Privacy Policy

Effective date: 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to The Village Co Early Learning Centre’s website. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store, and protect personal information you provide to us (including via our website, enrolment processes, other communications) and your rights in relation to that personal information.

By using our website or enrolling your child with us or otherwise providing personal information, you agree to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this Policy.

2. Definitions

“Personal information” means information about an identifiable individual (for example, name, contact details, date of birth, parent/guardian details, health information, attendance records). data.govt.nz+1
“We”, “us”, “our” refers to The Village Co Early Learning Centre.
“You”, “your” refers to the individual (parent/guardian/child) whose personal information we collect.
“Services” refers to the early-learning and childcare services we provide.
“Website” refers to our website at [https://www.thevillageco.co.nz/] and any associated online services.

3. Why we collect personal information

We collect personal information for purposes including (but not limited to):

Enrolling children in our centre and administering their attendance and care.
Communicating with parents/guardians about your child’s progress, health/medical needs, incident reports, billing/fees.
Operating our services (including staff rostering, health & safety, regulatory compliance, curriculum planning).
Administering payments, invoices and billing.
Providing access to parent/guardian portals or reports.
Responding to enquiries and managing our website and marketing (if consent is given).
Complying with legal, regulatory and contractual obligations (for example childcare regulations, early learning guidelines, health & safety laws).

We only collect personal information that is necessary for these purposes, in line with Principle 1 of the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) under the Privacy Act 2020. Legislation New Zealand+1

4. What personal information we collect

Depending on your interaction with us, we may collect information such as:

Child’s full name, date of birth, gender, family/guardian contact details.
Emergency contact details.
Health and medical information (e.g., allergies, dietary requirements, immunisation records, special needs).
Attendance and booking details.
Billing and payment information.
Parent/guardian names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses.
Website usage information (for users of our website: e.g., cookies, IP address, browsing behaviour) — see Section 10 below.
Any other information you supply in forms, enrolment documents, or direct communications.

5. How we collect personal information

We collect personal information:

Directly from you when you provide it (for example, on enrolment forms, website forms, emails, phone calls).
From third parties where authorised (for instance if a referring agency provides information, or where required by law).
Via our website (automatically, through cookies or similar technologies).
We endeavour to collect information in a fair and lawful manner, and in a way that does not intrude unreasonably into your personal affairs. This is consistent with IPP 4. Legislation New Zealand+1

6. Use and disclosure of personal information

6.1 Use

We use personal information for the purposes set out in Section 3. We do not use personal information for a new purpose unless that new purpose is directly related to the original purpose, or you have consented, or law permits. This aligns with IPP 10. Legislation New Zealand+1

6.2 Disclosure

We may disclose your personal information:

To our staff, contractors or service providers who assist us in operating our services or website (for example IT service providers, billing services, child-care management software) — only where necessary and subject to confidentiality obligations.
To regulatory or government authorities when required by law or regulation (for example early learning/childcare regulation, health & safety, accident reporting).
In emergencies (for example if a child’s health requires urgent attention) or where otherwise required to protect the health, safety or welfare of a child or person.
To third parties overseas only if appropriate safeguards exist or where you have given consent. For example, if any of our systems or service providers are located outside New Zealand. (We will inform you of this and obtain consent if required.) This is consistent with IPP 12. linklaters.com+1

We will not disclose personal information for marketing purposes unless you have given your express consent.

7. Data security and retention

7.1 Security

We take reasonable and appropriate technical, administrative and organisational measures to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. This aligns with IPP 5. Legislation New Zealand+1

7.2 Retention

We will retain personal information for as long as it is required for the purpose(s) for which it was collected, for legal or business reasons. We will destroy or de-identify information when it is no longer required, in line with IPP 9. Legislation New Zealand

8. Access and correction

Under the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right to:

Ask us whether we hold personal information about you (or your child). Legislation New Zealand+1
Request access to that personal information.
Request correction of any personal information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, misleading or irrelevant. We will attach a statement of correction if we decline to correct it. Legislation New Zealand
In certain cases, request deletion of information (if retention is no longer necessary) or ask that the information be de-identified (though the Act does not provide an absolute “erase” right as under some overseas laws). linklaters.com+1

To make a request, please contact us using the details below. We may need you to verify your identity and provide details of your request. We will respond to your request in a timely manner.

9. Cookies and website tracking

Our website may use cookies or other tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing behaviour (such as pages visited, time spent on site). This helps us to improve the website functionality, user experience and analytics.
If you don’t want to receive cookies you can set your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being used. Note that in some cases parts of the website may not function properly if cookies are disabled.

If we use third-party analytics or tracking services (for example Google Analytics), those services may collect data such as IP addresses, device type, browser version, referring URLs and anonymised usage patterns.

10. Marketing communications

If you provide your email or contact details and consent to receive marketing communications (for example newsletters or updates), we may send you such communications from time to time. You may opt-out of receiving marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us (see contact details below). We do not share your personal information for marketing purposes with other organisations unless you consent.

11. Transborder data flows

If your personal information is disclosed or stored outside New Zealand, we will ensure that the recipient is subject to privacy laws that offer comparable protection to the Privacy Act 2020, or we will obtain your express consent after informing you of the potential risks. This aligns with IPP 12. linklaters.com+1

12. Notifiable privacy breaches

In the event we become aware of a privacy breach (that is, personal information is lost, accessed, used or disclosed without authorisation, and this is likely to cause serious harm), we will comply with the reporting obligations under the Privacy Act 2020 and notify you and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as required. Privacy Commissioner+1

13. Children’s personal information

Given the nature of our Services (early learning centre), we collect and use personal information about children and their guardians. We handle this information with particular care. We require parent/guardian consent for enrolment and specific consent for health and sensitive information (such as allergies, medical conditions). We limit use of this information strictly to the purposes of providing our Services, health & safety, regulatory compliance, billing and communications.

14. Changes to this Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. The revised policy will be posted on our website and will take effect from the date indicated. You should check the policy periodically. Your continued use of our website or services after that date constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

15. How to contact us

If you have any questions, concerns or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of personal information, please contact us at:

The Village Co Early Learning Centre
49 Third View Avenue, Beachlands, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: 022 032-0400
Email: info@thevillageco.co.nz

You also have the right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner if you believe we are not handling your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 or this Privacy Policy:
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Level 8, 109-111 Featherston Street, Wellington 6143, New Zealand
Website: www.privacy.org.nz