Privacy Policy
Privacy Notice – National Union of School Students (NUSS)
Last Updated: 05/12/2025
1. Introduction: Who We Are
The National Union of School Students (NUSS) is currently an incubated project run as a partnership between Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS UK) and NUS Students’ Union Charitable Services (NUS Charity). NUSS is a project name and does not yet have its own separate legal entity. For the purposes of data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, SOS UK and NUS Charity act as joint data controllers for the NUSS project. This means they jointly decide how and why your personal data is used for NUSS, and you can exercise your data protection rights against either controller. The main points of this arrangement are that SOS UK and NUS Charity work together to run NUSS, decide the purposes of the project, agree how personal data is collected and used, and share responsibility for making sure your information is handled lawfully, fairly and securely. For day-to-day queries, NUSS has a central contact point, but you may also contact either joint controller directly. It is intended that NUSS will eventually become an independent organisation. If that happens, the personal data held for NUSS may be transferred to the new NUSS legal entity once it is established. You will be notified before this happens, and your information will not be used for any new purposes without telling you first. When the new NUSS legal entity is registered, it will become an independent data controller for NUSS activities. The ownership of relevant systems and data stores may then be transferred to that organisation so it can continue the work of NUSS. The joint controllers are: SOS UK (Students Organising for Sustainability), Charity Registration Number: 1184011, Address: c/o NUS Charity, Merseyway Innovation Centre, 21–23 Merseyway, Stockport, SK1 1PN. NUS Charity (NUS Students’ Union Charitable Services), Company Number: 07509468, Address: c/o Merseyway Innovation Centre, 21–23 Merseyway, Stockport, SK1 1PN. Throughout this notice, “we”, “us”, and “our” refer to the NUSS project and these joint controllers.
2. What Data We Collect
We collect personal data when you sign up for our newsletter, take part in a campaign, attend an event, complete a survey, or otherwise engage with NUSS. This may include: Contact details, such as your name, email address and phone number. Education details, such as the name of your school or college. Technical data, such as your IP address, browser type and cookies. Engagement data, such as which emails you open, links you click, events you attend, and campaigns or activities you take part in. Information you choose to share in surveys, consultations, feedback forms or applications.
3. How We Use Your Data
We use your data to build and support the movement for school students. This includes: sending you updates about NUSS news, campaigns, opportunities and events. Organising events, ballots, working groups and other project activity. Understanding who we are reaching and how effective the project is. Improving our communications and planning future activity. Contacting you about ways to support NUSS, including fundraising where relevant. We may also use your email address with tools provided by social media platforms, for example custom or similar audience tools, so that NUSS content can be shown to you or to people with similar interests on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok or Facebook. Where this happens, those platforms will usually act as independent controllers for the personal data they hold and use.
4. Our Legal Basis for Processing
Under the UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases: Consent: where you actively sign up for updates or tick a box confirming that you want to hear from us. You can withdraw your consent at any time, including by clicking “unsubscribe” in our emails. Legitimate interests: where we need to use personal data to run NUSS effectively, manage the project, administer events and communications, analyse engagement, improve our services, and plan for the future development of the project. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the impact on your rights and freedoms and will not process your information in that way if your interests override ours.
5. Third Parties and Data Processors
To run NUSS efficiently, we use trusted third-party service providers. These may include website and app hosts, email platforms, CRM systems, survey tools, automation tools, payment providers and other technical suppliers. These organisations act as data processors where they handle personal data on our behalf and under our instructions. Some service providers may be based outside the UK or EEA. Where personal data is transferred internationally, appropriate legal safeguards will be used, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK-US Data Bridge where applicable, or another lawful transfer mechanism.
6. Future Data Transfer
As set out above, NUSS is being incubated with the aim of becoming an independent organisation. If a new NUSS legal entity is established: responsibility for NUSS data may transfer to that organisation. The new organisation will become an independent data controller for NUSS activities. You will be informed before the transfer takes place. You will have the opportunity to object or unsubscribe if you do not want your data to move to the new entity.
7. Children’s Privacy
NUSS is designed for children and young people in school and college, and we aim to explain how we use personal information in a clear and accessible way. If you are aged 13 or over, you can sign up to NUSS services yourself. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13 without appropriate consent. If we discover that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verified parental consent, we will delete it as quickly as possible.
8. Cookies
We may use cookies and similar technologies to help our website work, keep it secure, and understand how it is used. These cookies may include: strictly necessary cookies, which are essential for the site to function. Analytics cookies, which help us understand how many people visit the site and which pages are used. Marketing cookies, which help us measure the effectiveness of social media and other online advertising. You can control cookies through your browser settings and, where available, through the cookie controls on the site.
9. Your Rights
You have rights in relation to your personal data, including the right to: ask for access to the information we hold about you. Ask for inaccurate or incomplete information to be corrected. Ask for your information to be deleted in certain circumstances. Object to the use of your information for direct marketing. Ask us to restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances. Ask for your information to be transferred to another organisation where the legal conditions are met. These rights do not apply in every situation, but any request will be considered carefully and responded to clearly.
10. Contact Us
For any questions about this notice, or to exercise your data protection rights, please contact the lead contact point for the NUSS project: Email: staff@nuss.org.uk
Post: Data Protection Officer, SOS UK, Merseyway Innovation Centre, 21–23 Merseyway, Stockport, SK1 1PN. You may also contact either joint controller directly using the contact details available in their main privacy policies: SOS UK privacy policy: SOS UK.org/privacy-policyNUS Charity privacy and cookie policy: nusconnect.org.uk/privacy-and-cookie-policy