Privacy notice

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BBC 500 Words privacy notices 2025

One this page you will find two privacy notices; for applicants and for volunteer judges.

Your trust is very important to us. This means the BBC is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. It is important that you read this notice so that you are aware of how and why we are using such personal data. This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal data about you during and after your relationship with us, in accordance with data protection law.

This privacy notice is intended both for teachers/parents/guardians who submit children’s stories for consideration (“Applicants” section), and for judges who are selected to read the stories for the competition (“Judges” section).

Why are we doing this and how can you participate?

We are looking for stories for our upcoming 500 Words competition.

If you are a teacher/sport’s club leader/community group leader/parent/guardian, please create an account and submit your pupil or child’s short story. There are two age categories for story submissions: 5–7-year-olds and 8–11-year-olds.

We ask that submitters who are not parents or guardians seek parental approval beforehand. We may request proof that this has been obtained.

If a 500 Words entrant or their story appears on our programming or is published on our website, this may include the programme being available online and/or on demand, and their contribution may be used again in a future broadcast. We may also use this for promotional purposes on the BBC’s social media and web sites. We will publish the writers' names alongside their story.For information in relation to how the BBC will process your or the child entrant’s personal data where you/they are providing contributions to our programmes, please see our Privacy Notice for Contributors here.

The BBC will collect the personal data via an online platform.

What personal data will the BBC collect?

If you are a teacher/sport’s club leader/community group leader/parent/guardian, BBC will collect and process the following personal data about you:

• Name
• Postcode
• Region
• Phone number
• Email
• The entrant’s relationship to you
• Group name (if applicable)
• Name and postcode of School
• Relationship to the writer (child)

The BBC will collect the following personal data about the child entrant:

• Name
• Gender
• Date of birth
• Story title
• Story

Who is the Data Controller?

The BBC is the “data controller” of your personal data. This means that the BBC decides what your personal data is used for, and the ways in which it is processed. For the avoidance of doubt, your personal data will be collected and processed solely for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. As the data controller, the BBC has the responsibility to comply, and to demonstrate compliance with, data protection law.

Lawful basis for processing your personal data

The lawful basis on which the BBC processes the personal data is the performance of its public task. The BBC’s role is to act in the public interest and to serve all audiences with content which informs, educates, and entertains. This is in line with its public purpose commitment to:

“…support learning for people of all ages: the BBC should help everyone learn about different subjects in ways they will find accessible, engaging, inspiring and challenging. The BBC should provide specialist educational content to help support learning for children and teenagers across the United Kingdom. It should encourage people to explore new subjects and participate in new activities through partnerships with educational, sporting, and cultural institutions.”

We also have a legal obligation to process the personal data of the winners to comply with relevant competition regulations.

Sharing your personal data

The BBC works with our approved third-party providers who help us to provide some of our services. These partners only use your personal data on behalf of the BBC and not independently of the BBC.

Shortlisted stories will be shared with a judging panel of industry experts.

We will share all stories, gender, age bracket, school name and location with our partner Oxford University Press for research purposes in evaluating how children’s stories contribute to a wider picture of children’s language. It will not be used to identify any individuals.

The fifty (50) finalists and two (2) random draw winner’s personal data may be shared with BBC Studios as a separate Data Controller to be included in The One Show. For more information about how they handle your personal data, please have a look at their Privacy Notice.

We may share personal data with a third party where required or permitted by law.

**Retaining your personal data

If someone taking part in ‘500 Words’ appears on a BBC broadcast, or their story is used in BBC content, this will be retained and archived in perpetuity by the BBC.

Unsuccessful entrants' personal data will be held until the end of September 2026.

Shortlisted entrants and finalists' personal data will be held until the end of September 2026 during which time we may contact them to ask about their experience and use it to inspire others.

Your personal data will be stored in the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA).

Your rights and more information

You have rights under data protection law:

• You can request a copy of the personal data the BBC stores about you.
• You have the right to request that we rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.
• You have the right to ask for the personal data we collect about you to be deleted, however there are limitations and exceptions to this right which may entitle the BBC to refuse your request.
• In certain circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data, or to object to the processing of your personal data.
• You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal data to you or to another organisation, in certain circumstances.

You can contact our, Data Protection Officer ([email protected]) if you have questions or you wish to find out more details about your rights, please visit the BBC’s Privacy and Cookies Policy at http://www.bbc.co.uk/privacy.

If you have a concern about the way the BBC has handled your personal data, you can raise your concern with the supervisory authority in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk/.

Updating this privacy notice

We will revise the privacy notice if there are significant changes to how we use your personal data.

Why are we doing this and how can you participate?

You will have been selected after the initial expression of interest process. If you wish to confirm that you want to take part, please create an account, and complete the registration process by confirming your details and supplying us with your referee’s contact details.

You can also express your interest to be considered as a judge for next year’s ‘500 words’ competition.

Please make sure you have told your referee that they will be contacted by the BBC.

The BBC will collect the personal data via an online platform.

What personal data will the BBC collect?

The BBC will collect and process the following personal data about you:

• Name
• Job title
• Workplace
• Postcode
• Region
• Email address
• Phone number
• Preferred judging group (age category)

We will also request the following personal data about your referee:

• Name
• Job title
• Email address

Who is the Data Controller?

The BBC is the “Data Controller” of your personal data. This means that the BBC decides what your personal data is used for, and the ways in which it is processed. For the avoidance of doubt, your personal data will be collected and processed solely for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. As the Data Controller, the BBC has the responsibility to comply, and to demonstrate compliance with, data protection law.

Lawful basis for processing your personal data

The lawful basis on which the BBC processes the personal data for the purpose of referencing judges is under our legitimate interest to confirm that judges meet the criteria.

We will hold the personal data of judges who expressed interest in judging next year’s competition on the basis of consent.

Sharing your personal data

The BBC works with our approved third-party providers who help us to provide some of our services. These partners only use your personal data on behalf of the BBC and not independently of the BBC.

We may share personal data with a third party where required or permitted by law.

Retaining your personal data

Judges’ personal data will be held until the end of September 2026, unless you have confirmed you are interested in judging again in next year’s competition in which case it will be held for a further one (1) year.

One judge’s personal data may be chosen to attend the finale on The One Show. For this purpose, we may share your personal data with BBC Studios as a separate Data Controller. For more information about how they handle your personal data, please have a look at their Privacy Notice.Your personal data will be stored in the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA).

Your rights and more information

You have rights under data protection law:

• You can request a copy of the personal data the BBC stores about you.
• You have the right to request that we rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.
• You have the right to ask for the personal data we collect about you to be deleted, however there are limitations and exceptions to this right which may entitle the BBC to refuse your request.
• In certain circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data, or to object to the processing of your personal data.
• You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal data to you or to another organisation, in certain circumstances.

You can contact our, Data Protection Officer ([email protected]) if you have questions or you wish to find out more details about your rights, please visit the BBC’s Privacy and Cookies Policy at http://www.bbc.co.uk/privacy.

If you have a concern about the way the BBC has handled your personal data, you can raise your concern with the supervisory authority in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk/.

Updating this privacy notice

We will revise the privacy notice if there are significant changes to how we use your personal data.