Service privacy notice

Who we are

The Apply for qualified teacher status (QTS) in England service is run by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE).

Our service allows anyone to check whether they might be eligible to receive qualified teacher status (QTS) in England.

If you’re eligible, you can then use the service to make an application to receive qualified teacher status (QTS) in England.

For the purpose of data protection legislation, DfE is the data controller for the data we hold and process.

Why our use of your personal data is lawful

For our use of your personal data to be lawful, we need to meet one (or more) conditions in the data protection legislation.

For Apply for QTS in England we rely on:

article 6(1)(e) UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), to perform a public task carried out in the public interest as part of our function as a department
article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)
schedule 1(18) Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018)

The personal data we collect and how we collect it

The data we collect when we check if you’re eligible to apply

We do not collect any personal data about you when you check if you’re eligible to apply.

The data we collect when you make an application for QTS in England

We collect a range of data to assess whether you can be awarded QTS in England:

first name
last name
any previous names (if required)
date of birth
copies of documents that confirm your identity such as your passport, driving licence and national identity documents
documents that confirm that your name has changed (where appropriate)
email address
details of your qualifications and copies of documents that confirm these
proof of your professional standing as a teacher in the country where you’re recognised
your work history as a teacher

The data we collect when you confirm the work history of an applicant

If a candidate says that you can confirm their work history, they’ll tell us:

your name
your email address
your place of work

How we use your data

Processing applications

Processing applications includes:

reviewing your personal data to make a decision about your application for QTS
reviewing any further information that is requested from you
getting in touch with school leaders you’ve named, to confirm your work history
getting in touch if there’s a security issue concerning your data
getting in touch with you to ask if you'd like to participate in user research
analysing application and service usage data

Safeguarding and fraud

To safeguard children and detect fraudulent activity on our services, it may be necessary to share information about you with relevant organisations.

For example, we may need to share information about you with government departments, local authorities, law enforcement agencies, or competent authorities.

This list is not exhaustive, as it depends on the type of information we receive about you.

Processing references

Processing references includes:

getting in touch if there’s a security issue concerning your data
getting in touch with you to ask if you'd like to participate in user research
getting in touch with you about your reference
analysing reference and service usage data

If you're awarded QTS

If you’re awarded qualified teacher status, you’ll be added to the database of registered teachers in England. Your data is then subject to the privacy policy of that service. This will be a permanent record.

They'll add the following data to the database of qualified teachers:

first name
last name
date of birth
email address
details of your qualifications and training
your teacher status

Building a better QTS application process

We use some user data to improve our services. For example, we’ll look at any feedback you give us about our services so we can improve them.

We may contact you to ask if you’d like to participate in user research. This helps us improve our services and policies. You do not have to participate, and choosing to participate or not will not affect your application in any way.

Getting insight to make government policy better

We’ll analyse your data to help us inform government policy around teacher recognition, recruitment and retention. When we do, we’ll anonymise your personal information so you cannot be identified.

How long we keep your data

Usage	Retention Period
Who has checked their eligibility and what outcome they got	2 years
Application form	5 years
The database of qualified teachers	The active lifetime of a teacher
If you email us to ask us for help	6 months

We need to share personal data for the purpose of awarding QTS.

We share applicant data with people who can confirm their work history as a teacher, to help them identify these applicants.

The data we share includes:

the applicant’s name
date of birth
any identifying reference or registration numbers
the employment details that the applicant has shared with us

We share applicant data with organisations that can validate applicant qualifications or professional standing as a teacher.

This could include:

relevant teaching regulators
academic awarding institutions (including universities and teacher training bodies)

This includes:

the applicant’s name
date of birth
any identifying reference or registration numbers
the qualification or professional standing details that the applicant has shared with us

External organisations who process data

We share data with our data processors for the purposes of providing this service. Data protection agreements are in place with each of these processors and they’re required to comply with the UK GDPR and the DPA 2018 as data processors.

Your rights

Under the DPA 2018 and the UK GDPR, you have the right to find out what data we have about you. However, your rights are conditional on the lawful basis under which your data is being processed. Our lawful basis is public task, which grants you the following rights:

being informed about how your data is being used
accessing personal data
having incorrect data corrected
restricting the processing of your data (for example where the data is inaccurate or outdated)
objecting to how your data is processed in certain circumstances, including automated processing and profiling

If you have any questions about how we’ll use your personal information, email qts.enquiries@education.gov.uk and enter ‘Data protection enquiry’ as a reference.

You can also contact the Data Protection Office by emailing dataprotection.office@education.gov.uk.

You can find further information about your data protection rights on the Information Commissioner’s website.

As we have a clear purpose for processing your personal data, we would not explicitly seek your consent to process your data.

If you’re unhappy with our use of your personal data, please email qts.enquiries@education.gov.uk.

You can also contact the DfE Data Protection Office:

Deputy Director, Departmental Data Protection Officer
Wellington Place
Leeds
LS1 4AP
data.protection@education.gov.uk

Alternatively, you have the right to raise any concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Keeping our privacy notice up to date

We’ll update this privacy notice when required. You should review it at least once a year.

This version was last updated on 7 November 2022