Privacy Policy
This document shares how the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) collects and uses personal information. QEST is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This Privacy Policy sets out why we collect personal information about individuals and how we responsibly use that data by handling it securely in compliance with the law. It explains the legal basis for this and the right you have over the way your information is used. Our Safeguarding Policy sets out in further detail how we will deal with information relating to children and adults at risk.
This notice includes:
- Who we are
- How we collect information
- What types of personal information we collect and why
- How we use your information
- Who has access to your information
- The legal basis for processing your information
- Your rights
- Updates to this notice
Who we are
Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Limited (QEST) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (registered company number: 08339899) and a charity registered in England and Wales (registered charity number: 1152032).
If you have any queries about this policy or how we manage personal information, you can contact:
Deborah Pocock, CEO
Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust
1 Buckingham Place
London
SW1E 6HR
020 7798 1535
[email protected]
How we collect information
We may collect information from you whenever you contact us or have any involvement with us for example when you:
- visit our website
- donate to us
- enquire about our activities or services
- sign up to receive news about our activities
- create or update an application profile
- post content onto our website/social media sites
- attend a meeting with us and provide us with information
- take part in our events
- contact us in any way including online, email, phone, SMS, social media or post
What personal information we collect and why
Enquirers, subscribers and event attendees:
When you contact us with an enquiry, share feedback with us, or attend one of our events we collect your data so that we can respond or share information with you. We collect your name, contact details, any information provided by you to us, and your relationship to us.
If you choose to subscribe to our newsletter we will ask for your details and allow you to manage your subscription preferences with us.
Website visitors:
We use Google Analytics software to collect information about how you use our website (www.qest.org.uk). We do this to make improvements for website visitors.
Google Analytics collects your IP address, including details of the device you are using and your location, information on the pages you visit, how long you spend visiting pages on our website, how you got to our website, and pages or links you click on whilst you’re here.
Our website and newsletters are not designed for, or intentionally targeted at, children 13 years of age or younger, and we do not intentionally collect or maintain data about anyone under the age of 13. Please see our Safeguarding Policy for details on how we deal with information relating to those under 18 years of age collected through our programmes.
Donors and potential supporters:
For existing donors, we collect data from you to communicate with you and accept donations. This includes your name, contact information, records of communication/transactions, and bank details.
If you donate to us through a fundraising platform, such as Givergy, Enthuse or Just Giving, they will share your information with us. Please check the privacy policies of these sites before using their services.
We may review publicly available information about an individual for research purposes and to help us gain a better understanding about our supporters or those we think may be interested in supporting us. This may include information such as financial interactions, the area where you live or organisations you belong to, so we can better inform how we talk to you about our work and ensure we ask you for an appropriate level of support. We believe this enables us to offer you more appropriate communications, but you can opt out of this activity at any time. To do so, please email [email protected].
Job or volunteer applicants:
If you apply for a job with us, your application information is provided so we can assess your application. We may ask you for information about your contact details, employment history, education, and proof of your identity and right to work. In some cases, we may also ask for a DBS check to be carried out.
Grant applicants:
If you are a grant applicant the information you are asked to provide is as set out in the application and necessary for the purposes of our considering the application. This will include contact details, employment and education history, and proof of your right to work in the UK.
If you are successful, we may also ask for financial information so that we can make payments to you.
How we use your information
We will use your personal information in a number of ways which reflect the legal basis applying to the processing of your data. These may include:
- providing you with the information or services you have asked for
- processing donations you make, including processing for Gift Aid purposes
- sending you communications with your consent that may be of interest including information about our events and opportunities; and other fundraising activities for which we seek support
- when necessary for carrying out your obligations under any contract between us
- seeking your views on the services or activities we carry on so that we can make improvements
- maintaining our organisational records and ensuring we know how you prefer to be contacted
- analysing the operation of our website and analysing your website behaviour to improve the website and its usefulness
- processing grant or job applications
How we store personal information and keep it safe
We only keep personal data for as long as is necessary for its purpose. Our safeguarding policy sets out how long we keep data relating to children.
We understand the importance of security of your personal information and take appropriate steps to safeguard it (encryption and two-factor authentication is used where appropriate, in particular for financial or sensitive personal information).
We always ensure only authorised persons have access to your information, which means only our staff and contractors (only where strictly necessary, for example website maintenance) and that everyone who has access is appropriately trained to manage your information.
No data transmission over the internet can however be guaranteed to be 100% secure. So while we strive to safeguard your information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you provide online and you do this at your own risk.
Who has access to your information
- Third parties who provide services for us. We select our third party service providers with care. We provide these third parties with the information that is necessary to provide the service and we will have an agreement in place that requires them to operate with the same care over data protection as we do.
- Third parties if we run an event in conjunction with them. We will let you know how your data is used when you register for any event.
- Analytics and search engine providers that help us to improve our website and its use.
- We may also disclose your personal information if we are required to do so under any legal obligation and may use external data for the purposes of fraud prevention and credit risk reduction, or where doing so would not infringe your rights, but is necessary and in the public interest.
- Other than this, we will not share your information with other organisations without your consent. We do not provide data to others for marketing, market research or commercial purposes, and we don’t pass on your details to other websites.
Our legal basis for processing your information
The use of your information for the purposes set out above is lawful because one or more of the following applies:
- Where you have provided information to us for the purposes of requesting information or requesting that we carry out a service for you, we will proceed on the basis that you have given consent to us using the information for that purpose, based on the way that you provided the information to us. You may withdraw consent at any time by emailing us at [email protected]. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing of your information prior to your withdrawal of consent being received and actioned.
- It is necessary for us to hold and use your information so that we can carry out our obligations under a contract entered into with you or to take steps you ask us to prior to entering into a contract.
- Where the purpose of our processing is the provision of information or services to you, we may also rely on the fact that it is necessary for your legitimate interests that we provide the information or service requested, and given that you have made the request, would presume that there is no prejudice to you in our fulfilling your request.
Your rights
Under the law you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
- Right to be informed
- Right of access
- Right to rectification
- Right to erasure
- Right to restrict processing
- Right to data portability
- Right to object
- Rights related to automated decision making including profiling
For more information about these rights, please see the Information Commissioner's website.
If you would like to request any of these rights, you have a question about this Privacy Policy, or wish to make a complaint please contact Deborah Pocock at:
Deborah Pocock, CEO
Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust
1 Buckingham Place
London
SW1E 6HR
020 7798 1535
[email protected]
If you are not happy with the way in which we have used your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office via their website www.ico.org.uk or helpline 0303 123 1113.
Updates to this policy
This policy was last updated February 2025
We may update the terms of this Policy from time to time, so please do check it regularly and when you consider giving new information to us. If we make any significant changes, we will advertise this on the website and/or notify you by contacting you directly with the information you have provided.