Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information we collect through or in connection with:

• our website;
• general enquiries;
• centre tour bookings;
• waitlist applications;
• enrolment and attendance processes;
• communications with families;
• telephone and email communications;
• visits to our centre;
• recruitment and employment processes;
• our childcare management and administrative systems;
• CCTV and security systems;
• events and activities; and
• other interactions with Little Woods Early Learning.

It may apply to information about:

• children;
• parents and guardians;
• prospective families;
• authorised nominees and emergency contacts;
• employees and educators;
• job applicants;
• contractors and suppliers;
• visitors; and
• other individuals who interact with our service.

The types of personal information we collect depend on the nature of an individual's relationship with Little Woods Early Learning.

Prospective families and website users

When someone makes an enquiry, books a tour, joins our waitlist or otherwise communicates with us, we may collect information such as:

• parent or guardian name;
• child's name;
• child's date of birth or age;
• email address;
• telephone number;
• suburb or location;
• preferred commencement date;
• childcare days required;
• flexibility regarding requested days;
• tour preferences;
• enquiry details;
• communication preferences;
• marketing preferences; and
• other information voluntarily provided to us.

We do not ask prospective families through our standard website enquiry, tour or waitlist forms to provide unnecessary health or other sensitive information.

If a child enrols at Little Woods Early Learning, additional information may be required to provide education and care and meet our legal, regulatory, safety and administrative obligations.

This may include:

• child and family details;
• residential and contact information;
• parent and guardian information;
• emergency contact details;
• authorised nominees and authorised collection persons;
• date of birth;
• enrolment and attendance information;
• health and medical information;
• allergies and dietary requirements;
• medication information;
• immunisation information;
• additional needs or developmental information where relevant;
• cultural or language information where relevant to the child's care;
• information about court orders, parenting arrangements or authorised access where applicable;
• Child Care Subsidy information;
• Customer Reference Numbers (CRNs) and other information required for childcare administration where applicable;
• payment and billing information;
• incident, injury, illness and medication records;
• consents and permissions;
• communications with families; and
• other information reasonably required to provide education and care to the child.

Our childcare management platform may be used to collect and store enrolment and ongoing childcare information.

Some information collected in connection with the provision of early childhood education and care may constitute sensitive information under Australian privacy law.

This may include information relating to:

• health or medical conditions;
• allergies;
• disability or additional needs;
• racial or ethnic origin;
• cultural background;
• religious beliefs or practices;
• immunisation;
• biometric information where applicable;
• criminal records where relevant to employment or regulatory requirements; and
• other information classified as sensitive information under applicable privacy legislation.

We will only collect sensitive information where it is reasonably necessary for our functions or activities and where we have the required consent or another lawful basis to collect it.

Because information about children can be particularly sensitive, we take additional care when handling children's personal information.

We generally collect personal information directly from individuals.

This may occur when an individual:

• submits a form on our website;
• makes an enquiry;
• joins our waitlist;
• books or attends a centre tour;
• enrols a child;
• communicates with us by telephone, email or in person;
• completes forms or provides documentation;
• interacts with our childcare management systems;
• applies for employment;
• visits our centre; or
• otherwise provides information to us.

In some circumstances, we may receive personal information from another person or organisation, including:

• another parent or guardian;
• an authorised representative;
• government agencies;
• childcare administration systems;
• professional service providers; or
• other parties where collection is authorised or required by law.

Where someone provides us with personal information about another person, such as an emergency contact or authorised nominee, they should ensure they are authorised to provide that information.

We may collect, hold and use personal information for purposes including:

• responding to enquiries;
• arranging and managing centre tours;
• managing our waitlist;
• communicating information about vacancies and enrolment opportunities;
• processing enrolments;
• providing education and care;
• managing children's health, safety and wellbeing;
• communicating with parents and guardians;
• administering attendance;
• administering Child Care Subsidy requirements where applicable;
• processing fees, payments and accounts;
• maintaining required childcare and regulatory records;
• responding to incidents, emergencies and health requirements;
• managing authorised nominees and child collection arrangements;
• meeting legal and regulatory obligations;
• managing complaints and feedback;
• improving our services;
• operating and improving our website;
• maintaining the security of our centre;
• recruitment and employment;
• managing staff and contractors;
• communicating centre information where appropriate;
• conducting marketing with appropriate choices and opt-out mechanisms; and
• otherwise operating and administering Little Woods Early Learning.

