Privacy Statement
This privacy statement applies to personal information about the employees, children in our care, their parents/legal guardians, their siblings, and other individuals who are involved in their care. RisingOaks Early Learning Ontario (hereafter referred to as RisingOaks) is committed to protecting the privacy of its employees, members/customers, the children in our care and confidential business information.
For the purpose of this statement, 'personal information' is defined as any information about an identifiable individual that includes, but is not necessarily limited to, race, ethnic origin, colour, age, marital status, family status, religion, education, medical history, criminal record, employment history, financial status, address, telephone number and any numerical identification such as Social Insurance Number. Personal information also includes information that may relate to the work performance of the individual, any allegations, investigations or findings of wrongdoing, misconduct or discipline. Personal information does not include the name, job title, business contact information or job description of employees of an organization.
The purpose of this Privacy Statement is to inform you about RisingOaks' practices related to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information which may be collected by us through your filling out RisingOaks forms or otherwise providing information through participation in our programs. By filling out the forms, either yourself or on behalf of your child or ward and by participating in our programs, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as defined and, if applicable, the personal information of your child or ward in accordance with the following terms and conditions.
Why do we collect personal information?
RisingOaks collects information as a requirement of the Child Care & Early Years Act, as enforced by the Ministry of Education and as required by the local Public Health Unit. The information is collected to assist us in screening potential employees and volunteers and to aid us in providing a safe, nurturing and supportive learning environment for employees, members/customers and their children.
The information collected includes but is not limited to contact information (e.g., name, address, e-mail address, telephone number), age, skills and educational background, employment history, Social Insurance Number, Health Card Number and immunization history, record checks (e.g., police records check, Family and Children's Services Check and/or reference checks for employees, students and volunteers) and information on medical conditions, allergies and medications.
RisingOaks also collects financial information (e.g., banking information on personal cheques, direct deposit applications or pre-authorized debit applications) from employees and members/clients.
How We Use Your Personal Information
RisingOaks uses personal information to ensure the safety of children in its care and that of our employees, students and volunteers. Contact information is used to facilitate communication between RisingOaks and its members/customers and to ensure that parents or emergency contacts can be reached as necessary. We also issue reminders and important updates through our e-mail distribution list and the Sandbox Parent App to those who have elected to receive communication via these mediums.
RisingOaks uses information about skills, employment history, records/reference checks, etc. to employ the best suitable candidates.
From time to time, RisingOaks may review your personal information to identify candidates to approach regarding specific volunteer opportunities.
RisingOaks uses health information to help ensure the most appropriate response to any health care situation that may arise.
Financial information is only used for the purpose of collecting fees and/or paying wages and submitting government remittances. Each member/family with children in our care is assigned a unique customer/family code that is used to store information in our electronic child care database and/or accounting systems. This includes past and present invoices, payments/ credits and contact information.
RisingOaks maintains files with your information. Only staff with a legitimate need to access this information has access to these files.
When We Disclose Your Personal Information
RisingOaks does not disclose personal information to individuals, organizations or corporations outside of its own organization at any time or for any reason, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law.
RisingOaks may share personal information with a third party engaged to assist us in providing services to you or to carry out one or more of the purposes described above (e.g., auditor, health unit, a collections agency). These service providers are prohibited from using such personal information for any purpose other than to provide this assistance and are required to protect personal information disclosed by RisingOaks and to comply with the privacy legislation and general principles within this Privacy Statement.
RisingOaks reserves the right to disclose personal information to a third party if a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order legally requires us to do so.
Knowledge and Consent
Having read this statement and by accepting employment and/or enrolling your child in our child care program and providing us with the personal information requested you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information.
The form of consent that we seek, including whether it is expressed or implied, will largely depend on the sensitivity of the personal information and the reasonable expectations of the individual in the circumstances. When you fill out an RisingOaks form, for instance, you imply that we may use that information for the purpose for which you filled out the form.
If RisingOaks will be using or disclosing personal information for purposes that have not been stated in this statement and that we do not feel would be obvious to you, we will first obtain your expressed consent.
You may withdraw, or restrict/limit, your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.
Knowledge & Consent continued...
In certain circumstances, personal information can be collected, used or disclosed without the knowledge and consent of the individual (or his/her parents/legal guardian). For example:
- If it is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannont be obtained in a timely way, such as when the individual is seriously ill or mentally incapacitated.
- If seeking the consent might defeat the purpose for collecting the information, as in the contect of an investigation of a breach of an agreement or a contravention of a federal or provincial law; or if there is an emergency where the life, health or security of an individual is threatened
How Long is Your Information Retained?
We retain personal information only as long as it remains necessary or relevant for the identified purposes, and in accordance with legal requirements. Therefore we will retain your child's file or personnel file for as long as you remain involved with the organization and, unless you withdraw your consent, for a fixed period of time thereafter so that we may archive your participation in the organization and retain this information for you should you decide to return at a later date.
RisingOaks retains and securely destroys personal information in accordance with our internal Records Retention & Destruction policy. Our policy takes into account the retention requirements for financial and insurance records as well as the requirements of the Child Care & Early Years Act and its associated regulations.
How We Protect Your Personal Information?
We have procedures and policies in place and make all reasonable efforts to ensure that personal information, in both paper and electronic format are protected against the risk of loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, modification or destruction. For example, access to your personal information is restricted to select employees, there is limited access to offices where information is stored, filing cabinets are locked and we use a secure server and individual passwords to protect electronic information.
How Can You Access Your Personal Information and Check Its Accuracy?
RisingOaks relies on the information provided by you when enrolling your child(ren) in our child care program or when beginning employment. You may at any time make a written request for access to your or your child's personal information using the appropriate Access to Personal Information form. Personal information will be provided in an understandable form within a reasonable time and at a minimal or no cost to the individual.
However, in certain situations we may not be able to provide access to all of the personal information we hold about an individual as there are numerous exceptions to the access principle under the Personal Information Protection & Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). For example we cannot provide access to personal information about another individual if they have not consented, or to information that could reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another individual. Also we cannot provide access to information that was generated in the course of the formal dispute resolution process. If we are unable to provide you with all the information contained in your file or your child's we will attempt to sever the sensitive information from the file prior to fulfilling your access request.
RisingOaks strives to maintain accurate records of your personal information; however, this can not be achieved without your help. In this ongoing effort, we ask you to provide us with up-to-date information as changes arise.
Changes to this Privacy Statement
RisingOaks reserves the right to modify this privacy statement at anytime. This page is deeme to be the most up to date copy and should be used as your reference.
Contacting Us
In the event that you have any questions about RisingOaks' Privacy Statement, wish to obtain a copy or if you have reason to believe that RisingOaks may have failed to adhere to this Privacy Statement, you may contact the Executive Director:
519-894-0581, ext. 102
RisingOaks Early Learning Ontario
Administration Office
10 Washburn Drive, Unit 2 Kitchener, ON N2R 1S2
