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GCSE Tutoring Academy – Privacy Policy

1. About this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how GCSE Tutoring Academy (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores and shares personal data when you:

  • visit our website;
  • contact us by form, email, phone, live chat or WhatsApp;
  • book a free assessment or trial lesson;
  • create an account;
  • purchase a membership or other tutoring service;
  • receive tutoring or related educational support; or
  • otherwise interact with us.

This Privacy Policy applies to website visitors, prospective customers, parents and guardians, students, adult learners, account holders and others who communicate with us.

Where a student is under the age of 18, this Privacy Policy should be read by their parent, guardian or other responsible adult. We normally expect bookings and key service decisions for under-18s to be made by a parent or guardian.

2. Who We Are

GCSE Tutoring Academy is a sole trader business operated by:

GCSE Tutoring Academy

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 07835 780 875

For the purposes of data protection law, we are the data controller of the personal data covered by this Privacy Policy.

3. A Short Explanation for Students

If you are a student, we may use your information to:

  • arrange lessons and assessments;
  • understand what subjects you need help with;
  • support your learning and track progress;
  • share updates with your parent or guardian where appropriate;
  • keep lessons safe and well organised; and
  • run our tutoring service and website.

If you are under 18, a parent or guardian should normally make enquiries and bookings for you. If you want help understanding this Privacy Policy, please ask your parent or guardian or contact us.

4. The Personal Data We Collect

Depending on how you use our website and services, we may collect the following personal data:

4.1 Identity and contact data
This may include parent or guardian name, student name, adult learner name, email address, phone number, postal address, town/city, postcode and country.

4.2 Account and login data
This may include account registration details, username or email login, password credentials, account preferences and purchase history.

4.3 Enquiry and booking data
This may include details submitted through contact forms, free assessment forms, free trial requests, messages, requested subjects, year group, course type, postcode, learning goals and other information you choose to provide.

4.4 Student and learning data
This may include assessment results, lesson notes, homework or mock feedback, attendance, progress reports, exam board information, subject choices, learning targets and communications about academic support.

4.5 Payment and transaction data
This may include membership details, order history, invoices, billing details, amounts paid, subscription or recurring payment status, coupon or voucher use and limited payment-related information supplied by payment providers. We do not intentionally store full payment card numbers, CVC codes or equivalent full authentication data on our own systems.

4.6 Communications data
This may include emails, web form submissions, phone enquiries, WhatsApp messages, live chat messages, complaints, customer service communications and notes of discussions about your enquiry or account.

4.7 Technical and website usage data
This may include IP address, browser type, device information, log data, cookie identifiers, pages visited, session information and basic website interaction data.

4.8 Special category or sensitive data
Sometimes you may choose to give us more sensitive information, such as information about disability, special educational needs, access arrangements, health issues relevant to tutoring delivery, or safeguarding concerns. We will only process this type of information where it is genuinely necessary and where we have an appropriate lawful basis and condition to do so.

4.9 Social media and third-party platform data
If you interact with us through social media, WhatsApp, Zoom or another third-party platform, we may receive the information you choose to share with us through that platform.

5. How We Collect Personal Data

We collect personal data:

  • directly from you when you fill in forms, create an account, buy a membership, contact us or use our services;
  • from a parent or guardian acting on behalf of a student;
  • during the delivery of tutoring, assessments, feedback and customer support;
  • automatically through website logs, cookies and similar technologies;
  • from payment providers in connection with your transactions; and
  • from third-party platforms you choose to use to contact or engage with us, such as WhatsApp or Zoom.

If you provide us with personal data about another person, such as a child or family member, you must ensure you are authorised to do so.

6. How We Use Personal Data and Our Lawful Bases

We only use personal data where we have a lawful basis under UK data protection law.

6.1 To respond to enquiries and arrange assessments, calls, trials and bookings
We use personal data to reply to your messages, discuss tutoring options, arrange assessments and free trials, and take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
Lawful basis: pre-contract steps, and/or our legitimate interests in running and promoting our tutoring service.

6.2 To create accounts, process enrolment and manage memberships
We use personal data to create user accounts, register customers, process orders, manage subscriptions or memberships, and administer access to purchased services.
Lawful basis: performance of a contract, and pre-contract steps where relevant.

6.3 To deliver tutoring and related educational support
We use personal data to match students to suitable tutors, deliver lessons, plan learning, provide feedback, track progress, manage attendance and communicate with parents or adult learners about the service.
Where the contract is with a parent or guardian rather than the student, we usually rely on our legitimate interests to process the student’s data so that we can deliver the tutoring safely and effectively.
Lawful basis: performance of a contract where applicable, and/or legitimate interests.

