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Privacy Policy

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Last updated: September 2026

 

The Reception Class Teacher Network (RCTN) is committed to respecting your privacy and being clear about how information is collected and used.

This Privacy Policy explains what information RCTN collects, how it is used, and the choices available to you.

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1. About RCTN

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The Reception Class Teacher Network (RCTN) is a professional network supporting teachers and other adults working with children in Reception Classes and early childhood education in primary settings.

We aim to be a joyful, inclusive and member-led professional community that brings teachers and researchers together, supports professional learning, and champions the voices and experiences of Reception Class teachers.

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2. Information collected through this website

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The RCTN website itself does not collect personal information from visitors.

You can browse the website without providing us with personal information.

The website may contain links to external services, including our RCTN registration form. These services may collect information when you choose to use them. The information collected through the registration form is separate from information collected by the website itself.

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3. RCTN registration and membership information

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If you choose to register with RCTN, you will be asked to provide some personal information through our registration form.

This information is collected so that we can:

• communicate with you about RCTN meetings, events and activities;

• share information and resources relevant to RCTN members;

• provide information about future opportunities to participate in the network;

• understand who our network is reaching; and

• support the organisation and development of the network.

We will only collect information that is relevant and necessary for these purposes.

Information provided through the RCTN registration form is not shared with anyone outside RCTN.

We will not sell, rent or otherwise disclose members' personal information to third parties for their own purposes.

Where we use a third-party platform to operate a registration or communication service, that provider may process information on our behalf as necessary to provide the service. We will take appropriate steps to ensure that personal information is handled securely and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

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4. Our living research project

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RCTN is also a living research project.

A central part of our ambition is to ensure that the experiences, perspectives and professional knowledge of Reception Class teachers help to shape the network and contribute to wider understanding of Reception practice.

Members may choose to contribute to this work through activities associated with RCTN meetings, including:

• meeting Padlets;

• feedback forms;

• polls and questionnaires; and

• other activities specifically identified as contributing to the RCTN research project.

Participation in these research activities is voluntary. You can participate in RCTN meetings without contributing to the research activities where this option is provided.

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5. Anonymous contributions

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Contributions made through the RCTN meeting Padlet and relevant feedback forms are collected anonymously for the purposes of the living research project.

We do not ask members to identify themselves within these contributions, and contributions are not intended to be attributable to individual members.

Please do not include information that could identify a particular child, family, colleague, school or setting in your contribution.

Because contributions are collected anonymously, individual contributions cannot be removed or attributed to a particular person after the event. Please consider carefully what you wish to contribute before submitting it.

Full information about the specific research activity, including how contributions will be used, is provided to members at each relevant meeting through the meeting Padlet.

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6. How anonymous contributions are used

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Anonymous contributions may be used in accordance with the ethical clearance granted by the University of East Anglia (UEA) for the RCTN living research project.

The purposes of this work are to:

• understand the lived experiences of Reception Class teachers;

• identify issues, experiences and priorities that matter to Reception Class teachers;

• inform and tailor the content and professional learning offered by RCTN;

• support the development of the network in response to members' needs;

• contribute to advocacy for Reception Class teachers and developmentally appropriate Reception practice; and

• help make the experiences and professional knowledge of Reception Class teachers more visible to leaders, policymakers, researchers and the wider early childhood community.

Where anonymous contributions are used in presentations, publications, reports, blogs or other forms of dissemination, they will be treated as anonymous and will not intentionally be linked to an identifiable individual.

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7. Our commitment to teacher voice

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RCTN aspires to be a member-led organisation.

We believe that Reception Class teachers possess important professional knowledge and expertise and should have opportunities to shape the conversations, priorities and development of the network.

Our living research approach is one way in which we seek to champion the voices of Reception Class teachers.

We do not see teachers simply as participants or sources of data. Their experiences, perspectives and professional knowledge are an important part of shaping what RCTN does.

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8. Information provided at meetings

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Before members contribute to Padlets, feedback forms or other research activities, we will provide relevant information about the activity and how contributions will be used.

This information will be available through the meeting Padlet and/or other materials provided at the meeting.

Members are encouraged to read this information before contributing and to ask the RCTN coordinators if they have any questions.

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9. Data protection

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RCTN will handle personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, as applicable.

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is:

• collected for clear and legitimate purposes;

• limited to what is necessary;

• kept accurate where appropriate;

• stored securely;

• retained only for as long as necessary; and

• not disclosed inappropriately.

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10. Your rights

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Where RCTN holds personal information about you, you may have rights under data protection law, including the right to:

• ask what personal information we hold about you;

• ask us to correct inaccurate information;

• ask us to delete personal information where applicable;

• object to or restrict certain processing; and

• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

Some rights are subject to legal exceptions and may not apply in every circumstance.

Please note: because research contributions through the Padlet and feedback forms are collected anonymously, RCTN cannot identify an individual's contribution after submission and therefore cannot remove an individual anonymous contribution on request.

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11. Keeping your information secure

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We take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure or alteration.

However, no online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We encourage members to take care when submitting information online and, in particular, not to include identifiable or confidential information about children, families, colleagues or settings in anonymous research contributions.

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12. External services

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The RCTN website may link to external services, including registration forms, meeting platforms and other resources.

These services have their own privacy policies and terms. RCTN is not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites or services that are outside our control.

Where RCTN uses an external service to collect or process information on our behalf, we will seek to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place for the protection of personal information.

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13. Changes to this Privacy Policy

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We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our activities, the services we use or our legal and ethical responsibilities.

The latest version will always be published on this website, together with the date it was last updated.

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14. Contact us

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If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, how RCTN uses information, or the living research project, please contact the RCTN coordinators:

Reception Class Teacher Network (RCTN)
Email: info@receptionclassteachernetwork.org
 

If your question relates specifically to the RCTN research project or its ethical approval, please contact e.milligan@uea.ac.uk

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Last updated: September 2026

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