Step Ahead English Tuition

Privacy Policy for Online Learning (Children Aged 11-16)

1. Introduction

Step Ahead English Tuition is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. This privacy policy describes how we collect, use, and share information when you use our online tuition services. It applies to all users, including students, parents/carers, and tutors.

2. Data Controller

Step Ahead English Tuition is the data controller and is responsible for your personal data.

3. Principles

We will comply with data protection law. This says that the personal information we hold about you must be:

Used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way.
Collected only for valid purposes that we have clearly explained to you and not used in any way that is incompatible with those purposes.
Relevant to the purposes we have told you about and limited only to those purposes.
Accurate and kept up to date.
Keep only as long as necessary for the purposes we have told you about.
Kept securely.

4. Information We Collect

We collect several types of information from and about users of our online tuition services, including:

Information you provide directly to us:

Student information: Name, age, date of birth, contact details, learning needs, and any other information you provide during the registration or assessment process.
Parent/Carer information: Name, contact details, payment information, and any other information you provide when interacting with us.
Tutor information: Name, contact details, qualifications, experience, DBS check information, and any other information provided during the application and onboarding process.

Information we collect automatically:

Technical information: IP address, browser type, operating system, and other similar information.
Usage data: Information about how you use our online platform, such as pages viewed, session duration, and interactions with tutors.
Cookies and similar technologies: We may use cookies to collect information about your browsing behaviour and preferences.

Information we receive from other sources:

We may receive information from schools or other educational institutions, but only with your consent or as required by law.

5. How We Use Your Information

We use your information for a variety of purposes, including:

To provide and manage our services:

To facilitate online tuition sessions.
To create and manage user accounts.
To communicate with students, parents/carers, and tutors.
To schedule and manage appointments.
To process payments.

To improve our services:

To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our online tuition.
To personalise the learning experience.
To develop new features and services.
To conduct research and analysis.

To ensure safety and security:

To verify user identity.
To prevent fraud and abuse.
To safeguard students and tutors.
To monitor online sessions for safeguarding purposes (where appropriate and with consent).

To comply with legal obligations:

To verify user identity.
To prevent fraud and abuse.
To safeguard students and tutors.
To monitor online sessions for safeguarding purposes (where appropriate and with consent).
We may process your personal information where necessary for compliance with a legal obligation.

With your consent:

We may use your information for purposes not outlined above with your explicit consent.

6. Legal Basis for Processing

We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal information in the following circumstances:

Performance of a contract: Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.
Legitimate interests: Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
Legal obligation: Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.
Consent: Where you have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose.

7. Data Sharing

We may share your information with the following categories of recipients:

Tutors: We will share student information with tutors to facilitate the provision of online tuition.
Parents/Carers: We will share student information with parents/carers as necessary to keep them informed about their child's progress and any safeguarding concerns.
Service providers: We may use third-party service providers to assist us with various functions, such as payment processing, hosting, and data analysis.
Regulatory and legal bodies: We may disclose your information to regulatory or legal bodies if required to do so by law or to protect our rights and interests.
Other third parties: We will only share your information with other third parties with your consent.

8. Data Security

We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, loss, or destruction. These measures include:

Encryption of data in transit and at rest.
Use of secure servers.
Regular security assessments.
Access controls and authentication.
Staff training on data protection.

9. Data Retention

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

10. Your Rights

Under data protection law, you have several rights concerning your personal information:

Right to access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: You have the right to request that we delete your personal information in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: You have the right to request that we provide you with your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
Right to object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, including where we are processing your data for direct marketing purposes.
Right to withdraw consent: If we are processing your personal information based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Right to complain: You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how we are handling your personal information.

To exercise any of your rights, please contact us using the contact details provided below.

11. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your browsing behaviour and preferences. You can control cookies through your browser settings. Our Cookie Policy, which provides further information about our use of cookies, is available here

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on our website, and we will take reasonable steps to notify you of any material changes.