If we cannot collect information reasonably necessary for these purposes, we may be unable to respond to a request, process an enrolment or safely and effectively provide particular services.

Information submitted through our website may be used to:

• respond to an enquiry;
• contact prospective families about their childcare requirements;
• arrange a centre tour;
• administer a tour;
• maintain and manage our waitlist;
• contact prospective families regarding potential vacancies;
• provide relevant information about Little Woods Early Learning; and
• maintain appropriate records of communications.

Information collected before enrolment may continue to be stored within our authorised business systems, including Google Workspace and related administrative systems, after a family enrols where reasonably required for business, record-keeping or operational purposes.

If an individual applies for employment with Little Woods Early Learning, we may collect information including:

• name and contact details;
• resume or curriculum vitae;
• employment history;
• qualifications;
• professional registrations;
• Working With Children Check information;
• police or background check information where required;
• references;
• right-to-work information;
• information provided during interviews;
• evidence or documents supplied as part of recruitment; and
• other information reasonably required to assess suitability for employment.

Recruitment information will be used for purposes associated with assessing, processing and managing employment applications and meeting our legal and regulatory obligations.

Little Woods Early Learning recognises the particular privacy considerations associated with photographs and videos of children.

Little Woods Early Learning does not routinely take or use photographs or videos of enrolled children without appropriate parent or guardian permission.

Where photographs or videos are proposed for educational, communication, display, promotional or other purposes requiring permission, parents or guardians will be provided with relevant information and asked to provide the applicable permission or consent beforehand.

Any collection, storage, sharing or publication of images of children will also be subject to applicable Little Woods Early Learning policies, procedures and consent arrangements.

Little Woods Early Learning may use CCTV or other security systems at the centre for legitimate purposes such as:

• maintaining the safety and security of children, families, employees and visitors;
• protecting the premises and property;
• investigating security incidents; and
• supporting the safe operation of the centre.

CCTV may capture images of individuals who enter or move through monitored areas.

CCTV information will be accessed and used only for appropriate purposes and handled in accordance with applicable laws and Little Woods Early Learning policies.

Where required, appropriate notice of CCTV monitoring will be displayed at the centre.

We do not sell personal information.

We may disclose personal information where reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to:

• childcare management and administration providers;
• information technology and cloud service providers;
• website hosting and infrastructure providers;
• email and communications providers;
• payment, accounting and financial service providers;
• professional advisers;
• contractors and service providers;
• government departments and regulatory authorities;
• emergency services and health professionals where appropriate;
• insurers;
• auditors;
• legal advisers; and
• other parties where authorised or required by law.

We seek to limit disclosure to information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

Little Woods Early Learning uses third-party technology and service providers to help operate our centre, website and administrative systems.

Depending on the services being used at the relevant time, these may include platforms or providers supporting:

• childcare management, including Xplor;
• Google Workspace services such as Gmail, Google Sheets, Google Calendar and related Google services;
• website hosting and infrastructure;
• website forms and databases;
• workflow automation, including Make;
• transactional email delivery, including Resend;
• website analytics, including Google Analytics;
• accounting and financial administration;
• design and communications, including Canva; and
• social and digital platforms such as Meta, Facebook and Instagram.

These providers may process personal information on our behalf or receive information as necessary for the services they provide.

The particular technology providers used by Little Woods Early Learning may change over time.

We take reasonable steps when selecting and using service providers to protect personal information in accordance with our legal obligations.

Some technology, cloud, communications and service providers used by Little Woods Early Learning may operate infrastructure, personnel or data-processing facilities outside Australia.

As a result, personal information may in some circumstances be processed, stored or accessible outside Australia.

The countries involved may depend on the service provider and its infrastructure at the relevant time.

