Field's Privacy Policy
Version: 1.0 (12 JUNE 2026)
Business: Field’s – Automatic Driving School
Data controller: Matthew Field, trading as Field’s – Automatic Driving School
Contact: 07356 237771, contact@fieldsdriving.co.uk
ICO registration number: PENDING
This Privacy Policy explains how Field’s – Automatic Driving School collects, uses, stores and protects personal information.
Field’s – Automatic Driving School is operated by Matthew Field, a self-employed approved driving instructor. In this policy, “Field’s”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Matthew Field trading as Field’s – Automatic Driving School.
This policy applies to pupils, prospective pupils, parents or guardians, website users, and anyone who contacts Field’s about driving lessons.
1. The personal information we collect
We may collect and use the following types of personal information.
a) Contact and identity details
This may include:
name;
address;
telephone number;
email address;
date of birth or age, where relevant;
parent or guardian contact details, where relevant.
b) Driving and lesson information
This may include:
driving licence details;
provisional licence status;
information needed to check that you are entitled to drive;
lesson dates, times, pick-up and drop-off locations;
lesson notes and progress records;
test dates, test centre details and readiness for test;
records of cancellations, payments and bookings.
c) Health, medical and fitness-to-drive information
This may include information you provide about:
medical conditions;
medication;
eyesight;
disabilities or support needs;
temporary illness, injury, fatigue or anything else that may affect your ability to drive safely.
We only ask for this information where it is relevant to driving safety, legal entitlement to drive, lesson planning, or reasonable adjustments.
d) Payment and transaction information
This may include:
payment records;
lesson packages or block bookings purchased;
refund records;
amounts owed;
bank transfer references or payment method details.
We do not normally hold full card details. If card payments are accepted, they are processed by the relevant payment provider.
e) Communications
This may include messages sent by phone, text, WhatsApp, email, website contact form, social media message or other communication method.
f) Photographs, testimonials and reviews
If you pass your test, we may ask whether you are willing to provide a photograph, testimonial or review. This is optional. We will only use your photograph, name, testimonial or review for marketing if you have given permission.
g) Dashcam, in-car camera and audio/video recordings
The training vehicle is fitted with camera equipment. This may include:
External cameras recording the road, traffic, pedestrians, cyclists, other vehicles and events outside the vehicle;
Internal cameras recording the pupil, instructor and vehicle controls;
audio recording, where enabled.
External recordings are used for safety, incident evidence, insurance, instructor protection, legal protection and lesson review.
Internal recordings are used for safety, tuition, observation checks, review of mirror use, use of controls, steering, signalling, positioning, general driving behaviour, and later reference for the pupil where appropriate.
Pupils may ask to review relevant footage from their own lesson where this is reasonably practical. Access may be restricted where footage includes other people, other vehicles, legal or insurance matters, police matters, or information that must be handled carefully under data protection law.
If you do not want internal video or audio recording to take place, you may tell the instructor. Where reasonably practical, internal video and/or audio recording will be switched off. External recording may still be used for safety, insurance and incident-protection purposes.
h) Website information
If you use our website, we may collect limited technical information such as:
IP address;
browser type;
device type;
pages visited;
date and time of visit;
information submitted through website forms.
If cookies, analytics tools or similar technologies are used, further information should be provided in a cookie notice or cookie section on the website.
2. How we collect personal information
We may collect personal information:
directly from you when you contact us, book lessons, attend lessons, make payments, send messages or complete forms;
from a parent or guardian, where they make contact on your behalf;
from your driving licence or information you provide about your licence;
from lesson records created during your tuition;
from in-car cameras, dashcams or audio/video systems;
from payment records;
from website forms, emails, messages or phone calls;
from the DVSA or other official bodies where relevant to a test, driving entitlement, incident or legal matter.
3. Why we use your personal information
We use personal information for the following purposes:
to respond to enquiries;
to arrange, manage and provide driving lessons;
to check that you are legally entitled to drive;
to assess whether you are fit and safe to drive;
to plan lessons and monitor progress;
to manage bookings, cancellations, payments and refunds;
to communicate with you about lessons and test arrangements;
to decide whether you are ready to use the instructor’s car for a practical driving test;
to provide pupil feedback and learning support;
to keep records of tuition and business administration;
to manage complaints or disputes;
to protect road safety;
to assist with insurance claims, legal claims, police enquiries or road incidents;
to comply with legal, tax, accounting and regulatory obligations;
to ask for optional reviews, testimonials or pass photographs;
to maintain website security and respond to website enquiries.
4. Our lawful bases for using personal information
Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for using personal information.
Depending on the situation, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases.
a) Contract
We use personal information where it is necessary to provide driving lessons, manage bookings, take payments, arrange lesson times, keep lesson records and deal with cancellations, refunds or test-day arrangements.
b) Legitimate interests
We may use personal information where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
This may include:
running and managing the driving school;
responding to enquiries;
keeping lesson and progress records;
using external dashcam footage for road safety, incident evidence and insurance protection;
using internal lesson footage for training, safety and pupil review;
handling complaints or disputes;
protecting the instructor, pupil, vehicle and other road users;
maintaining website and communication records.
c) Legal obligation
We may use or retain personal information where required by law, for example for accounting records, tax records, data protection compliance, court orders, police requests or other legal obligations.
d) Consent
We rely on consent where you have a genuine choice, for example:
using your photograph for marketing;
publishing your testimonial or review with your name;
using your image on the website or social media;
sending certain forms of direct marketing, where consent is required.
