HANDS UP SCHOOL TRIPS

Privacy Policy

How we collect, use and protect personal information — including young people’s

Hands Up School Trips is a trading name of Hands Up Holidays Ltd.

Last updated 22 June 2026

1.  About this policy and who we are

1.1        This Privacy Policy explains how Hands Up School Trips (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you enquire about, book or take part in one of our trips, and when you use our website at handsupschooltrips.com.

1.2        We are the controller of the personal information described here. The legal entity is Hands up Holidays, and the contact for privacy questions is Christopher Hill (chris@handsupschooltrips.com).

1.3        Much of the information we handle is about young people under 18. We treat all personal information with care, and children’s information with particular care.

1.4        This policy should be read with our Terms & Conditions and our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy, which it supports.

2.  The information we collect

We collect the following, mostly from the school or group that books a trip, and from parents or guardians:

2.1        Identity and contact details — names, date of birth, nationality, passport details, home address, email and phone number, for Participants, the lead contact at the school, and parents or guardians.

2.2        Booking and travel details — itinerary, rooming preferences, emergency contacts, and travel-insurance details.

2.3        Health and other sensitive information — medical conditions, allergies, medications, dietary needs and accessibility requirements, and any safeguarding information. This is “special category” (sensitive) information, which the law protects more strictly, and we collect it only to keep Participants safe and care for them properly. See Sections 3 and 6.

2.4        Payment information — handled through our payment providers, Airwallex and Stripe. Card details are not stored.

2.5        Website and technical information — if you use our website, we may collect limited technical data such as IP address and pages viewed.

3.  Young people’s information

3.1        Because our trips are largely for young people under 18, much of the information we hold is theirs. It is normally provided to us by the school and by parents or guardians, who confirm they have authority to share it.

3.2        We use young people’s information only to arrange and deliver their trip safely, to meet our duty of care and legal obligations, and to respond to emergencies. Where we rely on consent (for example to use a photograph), for a Participant under 18 that consent comes from a parent or guardian.

3.3        We do not knowingly collect a child’s information directly through our website without appropriate parental involvement.

4.  How we use your information

We use personal information to:

• Respond to enquiries and prepare quotations and itineraries.
• Arrange and deliver the trip, including with airlines, accommodation, guides and in-country operators.
• Keep Participants safe — duty of care, supervision, medical and emergency response, and safeguarding.
• Take payment and keep proper financial records.
• Meet legal, regulatory and insurance obligations.
• Communicate with you about your booking.
• Where you have agreed, send you occasional news or use trip photographs (you can opt out at any time).
• Understand and improve our service and website.

5.  Our legal grounds for using it

5.1        Where UK or EU data-protection law applies, we rely on: performance of our contract with you; compliance with a legal obligation; our legitimate interests in running and improving the business (balanced against your rights); your consent (for example for marketing or photographs); and, in a medical emergency, the protection of someone’s vital interests.

5.2        For special category information such as health data, we rely on your explicit consent or another lawful condition, for example to protect someone’s vital interests in an emergency.

5.3        Where the New Zealand Privacy Act or US state privacy laws apply instead of, or alongside, UK/EU law, our handling is governed by those laws.

6.  Consent and sensitive information

6.1        Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time by contacting us (Section 15); this does not affect anything done before you withdrew it.

6.2        We collect health and other sensitive information only where it is needed to deliver a trip safely. If you choose not to provide information we genuinely need for safety, we may be unable to offer a place on a trip.

7.  Who we share it with

We share personal information only where necessary, and never sell or rent it. We may share it with:

• In-country operators and other Suppliers — airlines, accommodation, guides and activity providers — to deliver the trip.
• The partner school or group organiser, as part of arranging and running the trip.
• Our payment providers, Airwallex or Stripe to process payments.
• Insurers, and medical or emergency services, where needed to respond to an incident.
• Relevant authorities where the law requires, or to protect a young person (including safeguarding referrals).
• Our professional advisers, such as lawyers and accountants, under a duty of confidentiality.

7.1        On a school trip, the school may be a separate controller of its students’ information.

8.  Sending information overseas

8.1        Because our trips take place abroad, we transfer information to Suppliers in destination countries to arrange and deliver them. Some of those countries may not give personal information the same level of legal protection as your own.

8.2        Where we make such a transfer, we limit it to what is necessary for the trip and take reasonable steps to protect it.

9.  How long we keep it

9.1        We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes above, or as the law requires, and then delete or anonymise it.

10.  How we keep it secure

10.1      We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse and unauthorised access, and we limit access to those who need it. No system can be guaranteed completely secure, but we work to keep your information safe and to respond quickly if anything goes wrong.

11.  Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Ask for a copy of the information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete.
• Ask us to delete information, or to restrict or object to how we use it.
• Ask us to transfer certain information to another provider.
• Withdraw consent where we rely on it.
• Complain to a privacy regulator (Section 15).

11.1      To exercise any right, contact us using Section 15. We will respond within the time the applicable law requires. The exact rights available depend on the law that applies to you.

12.  Cookies and our website

12.1      Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help it work and to understand how it is used. Essential cookies are running, we are GDPR compliant, and visitors can opt out.

13.  Other websites

13.1      Our website and communications may link to sites we do not control, such as Suppliers’ sites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, and we encourage you to read their policies.

14.  Changes to this policy

14.1      We may update this policy from time to time. The current version and its date are shown at the top. Where a change is significant, we will take reasonable steps to tell affected clients.

15.  How to contact us, and how to complain

For any privacy question, or to exercise a right, contact:

Hands Up School Trips — Christopher Hill

chris@handsupschooltrips.com

+1 (917) 967 1766 (USA and Canada)  ·  +44 (0) 203 807 8409 (UK and Rest of World)

15.1      If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your information, you may complain to the privacy regulator that applies to you.