Little Woods Early Learning does not routinely disclose personal information to third parties in India or the Philippines.

Where Australian privacy law imposes requirements concerning overseas disclosure of personal information, we will take reasonable steps to comply with those requirements.

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, understand how visitors use our website and improve the website experience.

We plan to use Google Analytics to obtain information about website usage.

Information collected automatically may include:

• IP address;
• browser type;
• device type;
• pages visited;
• approximate location information;
• referring website or source;
• date and time of visits; and
• interactions with website features.

Analytics information may be processed by third-party providers such as Google in accordance with their own privacy practices.

Users may be able to manage cookies through browser settings and other available privacy controls.

Where required, we will provide appropriate information or choices regarding cookies and tracking technologies.

Where permitted by law, Little Woods Early Learning may use contact information to communicate with prospective or existing families about matters such as:

• childcare vacancies;
• waitlist availability;
• enrolment opportunities;
• centre tours;
• centre updates;
• events; and
• other Little Woods Early Learning services or information that may reasonably be relevant to them.

Our website provides an option regarding marketing communications where applicable.

Individuals may opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by using an unsubscribe or opt-out mechanism provided in the communication, changing an available marketing preference, or contacting us.

Opting out of marketing will not prevent us from sending communications reasonably necessary to administer an enquiry, tour, waitlist request, enrolment, childcare service, account or other existing relationship.

Little Woods Early Learning may maintain profiles on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

When someone interacts with us through a social media platform, that platform may separately collect, use and disclose information in accordance with its own privacy policy and settings.

Information individuals choose to make publicly available through social media may be visible to other users.

We recommend reviewing the privacy settings and privacy policies of social media platforms used.

Little Woods Early Learning takes reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and unauthorised disclosure.

Measures may include:

• restricting access to personal information;
• using password-protected systems;
• implementing appropriate access controls;
• maintaining confidentiality requirements for staff;
• using reputable technology and service providers;
• implementing appropriate document and records-management practices;
• limiting access according to operational requirements;
• maintaining physical security at our premises; and
• implementing reasonable website and information-system security measures.

No electronic system or method of transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore seek to use reasonable safeguards appropriate to the information we hold.

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with applicable legal, regulatory, childcare, employment, taxation, accounting and record-keeping requirements.

Different categories of information may be subject to different retention requirements.

Where personal information is no longer required to be retained, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it where required and appropriate.

Individuals may contact us to request access to personal information we hold about them.

We will respond to access requests within a reasonable timeframe and generally provide access where required by applicable privacy law.

There may be circumstances in which we are permitted or required to refuse access to some information.

Where applicable, if we refuse an access request, we will explain the reason for the refusal and available complaint mechanisms as required by law.

Before providing access, we may need to verify identity.

Special care may be required where a request involves information about a child or information concerning more than one individual.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information we use is accurate, up to date, complete and relevant for its intended purpose.

If an individual believes personal information we hold about them is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, they may contact us.

We will take reasonable steps to consider and, where appropriate, correct the information in accordance with applicable privacy law.

If an individual believes that Little Woods Early Learning has not handled personal information appropriately or has breached applicable privacy requirements, they may contact our Privacy Officer.

Please provide sufficient information about the concern so that we can investigate it.

We will:

• acknowledge and consider the complaint;
• investigate the circumstances where appropriate; and
• respond within a reasonable timeframe.

We will endeavour to resolve privacy concerns directly and fairly.

If an individual is not satisfied with our response, they may have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services.

Little Woods Early Learning is not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites that we do not control.

We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any external website or service before providing personal information.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to:

• our operations;
• technology and service providers;
• legal or regulatory requirements; or
• the way we collect, use, hold or disclose personal information.

The current version will be made available on our website: www.littlewoodsel.com.au

We recommend reviewing this Privacy Policy periodically.

For questions about this Privacy Policy, requests for access or correction, or privacy complaints, please contact:

Privacy Officer
Little Woods Early Learning
61 Arundel Street, Glebe NSW 2037
admin@littlewoodsel.com.au