Privacy notice for applicants and learners

Who this notice is for

People who enquire about training, apply to Changing Lanes, and learners on our programmes (funded or paying privately). It adds detail to our main Privacy notice.

What we collect

When you apply

• name, email address, phone number, date of birth and postcode;
• your driving licence status, the training pathway and funding route you are interested in, how you heard about us;
• optionally, support needs and whether you claim Universal Credit — stored separately with restricted access;
• the declarations you accepted (privacy notice version, accuracy declaration, marketing choice) with the date and time;
• a one-way scrambled ("hashed") version of your network address and your browser type, to detect abuse — never the raw address.

If you enrol

• enrolment, cohort, attendance, lesson progress, assessment attempts and results, tutor feedback, practical sessions and bookings, safety sign-offs;
• DVSA theory and practical test bookings, dates and results, and the fees paid;
• documents you upload or we ask for: identity, proof of address, licence, medical (D4), CV, right to work — stored in a private area, opened only by authorised staff;
• licence details: categories held and provisional, issue and expiry dates, penalty points, Driver CPC and tachograph card expiry, and only the last four characters of your licence number;
• medical outcome and validity (restricted);
• a funding case with evidence status and milestones if you are on a funded place (benefit evidence is restricted);
• your certificate and its verification status;
• invoices and payments if you pay privately;
• notifications and messages we send you and your notification preferences;
• safeguarding concerns if one is raised (restricted to the safeguarding lead);
• the versions of the Learner agreement (terms and conditions) and Acceptable use policy you accepted.

Where it comes from

Mostly from you. Also from: our staff and tutors; DVSA (test results you or we record); your doctor through the D4 medical form you give us; a funding body or lead provider (for example a referral or eligibility confirmation); Jobcentre Plus or a work coach if they refer you and you agree; and employers about interviews and placements if you use the jobs service.

How we use it

To contact you about your application; assess eligibility against the funding contract rules (a person always decides); plan and deliver your training; book tests; issue your certificate once every requirement is met and a member of staff approves it; claim funding and pass audits; support you into work if you choose; take payments; meet our safeguarding, Prevent, health and safety and equality duties; and handle complaints and appeals. The lawful bases are set out in the main Privacy notice.

Automated steps

The platform prepares an eligibility pre-check (likely eligible / needs evidence / refer to an officer) with its reasons, reminds you about missing evidence, suggests practical slots and nudges you if you have not logged in for a while. A member of staff decides eligibility and admission; nothing is decided by the system alone. See the Automated processing and AI notice.

Sharing

With the funding body or lead provider for a funded place, DVSA for test bookings, an awarding body if you take a regulated qualification ([to be confirmed: awarding body or bodies for any regulated qualification delivered]), employers only if you use the jobs service and choose to share, our processors, and authorities where the law requires. Public certificate verification shows only your name, certificate number, programme, dates, result and status — never your date of birth, address, contact details, health or funding information (Certificate and verification terms).

How long

Unsuccessful or withdrawn applications: anonymised 12 months after the decision. Enrolled learners: the funding year plus six years, reviewed by a person. Financial records: six years. Full detail: Data retention schedule.

Your rights

See Your data rights and how to use them. You can see much of your record yourself in the learner portal. Contact our Data Protection Lead ([to be confirmed: Data Protection Lead (name or role holder)]) at [to be confirmed: privacy and data protection email address] or write to [to be confirmed: postal address for letters and rights requests].

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