PRIVACY POLICY

Borrow A Village - Privacy Policy

Last updated: SEPTEMBER 2026

Who we are

Borrow A Village is a childcare matching service helping families find suitable childcare providers. We get to know our providers, carry out checks, and help arrange bookings based on each family’s needs.

This website and service are operated by Borrow A Village Limited, trading as Borrow A Village.

For questions about this policy or your personal information, contact us at hello@borrowavillage.co.uk.

Information we collect

When you register your interest, complete a form, contact us or use our service, we may collect:

From parents and carers: your name, contact details, location, childcare requirements, booking dates and times, and information you choose to share about your children, their routines and support needs.

From childcare providers: your name, contact details, location, experience, qualifications, availability, preferred work, rates, references and information needed for our onboarding and vetting process.

Booking information: details of requests, matches, confirmed bookings, payments, cancellations and communications relating to the service.

Website information: information collected through cookies and similar technologies, where applicable.

We may also collect information about a child’s health, allergies, disabilities or additional needs where it is necessary to understand and arrange suitable childcare. We ask families to share only information that is relevant to the booking.

How we use your information

We use personal information to respond to enquiries, manage registrations, assess provider suitability, arrange childcare matches, communicate about bookings, process payments, maintain records, improve our service and meet our legal obligations.

We may also use contact details to send marketing updates where you have agreed to receive them or where another lawful basis permits us to do so. You can opt out of marketing at any time.

Our lawful bases

Depending on the circumstances, we process personal information because it is necessary to take steps towards or perform a contract, comply with a legal obligation, pursue legitimate interests in operating and protecting our service, or because you have given consent.

Where we process special-category information, such as relevant health information, or criminal-offence information connected with vetting, we will identify and document the additional legal conditions required before doing so. We will not rely on a general consent checkbox as a substitute for those requirements.

DBS checks, references and vetting

We collect and use vetting information to assess whether a provider is suitable to join Borrow A Village and undertake particular bookings. Access is restricted to people who need the information for that purpose.

As part of our provider vetting process, we ask childcare providers about any DBS checks they currently hold and may verify relevant certificate details as part of our checks.

The level of DBS check that can be carried out depends on the nature and frequency of the childcare being provided and the applicable DBS eligibility rules. Where an additional or updated check is appropriate, we will discuss this with the provider as part of the onboarding process.

We do not routinely retain copies of DBS certificates. Instead, we may keep a record of the check carried out, the type and date of the check, relevant certificate details, any Update Service verification undertaken and the outcome of our verification.

Where information disclosed through a DBS check requires further consideration, it will be handled confidentially and access will be restricted to those who need it. DBS information will be securely deleted when it is no longer required.

Sharing information

We share information only where necessary to operate the service. This may include sharing relevant booking details with a proposed childcare provider, sharing appropriate provider information with a family, and using trusted suppliers for website hosting, communications, payments and business administration.

We may also share information with professional advisers, insurers, regulators, safeguarding authorities or law enforcement where necessary and lawful.

We do not sell personal information.

How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including managing childcare bookings, meeting our legal and regulatory obligations and dealing with complaints, safeguarding concerns or disputes.

Provider information will normally be kept while you are an active Borrow A Village childcare provider and for up to six years afterwards where we have a legitimate or legal reason to retain it. If you apply to join Borrow A Village but do not complete the onboarding process or are not approved, we will normally delete your application information within six months.

Booking and financial records may be retained for up to six years where required for accounting, tax, legal or dispute-resolution purposes.

We do not routinely retain copies of DBS certificates once the relevant checks have been completed. We may retain a record that a check was completed, when it was completed and the outcome, where appropriate.

Information relating to complaints, incidents or safeguarding concerns may need to be retained for longer where this is necessary to protect children, respond to a complaint or claim, or meet our legal obligations.

When information is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including restricting access to sensitive records and using appropriate security measures for our systems and suppliers.

Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to access, correct or erase your information, restrict or object to processing, and request data portability. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise your rights, contact hello@borrowavillage.co.uk. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

We do not currently use any cookies on this website. If that changes, we will update this policy.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our service develops. The latest version will always be available on our website.