You can withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.
e) Special category information
Information about health, medical conditions or disability may be special category data under UK data protection law.
We only use this type of information where it is relevant to driving safety, lesson planning, reasonable adjustments, legal entitlement to drive, or protecting the vital safety interests of the pupil, instructor and other road users.
We will keep this information to the minimum necessary and will handle it with extra care.
5. Dashcams and in-car recording
Field’s uses in-car recording systems because driving tuition takes place in a safety-critical road environment.
External cameras may record the road and events outside the vehicle. This helps with:
road safety;
incident review;
insurance evidence;
police or legal matters;
reviewing hazards and decisions during lessons;
protecting the pupil, instructor and other road users.
Internal cameras may record inside the vehicle. This helps with:
checking observation routines;
reviewing mirror use;
reviewing steering and control use;
understanding pupil habits and progress;
supporting lesson feedback;
helping the pupil review their own driving where appropriate.
Internal recording is intended for tuition, safety and review. It is not used for public marketing unless you have given separate permission.
Recordings may be viewed by the instructor and, where appropriate, by the pupil. They may also be shared where necessary with insurers, legal advisers, the police, the DVSA, courts or other relevant authorities.
Footage will not be uploaded publicly or used on social media without consent.
Where footage includes other people, other vehicles, private information, legal matters or insurance matters, access may be restricted or edited before being shared.
6. Who we share personal information with
We do not sell personal information.
We may share personal information where necessary with:
the pupil or, where appropriate, a parent or guardian;
payment providers;
website hosting, email, booking or IT service providers;
accountants or bookkeepers;
insurers;
legal advisers;
the police;
the DVSA;
courts, regulators or public authorities;
complaints bodies or professional bodies where relevant.
We only share information where there is a proper reason to do so.
7. How long we keep personal information
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary.
Typical retention periods are:
enquiry records: up to 12 months after the last contact if lessons are not started;
lesson and pupil records: up to 6 years after the last lesson, where needed for business, legal, insurance or complaint purposes;
payment and accounting records: normally 6 years, in line with tax and accounting requirements;
complaint, incident, insurance or legal records: as long as necessary to deal with the matter and any related claim;
dashcam and in-car footage: normally deleted automatically or manually after a short period unless it is needed for tuition review, complaint handling, an incident, insurance matter, legal matter, police request or pupil learning review;
marketing photographs, testimonials and reviews: until consent is withdrawn or until they are no longer required.
Where possible, we will delete or anonymise information that is no longer needed.
8. How we protect personal information
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.
This may include:
using password-protected devices and accounts;
limiting access to pupil records;
keeping records securely;
using secure payment and communication systems where practical;
deleting information when it is no longer needed;
taking care when sharing footage or documents.
No system is completely risk-free, but we aim to handle personal information carefully and proportionately.
9. Your data protection rights
Under UK data protection law, you may have the right to:
ask for a copy of your personal information;
ask for incorrect information to be corrected;
ask for information to be deleted in certain circumstances;
object to certain types of processing;
ask for processing to be restricted in certain circumstances;
withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis;
ask for certain information to be transferred to another provider, where applicable;
complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
These rights do not always apply in every situation. For example, we may need to keep some information for legal, insurance, accounting, safety or complaint-handling reasons.
To exercise your rights, contact:
Matthew Field
Field’s – Automatic Driving School
contact@fieldsdriving.co.uk
07356 237771
We may need to confirm your identity before responding to a request.
10. Parents, guardians and pupils under 18
Some pupils may be under 18. Where a parent or guardian arranges lessons, makes payments or communicates with us, we may process their contact and payment information as well as the pupil’s information.
Driving tuition records mainly relate to the pupil. Where appropriate, we may communicate with a parent or guardian about lesson bookings, payments, cancellations, safety concerns or practical arrangements.
We will take care when sharing information about a pupil and will only share what is appropriate in the circumstances.
11. Marketing
We may ask pupils who pass their test whether they are willing to provide a photograph, review or testimonial.
This is optional. Refusing will not affect your lessons or your relationship with Field’s.
We will not use your photograph, name, review or testimonial for public marketing unless you have given permission.
You may withdraw permission later by contacting us. If permission is withdrawn, we will take reasonable steps to remove the material from future use. Material that has already been printed, shared, cached or reposted by others may not always be fully removable.
12. Website contact forms and cookies
If you contact us through the website, we will use the information you provide to respond to your enquiry and, where relevant, arrange lessons.
The website may use essential cookies needed for security or basic website operation.
If the website uses analytics, advertising cookies, embedded maps, social media plugins or similar tools, the website should explain this clearly and, where required, ask for consent before non-essential cookies are used.
13. Links to other websites
The Field’s website may include links to other websites, such as GOV.UK, DVSA pages, payment providers, social media platforms or review platforms.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites. You should read their privacy policies if you use them.
14. Complaints
If you are concerned about how Field’s uses your personal information, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve the issue.
You can contact:
Matthew Field
Field’s – Automatic Driving School
contact@fieldsdriving.co.uk
07356 237771
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The ICO can be contacted through its website:
15. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the business, the website, the law, ICO guidance, DVSA requirements, insurance requirements or the way lessons are delivered.
The latest version will be available on the Field’s – Automatic Driving School website.