Privacy notice for Collective Intelligence debate on shaping the future Child Protection Authority (CPA)

Who we are

The Department for Education, on behalf of Policy Lab invites you to take part in an online debate to inform the future Child Protection Authority (CPA).

This work is being carried out by Policy Lab which is a part of the Department for Education (DfE). For the purpose of data protection legislation, DfE is the Data Controller for the personal data processed as part of this project.

Policy Lab is a multidisciplinary team within government, and we help teams understand the present, imagine the future and design ways to achieve the policy impact they intend. Our methods are grounded in evidence, participation and experimentation.

Find out more about our work on Twitter and LinkedIn, or follow our blog.

What is an online debate

An online debate is a digital space where people share and evaluate ideas together. In this context, it supports collective intelligence---the idea that groups can solve problems better than individuals.

In the UK's Collective Intelligence Lab, an online debate works like this:

• You log into the platform.

• You see a series of short, tweet-length statements.

• You can agree or disagree or pass with each one.

• You can also add your own anonymous statements or ideas for others to respond to.

This process gathers diverse opinions from citizens, experts, and organisations, helping create stronger and more informed policies.

What is the project about and why should I participate?

Policy Lab, in collaboration with Department for Education, is looking to understand how a future Child Protection Authority (CPA) can support front-line practitioners in their role to protect children.

By participating in this online debate, you'll have the opportunity to shape the early design of the CPA to ensure it has a real, positive impact on the day-to-day experiences of front-line practitioners.

What will my participation involve?

Signing up will require filling in a brief demographic questionnaire. Once completed you will be registered and will receive a unique login before the debate starts on Monday 19th January 2026.

Engage as much or as little as you like, whenever you like - typically for a total of around 1 hour over the week. Vote on short statements and contribute your own ideas anonymously. The debate closes on Friday 26th January.

How we will use your information

Policy Lab will anonymise the personal data with the anonymised results passed on to the policy team.

We may store your personal and special category data from the demographic questionnaire on our databases (e.g. if you have participated in a previous project and agreed to be recontacted) or if you are one of our contractors, trusted organisations or from other government departments as well as their associated contractors and trusted organisations.

All data from the online debate will be anonymised, so that participants will not be identifiable in any outputs shared within government, as outlined in the consent form completed prior to taking part in the debate, but we may identify your organisation or department during aggregate analysis.

The nature of your personal data we will be using

Personal Data Categories used in this project:

• email address
• whether your day-to-day role involves direct interaction with children and families
• sector you work in
• primary role
• professional background
• region you work in
• years of relevant experience

We are careful not to collect any special category data beyond what is necessary for the specified purposes. We ensure that you are well-informed about the purposes of data collection and the information we expect from you, as outlined above.

Occasionally, individuals may provide more information than required. In such cases, we will not use this additional information for the project unless it reveals insights relevant to our objectives. If the extra information is unnecessary, we will delete it from the project records whenever possible.

Special Category Data

Aside from the data mentioned above in the demographic questionnaire, we do not actively collect any other special category data for this project.

Why our use of your personal data is lawful

The legal basis under the UK GDPR for our processing activities is public task (article 6(1)(e)), as our processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. That is to improve policy making through design, innovation and people-centred approaches.

Where we will store your data

We will store your data on encrypted and password-protected devices, the Department for Education's IT infrastructure and safe online cloud-services. We will sometimes need to store your data outside of the UK.

Who we will make your personal data available to

1) Before and during the project

We (DFE) sometimes need to make personal data available to other organisations. These might include contracted partners (who we have employed to process your personal data on our behalf) and/or other organisations (with whom we need to share your personal data for specific purposes).

Where we need to share your personal data with others, we ensure that this data sharing complies with data protection legislation.

2) When we are sharing the research outputs

We will share anonymised, aggregated research outputs within government to report our research findings to better inform policy making, as well as to communicate about the research to the wider public.

3) Within government

If you have consented to this, we will share research outputs where you are identifiable within the government.

If you do not consent to having research outputs where you are identifiable shared within government, you will be anonymised (not identifiable) in findings shared in government.

How long we will keep your personal data

The Department for Education will keep your personal data for at least 2 years, following which any data which is no longer needed will be destroyed. If we have collected photographs, video footage or audio recordings of you we will keep these for at least 10 years, following which we will review them annually and anything that is no longer needed will be destroyed.

In some cases, Policy Lab may use your data to support cross-government policy making and training beyond the life of the project.

Your data protection rights

GOV.UK has more information on how DfE handles personal information

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you are entitled to ask if we hold information relating to you and ask for a copy, by making a 'subject access request'. For further information and how to request your data, please use the 'contact form' in the Personal Information Charter under the 'How to find out what personal information we hold about you' section.

If you need to contact us regarding any of the above, please do so via the DfE site.

Further information about your data protection rights appears on the Information Commissioner's website at: Individual rights | ICO.

Right to lodge a complaint

You have the right to raise any concerns with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) via their website.

Last updated

We may need to update this privacy notice periodically, so we recommend that you revisit this information from time to time. This version was last updated on 08 Dec, 2025.

Contact Info

If you have any questions regarding the context surrounding this online debate you can reach us at CPA.ONLINEDEBATE@policylab.gov.uk.

If you have any questions about how your personal information will be used, please contact us directly at team@policylab.gov.uk and enter 'Policy Lab -- PL275' as a reference.

Policy Lab Department for Education 20 Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT

DfE helpline -- Ask to reach Policy Lab team Telephone: 0370 000 2288 Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5pm

Alternatively, you can contact the Department for Education about your request and enter 'Policy Lab -- PL 275 as a reference.

For the Data Protection Officer (DPO) please contact us via gov.uk and mark it for the attention of the 'DPO'.