Skip to main content
Cheshire West and Chester Council logoCheshire West and Chester

Triumph Together Privacy Notice

The Triumph Together service is designed to support young people in care and care leavers aged 15–24 by connecting them with volunteer mentors and trainers from the local community. The service aims to improve wellbeing and confidence, increase participation in education, employment and training, and help care leavers sustain tenancies and develop independent living skills.

As part of this service, we:

  • recruit and train volunteers to act as mentors or trainers
  • match volunteers with young people based on interests, goals, and support needs
  • facilitate mentoring sessions, coaching opportunities, and community-based activities
  • monitor progress and provide safeguarding oversight throughout participation

The service operates as a pilot within our statutory responsibilities for supporting children in care and care leavers.

Personal data

We collect the following personal data to deliver the Triumph Together mentoring and skills development service:

Special category data

We may collect the following special category data where relevant to support and safeguard participants:

Criminal data

For volunteers, we process:

Sources of information

We collect most information directly from you when you register for the Triumph Together service or complete interest forms. To ensure we can provide safe and effective support, we may also receive information from:

  • Other Cheshire West and Chester Council teams (e.g. Children’s Social Care) to confirm care leaver status and safeguarding needs.
  • Health and social care providers where relevant to support reasonable adjustments or safeguarding.
  • Family members or carers to help us understand your needs and preferences.
  • Commissioned partners or voluntary organisations involved in recruitment or training of volunteers.
  • Other local authorities if you have moved into or out of the area and we need to confirm your care status.
  • Police and probation services where necessary for safeguarding checks.
  • Members of the public (referrers) who may recommend or give references for volunteers.

We only collect information from these sources where it is relevant, necessary, and lawful to deliver the Triumph Together service. All information is handled securely and in accordance with data protection legislation.

What is your personal information used for?

Your information is used to:

  • Recruit and vet volunteers, including DBS checks, to ensure safeguarding.
  • Match volunteers and care leavers based on interests, goals, and support needs.
  • Provide mentoring and skills coaching sessions and monitor progress.
  • Share relevant information with volunteers and providers to ensure safety and reasonable adjustments.
  • Record participation and outcomes to evidence impact and improve services.
  • Fulfil legal and statutory duties under children’s social care and safeguarding legislation.
  • Respond to queries, feedback, or complaints about the service.

Personal information is only used where it is relevant, necessary, and lawful to support care leavers and volunteers and to deliver the Triumph Together service.

Data Processors

We use data processors to support the delivery of the Triumph Together mentoring and skills coaching service and to ensure your information is managed securely and efficiently. Data processors act on our instructions and are required to comply with data protection legislation.

Examples of data processors include:

  • Council-approved IT and cloud service providers that host and protect data, including scanned documents and internal records.
  • Electronic case management systems such as Liquid Logic and SharePoint, used to securely store personal information, participation records, and safeguarding notes. Access is restricted to authorised staff involved in the project.
  • Secure communication platforms (e.g., council email systems) used to share information with volunteers and staff involved in the project.
  • Microsoft Forms for collecting initial interest forms from volunteers and young people, hosted within the council’s secure environment.

All data processors are contractually required to handle your information securely and only use it for the purposes specified by us.

Data Controller

We are the Data Controller for this processing.

The lawful basis for processing

We do not rely on consent as a lawful basis for processing personal or special category data under UK GDPR.

We process personal data under:

  • UK GDPR Article 6(1)(e) – Public Task
    Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority. This includes fulfilling the Council’s statutory duties to support children in care and care leavers under the Children Act 1989 and related legislation.

For volunteers, we process personal data under:

  • UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b) – Contract
    Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract, which in this case is the volunteer agreement.

We process special category data under:

  • UK GDPR Article 9(2)(h) – Health or Social Care
    Where necessary to provide support and reasonable adjustments for care leavers and volunteers.
  • UK GDPR Article 9(2)(g) – Substantial Public Interest, supported by
    Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1, Paragraphs 6 and 18 – Equality of Opportunity and Safeguarding
    This permits processing of special category data where necessary to safeguard children and vulnerable individuals and to promote equality.

We process criminal data under:

  • UK GDPR Article 10 and Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 1, Paragraph 18 – Safeguarding of Children and Individuals at Risk
    This allows processing of DBS check results and related information to ensure volunteers are suitable to work with vulnerable young people.

While we will inform young people and seek their views before sharing sensitive information (such as health details) with providers, this is good practice and does not constitute GDPR consent. We may share data where necessary to protect individuals or fulfil legal obligations.

International data transfers

The Triumph Together service primarily stores and processes personal information within the United Kingdom. We do not anticipate any international transfers of personal data during the pilot phase.

In exceptional circumstances, personal data may need to be transferred outside the UK. This could occur if:

  • a care leaver moves abroad and relevant information is shared with a new support organisation to maintain continuity
  • an international organisation is involved in providing support and requires limited information to coordinate services
  • a referee for a volunteer is based outside the UK

Where personal data is transferred internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information. These safeguards include:

  • Adequacy decisions: Ensuring the destination country has been recognised by the UK government as providing an adequate level of data protection.
  • Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTAs): Legally binding agreements that ensure your data is protected to UK standards.
  • Technical and organisational measures: Including encryption, access controls, and secure data handling procedures.

We only transfer personal data internationally where it is necessary, proportionate, and lawful. Where the transfer is based on your request, we will seek your written agreement before sharing the information.

Retention periods

We will only keep your personal information for as long as necessary to deliver the Triumph Together service and to meet our legal and safeguarding obligations.

  • Care leavers’ records
    Records relating to care leavers are retained until their 75th birthday, or for 15 years from the date of death if the individual dies before the age of 18. This reflects statutory requirements for safeguarding and care planning.
  • Volunteer records
    Records relating to volunteers who work with care leavers are retained for 25 years after their involvement ends. This ensures we can respond to any safeguarding concerns or allegations that may arise in the future.

If your information is used for reporting or research purposes, it will be anonymised. Any notes taken during mentoring sessions will be securely stored in council systems and destroyed in line with retention schedules. Anonymised data may be used in reports and held indefinitely for statistical purposes.

Your rights

The UK GDPR provides you with several rights to control what personal information is used by us and how it is used by us. More information can be found on our data protection for you page.

Further guidance about these rights can be accessed from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website

If you are not happy about the way your personal data is being used, or you require further information about how we process your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Team online or by post:

  • Online: Contact the DPO
  • By post: Data Protection Officer, The Portal, Wellington Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BA

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office using the following details:

© 2025 Cheshire West and Chester Council

Cheshire West and Chester logoCheshire West and Chester