collect the following personal data from settings for the three groups below.

  • Parents/carers - name, email address, telephone number(s).

These data, given by consent, will be passed securely to the Research Team via a secure data transfer system. The reason why these data are being collected is (a) to send parents/guardians a questionnaire at the beginning of the study which will include questions on the home learning environment, particularly relating to maths and science, and optional questions about family background  (b) to send parents/guardians a questionnaire at the end of the study, again including questions on the home learning environment, particularly relating to maths and science and (c) to contact the parents/guardians to arrange a telephone interview to gather their views and opinions of the training. 

  • Key staff and practitioners - name, email address, telephone number(s) consent.

These data, with explicit consent, will be passed securely to the Research Team via a secure data transfer system. Personal data of key staff and practitioners will only be collected where it is necessary: either to send invitations to participate in the research or where it is relevant to the interview to contextualise their responses.

The reason why these data are being collected is to gather staff views and opinions of the training.

  • Children - date of birth, gender.

These data will be passed securely to the Research Team via a secure data transfer system. Personal data of children will only be collected where it is necessary: to analyse their data. The Delivery Team (i.e. Peeple), will also be collecting the child's name for the purpose of analysing data BUT these will not be passed to the Research Team.
Data will be stored in de-identified form (i.e. using a numerical unique identifier). A key file with the participants’ names, setting name and parents details will be kept securely and separate from the data file.

How will my data be treated?

We take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information and follow procedures designed to prevent unauthorised access, alteration, loss or disclosure of your information. Where personal information is collected, these details will be stored on an encrypted server with access restricted solely to members of the Research Team.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

If you are invited and choose to take part in an interview, survey, assessment or case study for this project, the data you give will be used for research purposes only. In reporting, no individuals or settings will be named, nor will any information be included that could reveal your identity, except with your explicit permission.

  • IES will produce a report that summarises the main findings from all these research activities.
  • The University of Oxford will prepare data for submission to a peer reviewed academic journal.
  • The Research Team may decide to disseminate more widely.

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for. Personal information, interview and survey responses will be securely deleted:

  • IES retain data for six months after the research project is complete (deletion currently estimated to take place in September 2024)
  • The University of Oxford and Peeple retain data for 3 years after primary and secondary data analyses (impacts of the intervention on the Home Learning Environment with regard to maths and science) have been published (deletion currently estimated to take place in March 2027)

You can ask for your data to be deleted - please contact Dr Alexandra Hendry (alexandra.hendry@psy.ox.ac.uk, Tel: 01865 271444)

Who else has access to your information?

The Research Team may disclose your information to third parties in connection with the purposes of processing your personal data set out in this notice. These third parties may include suppliers, research assistants, trusted academic partners and subcontractors who may process information on behalf of the Research Team to carry out such work as undertaking interviews, analysing data, or transcribing interviews. In all cases, the Research Team will ensure that these third parties enter into appropriate data processing agreements with us and that they keep your personal data secure and confidential.

We may also disclose your personal information if required by law, or to protect or defend ourselves or others against illegal or harmful activities, or as part of a reorganisation or restructuring of our organisations.

Your legal rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data, including the rights to:

  • Request access to your personal data: this enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check we are lawfully processing it.
  • Withdraw the information you have provided as part of the interviews or survey up to two weeks after you have submitted your response.

Please see the Information Commissioner’s Office website for a full description of your legal rights.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above in connection with this research project, please contact Suzanne Anderson, Director of Finance and HR at IES on Suzanne.Anderson@employment-studies.co.uk

Alternatively, further information about your rights with respect to your personal data is available from the University of Oxford: https://compliance.web.ox.ac.uk/individual-rights

Who can I contact with a query about how my data will be used?

If you have any questions about how your data will be used, please contact the Research or delivery team:

Who can I contact with a complaint?

Under GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact IES in the first instance.

Company details for the research team and funders of the evaluation

The Institute for Employment Studies is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England.

  • Registration number: 931547
  • Charity registration number: 258930
  • Registered office: Institute for Employment Studies, City Gate, 185 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN3 1 TL6
  • Email: askIES@employment-studies.co.uk

The University of Oxford is a University in England.

  • Medical Sciences Interdivisional Research Ethics Committee; Address: Research Services, University of Oxford, Boundary Brook House, Churchill Drive, Headington, Oxford OX3 7GB
  • Email: ethics@medsci.ox.ac.uk

Peeple is a charity registered and a company limited by guarantee in England & Wales.

  • Charity registration number: 1144975
  • Company number: 07514469.
  • Registered office: The Peeple Centre, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 6JZ
  • Email: info@peeple.org.uk