Privacy Policy
Last updated: August 2026
Scottish Dive School respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how it is stored and used, who it may be shared with and your rights regarding your personal data.
Information We Collect
When you contact Scottish Dive School, make a booking, take part in a course or activity, or otherwise use our services, we may collect personal information including your name, date of birth, contact details, emergency contact information, diving qualifications and experience, course and training records, payment information and other information reasonably required to provide our services.
For participants under the age of 18, we may also collect relevant information about their parent or legal guardian.
Medical Information
Before taking part in in-water training, participants are required to complete the appropriate Fit to Dive medical questionnaire. Where necessary, participants may also be required to obtain appropriate medical clearance before entering the water.
As medical information relates to your health, it is treated as special category personal data and will be handled with additional care.
Medical documentation may be completed electronically through the PADI eLearning platform. Where documentation is completed and submitted through PADI's systems, it will remain electronically within the PADI platform and will not routinely be printed by Scottish Dive School. Information held within the PADI platform is also subject to PADI's own privacy and data protection policies.
Alternatively, medical documentation may be emailed to Scottish Dive School or provided as a paper copy. Paper documentation will be kept securely within the student's training record in a filing cabinet. Electronic information provided directly to Scottish Dive School will also be stored securely. Access to medical information will be limited to those who reasonably require it for training, safety, administration or legal purposes.
We will only collect and use medical information that is reasonably necessary to determine your suitability to participate in diving activities, meet training and safety requirements, maintain appropriate training records or respond appropriately in an emergency. Medical information will not be used for marketing purposes.
Student & Training Records
Scottish Dive School maintains records relating to students and their training. These may include course paperwork, training records, medical documentation provided directly to us, certification information, participant details and other documentation associated with your training.
Student training records and associated training documentation held by Scottish Dive School are retained for 7 years. Records are retained for training, administration, safety, insurance and legal purposes.
At the end of the applicable retention period, information that we no longer have a lawful reason to retain will be securely deleted or destroyed.
PADI eLearning & Certification
When completing a PADI programme or course, some of your information may be submitted to or processed through PADI for purposes including eLearning, training, certification and record keeping.
Information entered directly into PADI eLearning is processed through PADI's systems. PADI states that information associated with eLearning may be accessible to PADI and the diver's selected PADI Dive Centre and/or Instructor.
Information held directly by PADI is subject to PADI's own privacy, security and data retention policies. Requests concerning information controlled directly by PADI may therefore need to be made directly to PADI.
Children & Young People
Scottish Dive School provides certain diving programmes and courses to participants under the age of 18.
Where required, we will obtain consent and relevant information from a parent or legal guardian. We will only collect information relating to children and young people where it is reasonably necessary to provide training and activities safely and appropriately.
We take additional care when handling information relating to children and young people.
How We Use Your Information
We may use your personal information to manage enquiries and bookings, deliver diving courses and activities, maintain student and certification records, communicate with you regarding your training, manage payments, meet PADI training requirements, administer Scottish Dive School and maintain appropriate safety and emergency information.
Where you have given us permission, we may also contact you regarding courses, activities, events, dive trips or other relevant news. You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time.
Payments
Where payments are made through our website or another payment provider, payment information may be processed directly by that provider.
Scottish Dive School does not necessarily receive or store your complete debit or credit card information.
Photographs, Video & Social Media
Photographs and videos may occasionally be taken during courses, dives, training sessions, club activities or events.
Where appropriate, we will obtain permission before using identifiable photographs or videos for our website, social media or other promotional purposes.
You can tell us if you do not wish to be photographed or included in promotional material. Additional care will be taken where photographs or videos include participants under the age of 18.
Sharing Your Information
Scottish Dive School does not sell your personal information.
We may share personal information with organisations or service providers where reasonably necessary to operate our services and provide your training. This may include PADI, payment providers, website and booking providers, insurers and other organisations directly involved in providing your course or activity.
We may also disclose information where required by law or where reasonably necessary to protect the safety of our students, divers, staff, Dive Team or others.
Keeping Your Information Secure
We take reasonable measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.
Paper student records are stored securely, and access to personal and medical information is restricted to people who reasonably require it to carry out their role.
We take particular care with medical information because of its sensitive nature.
Your Data Protection Rights
You have rights regarding the personal information Scottish Dive School holds about you. Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis on which your information is processed, these may include the right to access your personal information, ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information, request restriction of certain processing, object to certain uses of your information, withdraw consent where we rely upon consent and request deletion of your personal information.
You can request access to, correction of or deletion of personal information held by Scottish Dive School by contacting info@scottishdiveschool.com.
The right to deletion is not absolute. Although you can request deletion of your information at any time, there may be circumstances where Scottish Dive School is required or permitted to retain some information, including where it is necessary to meet legal or regulatory requirements or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Where we are unable to fully comply with a request for deletion, we will explain the reason. We will respond to requests concerning your personal information within the timescales required by applicable UK data protection law.
Information held independently by PADI through its systems is subject to PADI's own privacy and retention procedures, and requests relating to that information may need to be made directly to PADI.
Website & Cookies
Our website may collect certain technical information through cookies and similar technologies. This can include information about your device, browser and how you interact with our website.
More information about how cookies are used can be found in our Cookie Policy.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, systems, legal obligations or the way we process personal information.
The latest version of this Privacy Policy will always be available on our website.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, how we use your personal information, or would like to make a request regarding information we hold about you, please contact:
Scottish Dive School
Email: info@scottishdiveschool.com
If you are unhappy with how your personal information has been handled, you also have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).