Privacy and Security

The Digital Schools Awards (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. The information that you provide will only be used for the purposes of promoting the Digital Schools Awards programme.

This privacy statement explains how we use the personal data collected and provided to us. It also provides information about the choices available to you about how we use your personal data and how you can access and update your personal data.

This privacy statement applies to this website www.digitalschoolsawards.com and portal.digitalschoolsawards.com. The Digital Schools Awards initiative is administered by Digital Schools CLG on behalf of its programme partners.

Registration

Most areas of http://www.digitalschoolsawards.com can be accessed without providing any personal information. Some areas, though, require you to submit your e-mail address e.g. Register your school, Request a validation, and Contact us. Your e-mail details will not be passed on to outside parties.

What other information do we collect?

The Digital Schools’ Awards website collects data on visitors to the site. This is done through keeping records of the IP addresses which you use to access our site. The information is used by us on an aggregate basis only to assess levels of traffic to the site and the areas of the site users are accessing. We do not collect and evaluate this information for others.

Cookies and Similiar Technologies

By visiting our website, you do not disclose, nor do we collect, personal data about you. However, as with most websites, our website servers gather certain technical information automatically which is stored in log files.

This technical information may include internet protocol (IP) addresses, device type, operating system, browser type and version, the general region or approximate location, referring/exit pages, time/date stamp and other usage information.

You can remove or reject cookies at any time using your browser or device settings. However, doing so may affect your ability to use our products, content or services.

To manage the cookies and similar technologies used (tracking pixels, web beacons, etc.) and related consents, we use the consent tool “Real Cookie Banner”. Details on how “Real Cookie Banner” works can be found at https://devowl.io/wordpress-real-cookie-banner.

The legal basis for the processing of personal data in this context are Art. 6 (1) lit. c GDPR and Art. 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. Our legitimate interest is the management of the cookies and similar technologies used and the related consents.

The provision of personal data is neither contractually required nor necessary for the conclusion of a contract. You are not obliged to provide the personal data. If you do not provide the personal data, we will not be able to manage your consents.

Please see our Cookie Policy for more information about how we use cookies and similar technologies.

How we use personal data

By and large we use personal data to provide, improve and further develop our products, content and services, to communicate with you, to offer you information about products, content or services that may be of interest to you, and to protect us and our users.

As data controller, Digital Schools Awards collects and processes your personal data for the following purposes:
  • To communicate with you about our products, content and services.
  • To fulfil orders placed or to effect transactions initiated by you via this Website.
  • To respond to information requests or queries submitted by you.
  • To ensure that our website content is presented effectively for you and for the device you are using to access this website.
  • To provide you with information about products, content or services that may be of interest to you, where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes.
We use technical information to administer our website, compile website usage statistics, to monitor website usage and to help us further develop this website. We may provide such anonymised aggregate technical information to third parties. Statistics and technical information will not include any personal identifiable information that can be used to identify any individual.
If you do not want us to use your personal data in one or more of the ways mentioned above, please let us know by contacting us at info@digitalschoolsawards.com or refer to additional instructions in the ‘Your Rights’ section of this statement.
Please be aware that should you decide not to provide your personal data then we may be unable to provide some or all of the products, content or services you might request.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Services

Digital Schools Awards provides users with the option to use an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool to generate preliminary feedback on evidence submitted through the Digital Schools Awards portal.

What information is processed?

If you choose to use the AI review feature, the information you submit as part of your application may be processed by the AI service. This may include:

  • Documents uploaded to your application.
  • Written responses entered into the portal.
  • Website links and other supporting evidence provided by you.

Use of the AI review feature is entirely optional.

How we use AI

The AI service is used solely to generate preliminary feedback on your submission before it is reviewed through the Digital Schools Awards validation process.

The AI-generated feedback is intended as a support tool only and does not determine whether a school receives a Digital Schools Award. All final validation decisions are made by a human reviewer appointed by Digital Schools Awards.

Third-Party AI Provider

To provide this service, Digital Schools Awards uses Mistral AI, an AI service provider based in the European Union.

Where you select the AI review option, relevant submission content is transmitted securely to the AI provider for the purpose of generating feedback.

The AI provider processes the information only to provide the requested service and in accordance with the contractual arrangements in place with Digital Schools Awards.

Content submitted for AI Pre-Assessment is processed using Mistral AI’s API service. Under Mistral AI’s published terms applicable to our pay-as-you-go API service, the submitted input and generated output are not used to train Mistral AI’s models.
 
Lawful Basis for Processing

Where you choose to use the AI review feature, Digital Schools Awards processes the information necessary to provide the service you have requested and to support the operation of the Digital Schools Awards programme.

Your Responsibilities

Before submitting content for AI review, you should ensure that:

  • You have the right to share the information provided.
  • You avoid including unnecessary personal data.
  • Any personal data included in supporting evidence is limited to what is necessary for the purposes of your application.

Schools should take particular care not to upload unnecessary information relating to pupils, staff members, parents, or other individuals.

Accuracy of AI-Generated Feedback

AI-generated feedback may contain inaccuracies, omissions, or misunderstandings. The feedback is provided for guidance purposes only and should not be relied upon as professional, legal, regulatory, or educational advice.

Your Choice

You are not required to use the AI review feature to participate in the Digital Schools Awards programme. You may choose to proceed directly through the standard validation process without requesting AI-generated feedback.

Third-Party AI Processors

Where users choose to use the AI review feature, application content may be processed by our AI service provider, Mistral AI, for the purpose of generating AI-assisted feedback.

Disclosure of personal data

In order to provide products, content or services to you, we may share certain personal data with third-party service providers that work with us to provide, improve or further develop our products, content or services. Personal data may be shared with third-party service providers only in the ways described in this privacy statement. We will not sell, lease or rent your personal data to any third-party.

We may share personal data with third-party service providers that provide products, content or services on our behalf, such as payment processing; website hosting; email services; cloud computing and storage services; marketing; auditing; data analytics; order fulfilment; customer support; conducting customer research and satisfaction surveys; and other services that support the provision, improvement or further development of our products, content and services.
Third-party service providers are obliged to protect personal data and are restricted from using this personal data in any way other than to provide services for Digital Schools Awards.
If Digital Schools Awards or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third-party, in which case personal data held by it about its users may be transferred to the relevant third-party.
In certain circumstances, personal data may be subject to disclosure pursuant to judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process. We may also share your personal data to protect the rights or property of Digital Schools Awards, our third-party service providers, suppliers or users, and others when we have reasonable grounds to believe that such rights or property have been or could be affected.

Webinar Privacy Notice

We process your name, email, organisation, registration/attendance details and any chat, Q&A or poll inputs to deliver our Microsoft Teams webinars, provide follow‑ups and improve our programmes. If a session is recorded, you’ll be notified in advance; you may join with camera/mic off.

We use trusted processors and may transfer data outside the EEA/UK with appropriate safeguards (e.g., SCCs/IDTA). Legal bases: legitimate interests, contract, consent (where applicable). You can access, rectify, delete, object or withdraw consent by contacting info@digitalschoolsawards.com. You may also complain to the DPC (IE) or ICO (UK). Full notice available on request.

Your Rights
You have the right to access personal data that we collect about you. So as to protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before releasing any personal data held on our systems to you.
You may be entitled to ask us:
  • For a copy of your personal data;
  • To correct or erase your personal data;
  • To restrict or stop the processing of your personal data;
  • To transfer some of this personal data to other organisations; and
  • Where we have asked for your consent to process your personal data, to withdraw this consent.
Under certain circumstances these rights may be limited – for example, where we can demonstrate that we have a legal requirement to process your data. In some instances, this may mean that we are able to retain data even after consent is withdrawn.
We hope that we can satisfy queries you may have about the way we process personal data and resolve any complaints you may have. We encourage you to contact us in the first instance but you are entitled to complain directly to the relevant data protection authority.
You can request to correct, change or delete your information in your account setting page. You can stop receiving our emails by following the unsubscribe instructions included in these emails or accessing the email preferences in your account settings page. Alternatively, to access any of the above rights, you can email our data protection officer at info@digitalschoolsawards.com or by contacting us by letter post (see contact information listed at the bottom of this page).

Links to Third Party Websites

From time to time, our website may contain links to or the ability for you to access third-party websites. Third-party websites should have their own privacy policies and we would urge you to read the privacy policies of third-party websites before proceeding to use or submit any personal data to these websites. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy policies, or the content or operation of third-party websites. This privacy statement applies only to information collected by us.

Security and Retention

We take seriously our security obligations in respect of your personal data to prevent unauthorised access to, or alteration or misuse or destruction of such personal data while in our possession.

All information you provide to us by email or via this website is stored on secure servers.
Where you have access credentials (username and password) which enables you to access certain parts of this website, you are responsible for keeping your access credentials confidential and for taking measures to protect against unauthorised use of, or access to, your access credentials, computers and other devices you use to access products, content or services provided by us.
You should be aware that, despite our efforts, no security system is impenetrable; no data transmission method, or electronic data storage method, is 100% secure. Should a security breach occur, you and the relevant data protection authority will be promptly notified by us as required by law.
We will retain your information only to the extent and for so long as is necessary for the uses stated in this privacy statement, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Changes to Our Privacy Statement

We may periodically update this privacy statement to reflect changes to our information practices, industry practices, or regulatory requirements. Non-material changes to this privacy statement will take effect immediately once the updated privacy statement is posted to this website. Notice of any material changes to this privacy statement will be by means of a prominent notice on this website before such changes take effect or by notifying you directly.

HOW TO CONTACT US

We welcome your comments about our website and our privacy statement. If you would like to contact us with any queries or comments please send an e-mail to our programme administrator at info@digitalschoolsawards.com. You may also contact us by letter post at:

Digital Schools Company Ltd.
C/o O’Gorman Financial Management
New Row
NAAS
Co. Kildare
W91 WKV9
Ireland