Evaluation of Emotion Coaching: 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 
  • who you can contact with a query or a complaint.

Who’s who?

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) have funded the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to carry out an independent evaluation of the Emotion Coaching training programme. The programme was developed by Emotion Coaching UK (ECUK). Together with Norland College, they will deliver staff training in Emotion Coaching and will support settings with implementing the programme during the evaluation. 

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

Education Endowment Foundation: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/

The National Centre for Social Research: https://www.natcen.ac.uk/

Emotion Coaching UK: https://www.emotioncoachinguk.com/ey-emotion-coaching-project 

Norland College: https://www.norland.ac.uk/ 

What is the legal basis for processing data?

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is the data controller for this project. This means that we are responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing data. 

Our legal basis for processing the data is ‘legitimate interest’. This means that we believe that there is a genuine reason for us to process this data (to evaluate the impact of the Emotion Coaching training programme), that this data is needed to fulfil this purpose (we could not evaluate the Emotion Coaching training programme without this information), and that using this data will not interfere with individuals’ interests, rights or freedoms. 

After the evaluation ends, data from the impact evaluation will be stored in the EEF archive (as detailed above). At this point, the EEF will become the data controller. Their lawful basis for processing data also comes under legitimate interest. You can find the EEF data archive privacy notice here.

More detail on how the data will be used both during the study and after can be found in the section about how your data will be used. 

You can contact NatCen with any questions about the evaluation and the processing of data at EmotionCoaching@natcen.ac.uk. 

Who will have access to personal data?

NatCen is carrying out this research and will have access to information on early years settings, practitioners, children, and parents taking part in the evaluation of the Emotion Coaching training programme. 

For children, we will collect their first name, last name, sex, date of birth, home postcode, Unique Pupil Number (UPN) where available, the number of hours the child attends the setting per week, and their eligibility for Early Years Pupil Premium. This data will be securely transferred by early years settings and schools to the NatCen research team.

For practitioners, we will collect their full names and contact details as well as those of the setting manager or headteacher/head of early years. The delivery teams (ECUK and Norland College) will collect details from settings and share them with NatCen through a secure server.

In addition, NatCen will collect, process and analyse: 

  1. interview recordings, transcripts, and survey data collected from parents and practitioners
  2. child assessment data, collected by independent practitioners during the observational assessments 
  3. data collected about practitioners during training, including attendance, content covered and engagement. 

Contact details provided on the expression of interest form or Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) may be shared with the funders of this project to enable them to check if settings taking part in this project have also signed up for other programmes of support that they are funding. Stronger Practice Hubs may contact settings to let them know about support available through the Hub.

McGowan Transcriptions (https://www.mcgowantranscriptions.co.uk/) is the transcription service we use to transcribe our interview data. They will have access to recordings and transcriptions from interviews with practitioners. McGowan Transcriptions is on our approved supplier list and compliant with all of our information security (IS) policies.

Simmons Printers (http://www.simmonsprinters.com/) is the printing agency we use to print questionnaires. They will have access to child and setting names. Simmons Printers is on our approved supplier list and is compliant with our IS policies.

Additional observational measures of children in a small proportion of settings will be collected by AlphaPlus (https://www.alphaplus.co.uk/). They will have access to child names, dates of birth and child assessment scores, but only for the settings where they will conduct the assessments. 

How will the data be used?

During the study

The data we collect will be used for research purposes only. NatCen will store and handle all data securely and confidentially in line with UK GDPR.

Survey data from practitioners and parents and assessment data from the observation-based assessments will be used to inform the impact evaluation of Emotion Coaching. Data collected from interviews, surveys, observations and compliance spreadsheets will be used to inform the process evaluation. Data will be anonymised and treated with the strictest confidence.

Longer-term child outcomes will be analysed by linking data collected as a part of the impact evaluation to the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) data from the National Pupil Database. The process of linking NPD data is detailed in the next section.

After the study

All personal information from the project will be securely deleted within twelve months of the project’s completion, i.e. by July 2028.

Reports and publications arising from this research will not identify any individual research participant or setting.

This evaluation is funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). Data collected as part of all EEF evaluations are archived. The EEF data archive is managed by FFT Education. At the end of the evaluation, NatCen will submit the data from the evaluation (questionnaires and assessment scores and some personal data about the children, including full name, date of birth, sex, home postcode, Unique Pupil Number and eligibility for EYPP) directly to FFT through a secure portal. At this point, FFT Education will become the data processors. In the future, researchers might link the data deposited in the EEF’s data archive to information held in the Department for Education’s (DfE) National Pupil Database. To do so, FFT Education would use the direct identifiers of children (e.g. names, dates of birth) to request Pupil Matching References (PMR) from the DfE, who would transfer PMRs directly to the Office for National Statistics’ Secure Research Space (SRS). FFT Education would use the SRS to match the data from the evaluation (i.e. child assessment scores) with the PMRs. This process ensures that future researchers will be able to link data from the evaluation to the National Pupil Database without accessing the personal data of the children. For further information, see the EEF’s archive privacy notice. 

Whom can I contact with a query or a complaint?

If you have any questions about how your personal information will be processed, or about the evaluation, please contact the NatCen research team at EmotionCoaching@natcen.ac.uk or on 0808 281 9513. 

If you have any questions about how your data will be used, please contact NatCen’s Data Protection Officer at dpo@natcen.ac.uk

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Please go to www.ico.gov.uk for more information.