Last updated: 19 October 2026
1. Who we are
Code Hamsters (codehamsters.com) is run by Simple Platform Work Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17284066), whose registered office is at 5 Canon Court, Institute Street, Bolton, BL1 1PZ. In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Simple Platform Work Limited, trading as Code Hamsters.
We are the controller of the personal information described in this policy. This means we decide how and why it is used, and we are responsible for looking after it under UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
If you have any questions about this policy or how we use your information, email us at matt@codehamsters.com.
2. The information we collect
About you (parents and carers)
- your name, email address, phone number and home address
- your relationship to your child
- emergency contact details, and the names of adults allowed to collect your child
- records of your bookings, payments and communications with us
About your child
- their name, date of birth, year group and school
- medical conditions, allergies, medication and any additional needs you tell us about
- attendance, sign-in and collection records
- consents you give or refuse, for example for photographs
- progress in activities, such as the badges and certificates they earn
- records of any accidents, incidents or safeguarding concerns
Information about health and additional needs is “special category” data, which has extra protection under the law. We only ask for what we need to keep your child safe and well.
When you contact us
If you email us or register your interest, we keep your message and contact details, along with any details you share about your child, such as their first name, school and year group.
When you visit our website
Our website does not use cookies for advertising or analytics, and does not follow you to other websites. We use Vercel Web Analytics to count visits: it records the page you looked at, the website that sent you, your approximate location, and your device and browser type. It does not use cookies or store your IP address, and it recognises a repeat visit only within the same day, using a code it discards after 24 hours. We only see totals, never information about you as an individual. Our website hosting provider may also keep standard technical logs (such as your IP address, browser type and the pages requested) for a short time to keep the site secure and working. If you switch between the light and dark display settings, your choice is saved in your own browser and is not sent to us.
If you apply to work with us
We will give tutors and job applicants a separate privacy notice explaining how we use their information.
3. How we use information, and our lawful reasons
We only use personal information when the law allows us to. We use it:
- to take and manage bookings, collect payments and keep you informed about sessions, because it is necessary to carry out our contract with you
- to keep children safe and well, including taking registers, following collection arrangements, giving first aid and managing medical needs. We rely on our contract with you, our legal obligations, and, in an emergency, the need to protect someone’s vital interests. For health and additional needs information, we rely on your explicit consent and, where necessary, the “safeguarding of children and individuals at risk” condition in the Data Protection Act 2018
- to record and respond to accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns, and to share information with the relevant authorities where required, because of our legal obligations and the safeguarding condition described above
- to keep financial and business records, because the law requires us to
- to answer enquiries and registrations of interest, because you have asked us to, or because it is in our legitimate interests to respond
- to run and improve our clubs, for example by reviewing attendance and feedback, because it is in our legitimate interests to do so
- to take and use photographs or videos of children, only with your consent
- to send you news about future clubs, only with your consent, or where you have booked with us before and have not opted out. You can unsubscribe at any time
- to keep our website and systems secure, because it is in our legitimate interests to do so
- to count visits to our website and see which pages are useful, because it is in our legitimate interests to do so
We need the information on our registration form, including emergency contacts and health information, to keep your child safe. If you do not give it to us, we cannot accept your child at a session.
We do not make any decisions about you or your child by automated means alone, and we do not profile you.
4. Who we share information with
We never sell personal information. We only share what is necessary, with:
- our tutors, who need information about the children in their group, such as medical needs and collection arrangements
- the host school, for example to confirm attendance at the end of the school day or in an emergency
- service providers that help us run Code Hamsters: our booking system (Pembee), which holds your bookings, registration details, health information and consents; email and secure document storage (Google Workspace); payment providers; and website hosting and analytics (Vercel). They may only use information on our instructions
- emergency services and medical professionals, if a child needs urgent help
- local authority children’s services, the police, Ofsted or other bodies, where the law requires it or to protect a child from harm
- our professional advisers and insurers, where necessary, for example if there is a claim
5. Transfers outside the UK
Some of our service providers may store or access information outside the UK. When they do, we make sure the transfer is protected as UK law requires, for example because the country is recognised by the UK as having adequate protection, or by using approved contract terms such as the International Data Transfer Agreement.
6. How long we keep information
- Enquiries and registrations of interest that don’t lead to a booking: up to 12 months after our last contact with you.
- Registration forms, medical information and consents: while your child attends, then securely deleted within 12 months of their last session.
- Booking and payment records: 6 years from the end of the financial year they relate to, as required for tax purposes.
- Accident and incident records: until the child reaches the age of 21, in case of a later insurance or legal claim.
- Safeguarding records: for as long as statutory safeguarding guidance requires, which is usually until the child reaches the age of 25.
- Photographs and videos: until you withdraw consent, or until we no longer need them.
When we no longer need information, we securely delete or anonymise it.
7. How we keep information secure
- Only people who need information to do their job can access it.
- We use secure, access-controlled business accounts and document storage.
- Paper records, such as registers, are kept securely at sessions and are never left unattended.
- All tutors are DBS-checked and trained in safeguarding and confidentiality.
8. Your rights
You have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you or your child
- ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete
- ask us to delete information
- ask us to limit how we use information
- object to how we use information, including for direct marketing
- ask us to transfer information to you or another organisation
- withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent
Children in Years 5 and 6 are usually too young to exercise these rights on their own, so parents and carers can normally exercise them on their behalf. Some rights have exceptions. For example, we may need to keep safeguarding records even if we are asked to delete them.
To use any of these rights, email matt@codehamsters.com. There is usually no fee, and we will respond within one month.
9. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have used your information, please contact us first at matt@codehamsters.com so we can try to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or by calling 0303 123 1113.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated. If we make significant changes, we will let families who have booked with us know.
See also our data protection policy, which explains how we comply with the law behind the scenes, and our terms and conditions.