Privacy and data protection policy

We are Bright Minds Tutoring Ltd. Throughout this notice we refer to ourselves as “we”, “us” or “our”, and when we say “you” we mean any parent, guardian or visitor whose personal information we collect or hold.

You can contact us at any time:

• Telephone: 07533 144 992 or 07468 929 077
• Email: [email protected]

We take the protection of personal information seriously and are fully committed to handling the data we hold in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This notice sets out, in plain English, what personal information we hold, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it. Please read it carefully.

What information we collect

We may collect, store and use the following types of personal information:

• Technical information about your visit to our website, including IP address, location, browser type and version, operating system, referring source, time spent on the site, pages viewed and how you navigate the site
• Information you provide when contacting us or making an enquiry
• Information about you and your child for the purpose of registering for tuition — including names, contact details, date of birth, year group, school, prior attainment, learning goals and any relevant educational background you choose to share
• Payment information for invoicing and processing fees
• Any other information you choose to share with us by phone, email, message or in person

If you are sharing personal information about a third party — including your child — you must have the authority and consent to do so.

Children’s personal information

Because we work with pupils aged 7 to 16, we recognise the heightened protections that apply to children’s personal information.

• We only collect personal data about a child with the explicit consent of a parent or legal guardian.
• We never direct marketing or advertising at children.
• A child’s personal data is used solely for the delivery of their tuition, communication with their parent or guardian, and our safeguarding responsibilities.
• Parents may access, amend or request the deletion of their child’s data at any time.
• We maintain a separate Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy which sets out how we protect every child in our care.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file made up of letters and numbers that a web server sends to your browser. Your browser stores it and then sends it back each time you visit the site, allowing the server to recognise your browser and remember certain details.

We use two kinds of cookies:

Session cookies — used to:

• Help you move through the website
• Remember items in any enquiry form you complete
• Protect against fraud and keep the website secure
• Offer content tailored to your interests

Persistent cookies — used to:

• Recognise you when you return to the website
• Remember any preferences you have set

We also use Google Analytics to understand how people use our website. Google Analytics uses cookies to gather anonymous statistical data, such as how visitors arrive at our site and which pages they view. Google’s full privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.

These cookies do not collect personally identifiable information such as your email address or telephone number.

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on (tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout).

Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies through their settings. Please note that blocking cookies may affect the way certain features of our website work.

How we use your personal information

The personal information you share with us — whether through our website, in person, by phone, or by email — will be used for the purposes set out in this policy. Specifically, we may use your information to:

• Administer and improve our website
• Personalise your browsing experience
• Deliver our tuition services to you and your child
• Issue statements and invoices, and process payments
• Communicate with you about enquiries, bookings, sessions or your child’s progress
• Send service-related notifications
• Send our newsletter or marketing communications (only with your explicit consent)
• Handle enquiries, feedback and complaints
• Keep the website secure and protect against fraud
• Verify compliance with the terms governing the use of our website
• Meet our legal, regulatory and safeguarding obligations

We will not share your personal information with third parties for direct marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

Disclosures

We may share your personal information with:

• Members of our team who deliver tuition or administer our services
• Professional advisers such as accountants, legal advisers and IT specialists (all bound by confidentiality)
• Trusted service providers such as payment processors and cloud-storage providers (all bound by data-processing agreements)
• HMRC and other regulators where required by law
• Safeguarding or child-protection authorities where we have a legal duty, or a genuine concern about a child’s welfare

We may also disclose personal information:

• Where required to do so by law
• In connection with current or potential legal proceedings
• To establish, exercise or defend our legal rights
• To any person who we reasonably believe may apply to a court or other authority for disclosure

Outside the circumstances set out above, we will not share your personal information with any third party.

Security of your personal information

We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access or alteration. These include:

• Storing electronic records on password-protected and encrypted systems
• Restricting access to personal data to authorised team members only
• Storing paper records in locked, secure locations
• Carrying out DBS checks on every member of our team who works with children
• Regularly reviewing and improving our data-protection practices

You should be aware that the transmission of information over the internet is never entirely secure. While we take every reasonable precaution, we cannot guarantee the security of data sent to us over the internet.

How long we keep your information

We only keep personal information for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this policy or for as long as the law requires:

• Enquiries that do not lead to tuition — 12 months
• Active pupil and family records — for the duration of the relationship
• Records after tuition ends — 3 years
• Financial records (invoices, payments) — 6 years (HMRC requirement)
• Safeguarding records — in line with statutory guidance
• Marketing data — until you withdraw consent

After these periods, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• The right to be informed about how your data is used (this policy fulfils that right)
• The right of access to the data we hold about you or your child
• The right to rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data
• The right to erasure of your data, where there is no overriding lawful basis to retain it
• The right to restrict processing in certain circumstances
• The right to data portability
• The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time
• The right to withdraw consent at any time, where consent is the lawful basis for processing

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at [email protected]. We will respond within one month, in line with our legal obligations.

You can also instruct us at any time to stop processing your personal information for marketing purposes.

Policy amendments

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, regulation or the way we work. The latest version will always be published on this page with an updated effective date. We recommend checking back occasionally so you are always aware of any changes.

Third-party websites

Our website may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content or policies of any third-party websites. Please review their privacy policies before sharing any personal data with them.

Complaints

If you have any concerns about how we handle personal information, please contact us first — we will do everything we can to put things right.

If you remain unhappy with our response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection:

Contact us

For all data-protection queries, please contact: