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Robyn Robot_Data Processing Agreement.docx
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Data Processing Agreement

Version: 2.0

Effective Date: August 2025

1. Parties: This Data Processing Agreement (“DPA”) is entered into between Robots For Schools Ltd, a company registered in the UK (address: Brook, Drove Close, Twyford, Winchester, SO21 1QN) (hereinafter the “Processor”), and the participating School (hereinafter the “Controller”).

This DPA is an integral part of the Robyn Robot Terms of Use and governs the processing of personal data in connection with the Robyn Robot hardware, software, and support services provided to the Controller’s school.

Both Parties agree to comply with all applicable UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018, and any subordinate legislation. In this DPA, the terms “Controller”, “Processor”, “Data Subject”, “Personal Data”, “Processing”, and “Personal Data Breach” shall have the meanings given to them in the UK GDPR.

2. Roles and Compliance with Law

For the purposes of data protection law, the School acts as the Data Controller, and Robots for Schools Ltd acts as the Data Processor for personal data processed under the Robyn Robot program. The Controller determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data, and the Processor will only process such data on the Controller’s behalf and in accordance with the Controller’s instructions.

Each Party shall fulfill its respective obligations under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 in relation to the Services. The Controller affirms that it has a valid lawful basis for the processing of personal data in this educational context.

The Parties acknowledge that for state-funded schools, the primary legal basis is likely “Public Task” (UK GDPR Art.6(1)(e), processing necessary for a task in the public interest – the provision of education), and for independent schools, the likely basis is “Legitimate Interests” (UK GDPR Art.6(1)(f), balanced against individuals’ rights).

The Controller is responsible for determining and documenting the appropriate lawful basis and for providing any required privacy notices or obtaining consents if necessary. The Controller must ensure that data subjects (students, parents, staff) are informed about the use of Robyn Robot in the school’s privacy notice.

3. Subject Matter and Details of Processing

The Controller hereby instructs the Processor to process personal data solely for the purpose of providing the Robyn Robot educational services during the program. In accordance with UK GDPR Article 28, the details of processing are as follows:

The Service is not intended to collect special category personal data such as data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, health information, biometric identifiers, etc. The Processor does not require or seek any such sensitive data for the provision of the service. Teachers and users are strongly discouraged from inputting or exposing any special category data via Robyn Robot. In particular, lessons that are likely to involve sensitive personal discussions (e.g. certain pastoral care or health topics) should not be recorded using Robyn Robot. The Controller acknowledges that if it chooses to include any special category data in the processing, it is responsible for ensuring all necessary conditions are met to lawfully process that data (such as obtaining explicit consent from data subjects or their parents, if required). Any incidental capture of special category data (for example, a student’s voice which could be considered biometric data, or an unexpected personal remark made in class) will be treated with the same level of protection as other personal data, but the Processor disclaims any liability for processing sensitive data that the Controller introduces in violation of this guidance. The Controller remains solely liable for any special category data it chooses to process through the Service.

4. Obligations of the Processor (Robots For Schools Ltd)

As the Processor, Robots For Schools Ltd agrees to the following obligations, in accordance with Article 28 of the UK GDPR and the terms of this DPA:

4.1. Processing on Documented Instructions

The Processor shall only process personal data on the documented instructions of the Controller, unless required to do otherwise by UK law. This DPA, together with the Robyn Robot Terms of Use and any written instructions provided by the Controller, constitute the Controller’s complete and final instructions to the Processor. The Processor will not process personal data for any purposes other than those explicitly instructed by the Controller and described in this Agreement. If the Processor believes any instruction from the Controller infringes UK GDPR or other applicable law, it will promptly inform the Controller of its opinion before acting on such instruction. The Controller may issue additional lawful instructions regarding the processing, but such instructions must remain within the scope of the agreed services and be agreed in writing in advance by both Parties. The Processor will ensure that all its personnel and any sub-processors only process the data as necessary for the specified purposes, and strictly in compliance with the Controller’s instructions.

4.2. Confidentiality and Personnel

The Processor shall treat all personal data as confidential. It will ensure that any person it authorizes to process the personal data (including employees and contractors) is subject to a strict duty of confidentiality (whether by contractual obligation or by statutory duty). Processor personnel will only be permitted access to personal data on a need-to-know basis, and only for the purpose of fulfilling the Processor’s services under this DPA. The Processor has implemented appropriate training for personnel on their data protection responsibilities and will continue to train and bind its staff to confidentiality obligations regarding personal data. If an authorized person no longer needs access to personal data, their credentials will be revoked. These measures ensure that no unauthorized person or unrelated staff have access to the Controller’s data.

4.3. Security Measures

The Processor shall implement and maintain appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction, damage, or disclosure, as required by Article 32 UK GDPR. These measures are designed to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk of the data being processed. At a minimum, the Processor commits to the following security practices (among others):

The Processor will regularly test, assess, and evaluate the effectiveness of its technical and organizational measures to guarantee the security of processing. The Processor shall also assist the Controller in ensuring compliance with these security obligations, by providing relevant information about its measures upon request.

4.4 Assistance with Data Subject Rights and Compliance

Taking into account the nature of the processing and the information available to it, the Processor will assist the Controller in fulfilling the Controller’s obligations to data subjects and regulators. This includes the following:

In summary, the Processor will make available to the Controller all information and cooperation reasonably necessary to demonstrate compliance with this DPA and UK GDPR requirements, and to enable the Controller to meet its obligations to data subjects and authorities.

5. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a personal data breach (a security incident leading to accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data) affecting the Controller’s data, the Processor will notify the Controller without undue delay, and in any case within 24 hours of becoming aware of the breach. Such notice will be sent to the Controller’s designated contact (e.g. the school’s Data Protection Officer or administrator) and will include, to the extent possible at the time of notification, all relevant information about the breach. The Processor’s notification will describe the nature of the breach, the categories and approximate volume of personal data and individuals affected, the likely consequences of the breach, and the measures taken or proposed by the Processor to address the breach and mitigate its possible adverse effects. If complete information is not available within 24 hours, the Processor will provide an initial notice with the information it has and supplement it as further details are obtained.

The Processor will immediately take appropriate action to contain, investigate, and remediate the breach. It will cooperate with the Controller’s own incident response efforts and provide regular updates. The Parties acknowledge that the Controller (as Data Controller) has the responsibility for any notifications to the ICO and/or affected data subjects under UK GDPR Articles 33 and 34; however, the Processor will assist the Controller in meeting these obligations. Specifically, the Processor will provide the Controller with any information about the breach that the Controller may need to properly notify the ICO within 72 hours (when required) and to communicate effectively with affected individuals, if necessary. The Processor will not make any independent public announcement or notice about the breach that identifies the Controller without the Controller’s prior consent, unless required by law.

6. Deletion or Return of Data

Upon termination or expiration of the Robyn Robot services, or at any time upon the Controller’s written request, the Processor will cease processing the personal data and, at the Controller’s choice, either delete all personal data in its possession or return it to the Controller. Unless the Controller requests otherwise, the default action is deletion of personal data. The Processor will complete such deletion as soon as reasonably practicable and within a maximum of 30 days following the end of services or the request. This deletion includes all production data, except to the extent that retention of certain data is required by law (in which case the Processor will notify the Controller and ensure the confidentiality of such data). If the Controller prefers a return of data, the Processor can provide the Controller with an export of available data (in a commonly used format) within the same 30-day timeframe before deletion. The Controller is advised to export or download any desired lesson transcripts or records during the pilot or within 30 days of its conclusion; after that period, the Processor will securely wipe the data from its systems (barring any legal hold).

During the term of the agreement, the Controller can also request deletion of specific data (for instance, a particular day’s recording or a specific student’s question) and the Processor will comply within 30 days of the request. The Processor’s retention already provides for automatic deletion of raw data after certain periods, but the Controller retains the right to demand earlier deletion. Once data is deleted by the Processor, it will be permanently expunged from active systems and from backups within a reasonable period (with all backup deletions completed within a further 30 days). The Processor will, upon request, provide written confirmation of deletion to the Controller.

7. Data Retention

The Processor adheres to the following data retention periods:

All deletions are executed in a secure manner (using industry-standard data sanitization methods) to prevent any possibility of reconstruction of the data. If any alternative retention or deletion needs arise (for instance, if a legal requirement mandates a longer retention for a specific subset of data), the Processor will inform the Controller and obtain written agreement or instruction for that exception.

8. Sub-Processors

The Controller authorizes the Processor to engage the following sub-processors to assist in delivering the Robyn Robot service. These sub-processors are other service providers that handle personal data on behalf of the Processor, strictly for the purposes of providing the Robyn Robot functionality. The Processor has entered into a written agreement with each sub-processor imposing data protection obligations equivalent to those in this DPA, including strict instructions, confidentiality, and security measures. The authorized sub-processors and their roles are:

Sub-Processor

Purpose

Data Shared

Use Restrictions

Transfer Safeguards

OpenAI, LLC (USA)

• Audio transcription (Whisper)
• Content and question analysis (gpt-4.1-mini)
• Voice generation (gpt-4o-tts)

• Audio files
• Whiteboard images
• Transcripts
• Student questions (typed, spoken, or photographs of work)

• Monitoring for abuse/misuse only
• Not used for model training

• SCCs executed
• Encryption in transit and at rest
• Additional TOMS by Robots For Schools

Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services

• Accessing Azure deployments of OpenAI models, for transcription, analysis and voice generation.

• Speaker diarisation for Meetings function

• Audio files
• Whiteboard images
• Transcripts
• Student questions (typed, spoken, or photographs of work)

• Segregated per customer
• No reuse for Microsoft model training

• GDPR terms + SCCs
• EU Cloud Code of Conduct
• EU/US data centers used

AssemblyAI, Inc

• Audio transcription

• Audio files

• Monitoring for abuse/misuse only
• Not used for model training

• SCCs executed

• EU endpoint used

Google Firebase (USA/EU)

• Core infrastructure: DB, storage, auth, hosting

• All user data: transcripts, Q&A, metadata, images

• Scoped by school
• Fine-grained client-level access control
• Google access tightly restricted and logged

• SCCs via Google’s DPA
• ISO 27001 certified
• EU storage prioritized, US fallback for support/CDNs

Atlassian Trello

Internal project management and bug tracking

Customer identifiers, support ticket details, incident reports

Service provision only per Atlassian DPA. No use for Trello marketing or development.

EU SCCs; UK IDTA. Data location: US (AWS)

Xero UK Ltd

Accounting software

Customer billing data, contact information, payment records

Service provision per Xero DPA (auto-applies)

SCCs. Processing: NZ (adequate), US, AU, EU

(Note: Google Authentication or (OAuth) is used for verifying teacher identities via their school Google or Microsoft accounts, but in that case the authentication data (login credentials) is handled by Google or Microsoft under the school’s own Google Workspace or Microsoft agreement. These OAuth providers, are not acting as sub-processors to Robots For Schools Ltd for personal data content, but rather as an identity provider under the school’s control. The Processor does not receive the teachers’ Google passwords or profile details beyond basic identifiers needed for login.)

The above list is exhaustive as of the Effective Date of this DPA. The Processor may engage any additional or replacement sub-processors to process the Controller’s personal data without the Controller’s prior authorization. The Processor will maintain an updated list of sub-processors and make it available to the Controller upon request, as part of demonstrating transparency in its processing.

9. Audit Rights

The Controller has the right to audit the Processor’s compliance with this DPA and applicable data protection laws. The Processor shall allow for and contribute to audits and inspections, conducted by the Controller or an independent auditor mandated by the Controller. To ensure the confidentiality and security of other customers’ data and the Processor’s operations, the following conditions apply to any audit:

If an audit or inspection identifies any material deficiencies in the Processor’s practices, the Processor will promptly take steps to remediate those deficiencies in agreement with the Controller. The Processor shall provide the Controller with the results or a summary of any third-party audits it performs on its systems upon request, to further demonstrate compliance.

10. Controller Obligations and Responsibilities

This DPA is based on a relationship of mutual responsibility. While the above sections outline the Processor’s duties, the Controller (the School) also has key obligations to ensure that the processing of personal data via Robyn Robot is lawful and transparent. The Controller, by signing up to the Robyn Robot pilot, confirms and warrants that: