Examining the challenges and benefits of childminding in England (The Childminding Study): Privacy notice

In line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we need to let you know how your information will be processed. In this privacy notice, we explain:

  • the legal basis for data processing;
  • who will have access to your personal data;
  • how your data will be used, stored and deleted; and
  • whom you can contact regarding a query or a complaint.

Who’s who?

The Nuffield Foundation has funded UCL Institute of Education (UCL IOE) and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to conduct research examining the challenges and benefits of childminding in England. This study aims to understand the benefits of childminding relative to other types of early years provision and the reasons behind the steep declines in the number of childminders in the country.

This research will build on existing small-scale studies and complement the Department for Education (DfE) annual Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers (SCEYP).

You can find out more about these organisations using the following links:

The team at UCL is led by Professor Lynn Ang, who is the Principal Investigator. It also includes Dr Antonia Simon, Lead Co-Investigator, and Katie Hollingworth, Co-Investigator.

The team at NatCen is led by Dr Svetlana Speight, who is a Co-Investigator.

What is the legal basis for processing data?

UCL is the Data Controller for this study. This means that it is responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing data from this study. NatCen is the Data Processor.

The legal basis for processing data from this study is ‘public task’, with the further condition of ‘research purposes’ for processing special category data. This is because UCL is a public authority, and most of UCL’s processing will be undertaken using Article 6(1)(e), the ‘public task’ condition.

NatCen shall act as the Data Processor for the following activities:

  • conducting the childminder survey, including communications and data collection,
  • conducting qualitative interviews with parents, including recruitment, scheduling and transcription.

Who will have access to personal data?

UCL and NatCen are carrying out this research and will have access to the names and contact details of childminders, which will be obtained from the Local Authorities (LAs) that maintain these lists. The UCL research team, who will share it, using a secure data transfer system, with the research team at NatCen. Where childminders complete the survey and agree to a follow-up in-depth interview, their contact details will be checked and updated by the research team at NatCen and securely shared with the research team at UCL.

Parents will be recruited for the in-depth interviews via a specialist recruitment agency that is on NatCen’s approved suppliers’ list. The recruitment agency will collect parents' contact details and share them with NatCen via a secure server.

In addition, UCL and NatCen will collect, process and analyse interview recordings, transcripts, and survey data collected from childminders and parents.

How your personal data will be used

Personal data collected as part of this study will only be used for research purposes and processed in accordance with the GDPR. We take great care to protect the privacy of the information people give us.

Your personal data will be shared only with certain members of the NatCen and UCL research teams. The research teams will analyse data collected through the study so they can understand the challenges and benefits of childminding in England. Responses will be treated in strictest confidence, with the results collected being anonymised and used for statistical purposes only. Results will not be presented in a form which reveals your identity.

How your personal data will be stored

Information collected during the study will be stored securely with names and contact details of participants removed and held separately. Names and contact details of survey participants will be kept for the purpose of interviewing participants who have indicated that they agree to be re-contacted, as long as appropriate consents were given by the research participants.

All data will be kept at UCL’s secure servers (UCL Research Data Storage Service) and will be retained for ten years after publication of the research report. The UCL study data protection number for this study is Z6364106/2025/06/07. At NatCen, all data will be stored on NatCen’s secure network, which is protected by Watchguard firewalls. It will be deleted from NatCen systems within 12 months of the project’s completion, by 28th February 2028.

The survey dataset will be archived with the UK Data Service (UKDS) in 2027, once the final project report has been published and the launch event has taken place. This will enable researchers not associated with the project to use data from this study for future secondary data analysis research. Personal identifiers will be removed, and survey responses will be checked for potentially disclosive information before archiving.

Data from qualitative follow-up interviews will not be deposited with any publicly available data archives and once the project has finished, it will only be stored at UCL Research Data Storage Service.

Withdrawing from the study

You may withdraw from taking part in the study at any time, in which case no further information will be collected from you. Where possible, we will also remove from our records any identifying information which has not yet been anonymised.

If you wish to withdraw from the study, don't hesitate to get in touch with NatCen at childmindingstudy@natcen.ac.uk or on 0800 652 9295 and quote your personal reference number included in the email we have sent you.

Whom to contact with a query or complaint

UCL has appointed a Data Protection Officer to oversee compliance with data protection laws and to provide guidance to staff and students. The DPO can be contacted at data-protection@ucl.ac.uk. UCL has a comprehensive data breach response plan that can handle any data-related incidents.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/.