Privacy Notice
This notice explains how the Association for Character Education collects, uses and protects personal information, including information relating to our members, website users, professional contacts and organisations we engage with.
Last updated: August 2026
We are committed to handling personal information responsibly, transparently and only where there is a clear reason for us to do so. We do not sell personal information to third parties.
1. Who we are
The Association for Character Education (ACE) is a UK charity supporting schools, trusts, teachers, leaders and practitioners with the development of character education.
For the purposes of UK data protection law, ACE is the data controller for personal information we collect and use.
2. Information we may collect
Depending on your relationship with ACE, we may collect information such as:
Your name and job title.
Your organisation, school or trust.
Your professional email address and telephone number.
Membership and account information.
Records of correspondence and enquiries.
Event, conference or programme participation.
Information provided through forms, applications or assessments.
Website usage and analytics information where appropriate consent has been provided.
Information about your engagement with relevant ACE communications.
We aim to collect only the information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
3. How we use your information
We may use personal information to:
Administer ACE memberships and accounts.
Provide services, resources, programmes and accreditation activities.
Respond to enquiries and requests for information.
Manage events, conferences and professional engagement.
Communicate with schools, trusts and other organisations about ACE's work.
Share relevant information about our services, resources, programmes and opportunities.
Develop relationships with organisations that may have a professional interest in character education.
Improve our website, services and communications.
Meet our legal, regulatory and charitable obligations.
4. Professional and B2B communications
As part of ACE's charitable work, we may contact schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, educational organisations and relevant professionals where we believe our work, resources or services may be relevant to their professional responsibilities.
Professional contact details may be obtained directly from you, from your organisation's website, from publicly available professional sources, or through existing professional relationships.
Where appropriate, we may rely on our legitimate interests to communicate with professional contacts about relevant ACE activities, services, resources and opportunities.
You can ask us to stop sending you marketing or promotional communications at any time. You can use the unsubscribe option included in our communications or contact us directly.
5. Our lawful bases for processing
We only process personal information where we have an appropriate lawful basis under UK data protection legislation.
Depending on the circumstances, this may include:
Contract – where processing is necessary to provide a membership, service or programme you have requested.
Legitimate interests – where processing supports ACE's charitable activities, professional relationships, administration, service development or relevant B2B communications and those interests are not overridden by your rights.
Consent – where we have specifically asked you to agree to a particular use of your information.
Legal obligation – where we are required to process information to comply with the law.
6. Email marketing and communications
We may send relevant professional communications to corporate organisations and their representatives where permitted by applicable data protection and electronic communications legislation.
Our communications will identify ACE and provide a straightforward way for recipients to opt out of future marketing communications.
Where you object to receiving direct marketing, we may retain limited information about you on a suppression list so that we can ensure your preference continues to be respected.
7. Cookies and website analytics
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for essential website functionality and, where consent is provided, for preferences, analytics and marketing purposes.
You can manage your cookie preferences using the consent controls available on our website.
8. Sharing your information
We may use trusted service providers to help us operate our organisation and deliver our services. These may include providers of:
Website hosting and IT services.
Membership and customer relationship management systems.
Email and communications platforms.
Payment and accounting services.
Event and form management systems.
Analytics and website performance tools.
Where third parties process personal information on our behalf, we expect them to handle it securely and only in accordance with our instructions and applicable data protection requirements.
We do not sell your personal information.
9. International data transfers
Some of the technology providers we use may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where this occurs, we take appropriate steps to ensure that suitable safeguards are in place for the protection of personal information in accordance with UK data protection law.
10. How long we keep information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including where necessary to meet legal, financial, regulatory or organisational requirements.
Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the information and your relationship with ACE.
Where information is held for professional outreach purposes and there is no ongoing relationship or relevant reason to retain it, we periodically review whether it should continue to be held.
11. Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights in relation to your personal information.
You can request access to the information we hold about you.
You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
You can ask us to erase your information in certain circumstances.
You can request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
You can object to processing based on legitimate interests.
You can object at any time to the use of your information for direct marketing.
You can withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.
Some of these rights depend on the circumstances and are not absolute.
12. Keeping your information secure
We take reasonable organisational and technical measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.
13. Changes to this notice
We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in our activities, services, technology or legal requirements.
The latest version will always be published on the ACE website.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice, how ACE uses your information, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please contact us using the details published on our website.
You also have the right to raise a concern with the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
