Who we are

This privacy policy sets out how we use and protect any information that you give when you use this website. We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

This policy was last updated 22 November 2019.

What personal data we collect and why we collect it

We may collect the following information when you use the contact forms on our website:

• name
• contact information including email address and telephone number

What we do with the information we gather

This information is used to understand your needs and enhance your experience with us, and in particular for the following reasons:

• Providing you with information that you have requested and communicating with you in relation to your enquiry
• We may use the information to improve our website, products and services.
• If you subscribe to the newsletter we may periodically send promotional emails and other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.

Cookies

In common with many other website operators, we may use standard technology called ‘cookies’ on this website. A cookie is a small text file stored on your computer’s hard drive and which records your navigation of a website so that, when you revisit that website, it can present tailored options based on the information stored about your last visit. Cookies can also be used to analyse traffic and for advertising and marketing purposes.

To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

How do I change my cookie settings?

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

If you don’t want to receive cookies, you can modify your browser so that it notifies you when cookies are sent to it or you can refuse cookies altogether. You can also delete cookies that have already been set.

If you wish to restrict or block web browser cookies which are set on your device then you can do this through your browser settings; the Help function within your browser should tell you how.

Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org, which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of desktop browsers.

We use Google Analytics to measure traffic on our website. Google has their own Privacy Policy which you can review here. If you’d like to opt out of tracking by Google Analytics, visit the Google Analytics opt-out page.

How do we use cookies?

We use cookies to track your use of our website. This enables us to understand how you use the site which helps us to develop and improve our website.

Functionality cookies – these cookies provide functionality that makes using our service more convenient and makes providing more personalised features possible.

Session cookies –  These cookies are required for you to be able to use some important features on our website, such as logging in. These cookies don’t collect any personal information. You can learn more about session cookies and what they are used for at http://www.allaboutcookies.org/cookies/session-cookies-used-for.html

Google analytics cookies – these cookies are used to track the use and performance of our website and services in order to improve the user experience. For example, they allow us to count visits, identify traffic sources and see which parts of the site are most popular. Your user data is all anonymous. You can find out more about Google’s position on privacy as regards its analytics service at http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/analytics/privacyoverview.html

Other information we collect

Leaving Comments on blog articles. When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Comment Cookies. If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

Comment Verification. Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

Email tracking. The newsletter emails we send contain tracking so that we can tell how much traffic those emails send to our site and we can track, at an individual level, whether the user has opened and clicked on the email. We rarely use the latter information at a personal level, rather we use it to understand open and click rates on our emails to try and improve them. Sometimes we do use the personal information e.g. to re-email people who didn’t click the first time. If you want to be sure that none of your email activity is tracked then you should unsubscribe from the newsletter.

Embedded content from other websites

We use a number of external web services on this website, mostly to display content within our web pages e.g. Instagram and YouTube. Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Links to other websites

Our website contains links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

How long we retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

What rights you have over your data

If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Controlling your personal information

If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by emailing us at the address below

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so.

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act. A small fee will be payable. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write or email us at the address below.

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please email us as soon as possible at the address below. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

Email: admin@gse.org.uk

How to contact the local supervisory authority

Country: UK
Name of authority: The Information Commissioner’s Office.
Authority Phone Number: 0303 123 1113
Authority Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Authority Postal Address:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.