6.4 To take and manage payments
We use personal data to process payments, manage subscriptions, issue invoices, prevent payment issues and keep financial records.
Lawful basis: performance of a contract, legal obligation, and legitimate interests in managing our business.

6.5 To run, improve and secure our website and services
We use technical and usage data to maintain website security, troubleshoot issues, improve functionality, understand demand and improve the user experience.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests, and consent where required for non-essential cookies or similar technologies.

6.6 To communicate with you about service administration
We may send service messages about bookings, assessments, lessons, timetable changes, account access, payments, safeguarding matters or important policy updates.
Lawful basis: performance of a contract, legal obligation, and/or legitimate interests.

6.7 To send marketing communications
We may send marketing communications about our services, offers, courses or related tutoring information where we are allowed to do so.
Lawful basis: consent where required, or legitimate interests / soft opt-in where permitted by law.

6.8 To handle complaints, disputes and legal issues
We may use personal data to investigate complaints, enforce our terms, obtain professional advice, respond to legal claims and protect our rights.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests, legal obligation, and where applicable the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

6.9 To protect children and other people, and to deal with safeguarding concerns
We may use and, where appropriate, share personal data where necessary to protect a student, tutor or another person from harm, to investigate safeguarding issues, or to comply with legal or regulatory duties.
Lawful basis: legal obligation, legitimate interests, and any other lawful basis or condition available under data protection law in the safeguarding context.

7. Special Category Data

We do not seek to collect sensitive personal data unless it is relevant and necessary.

If you provide us with special category data, such as health information, disability-related information, SEND-related information or safeguarding information, we will only process it where we have both:

  • a lawful basis under Article 6 of the UK GDPR; and
  • a separate condition for processing under Article 9 where required.

In many cases, where the information is provided to help us support a student appropriately, we will rely on explicit consent for that sensitive information, unless another lawful condition applies. If the issue relates to child protection or safety, we may also process or share relevant information where necessary to protect a child or another person.

8. Marketing Communications

We may send service-related communications without separate marketing consent where those messages are needed to administer your account or tutoring service.

If we want to send you direct marketing by email, text or similar electronic message, we will do so only where permitted by law. This may mean:

  • asking for your consent; or
  • relying on the “soft opt-in” for similar services where the law allows this and an opt-out was offered when your details were collected.

You can opt out of marketing at any time by using the unsubscribe option in a message, or by contacting us at [email protected].

We do not sell or rent personal data to third parties for their own marketing.

9. Who We Share Personal Data With

We may share personal data, where reasonably necessary, with:

  • tutors delivering or supporting the relevant service;
  • website, hosting, email, form, IT support and software providers;
  • communication and online lesson platforms, such as Zoom, where used for tutoring delivery;
  • messaging or contact platforms, such as WhatsApp, where you choose to use them to contact us;
  • payment providers, including Stripe and PayPal;
  • accountants, professional advisers, insurers or debt recovery providers;
  • regulators, HMRC, law enforcement, courts or other authorities where required;
  • safeguarding professionals, local authorities, police or child protection bodies where necessary to protect a child or another person; and
  • other parties where you have asked us to do so or where disclosure is otherwise lawful.

Some third parties act as our data processors, meaning they handle data on our behalf and under our instructions. Others may act as independent controllers, meaning they process personal data under their own privacy notices. This is especially relevant where you interact with third-party platforms such as WhatsApp, PayPal, Stripe, Zoom or social media services.

10. International Transfers

Some of our third-party providers may store or access personal data outside the UK.

Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

  • transfer to a country recognised as providing an adequate level of protection; or
  • use of approved contractual safeguards or equivalent lawful transfer mechanisms.

11. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, misuse, loss, alteration or disclosure.

These measures may include access controls, password protection, secure systems, restricted staff access, secure payment handling through third-party providers, and policies around confidentiality and safeguarding.

However, no internet-based system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. How Long We Keep Personal Data

We keep personal data only for as long as we reasonably need it for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, taking into account legal, accounting, safeguarding and operational requirements.

As a general guide:

  • Enquiry and free assessment data where no paid service follows: usually up to 12 months after the last meaningful contact.
  • Customer, student, tutoring and account records: usually for the duration of the service and for up to 6 years afterwards where needed for complaints, legal claims, service administration or record-keeping.
  • Invoices, payment and tax records: for as long as required by HMRC, tax law and related accounting obligations.
  • Marketing records and opt-out records: until consent is withdrawn or you opt out, plus a limited suppression record so we can respect your preference.
  • Safeguarding or incident records: only for as long as reasonably necessary in light of the nature of the concern, the need to protect individuals, and any legal or regulatory requirements.

We may retain information for longer where this is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, to comply with a legal obligation, or to protect a child or another person.

13. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

  • request access to the personal data we hold about you;
  • ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
  • ask us to erase personal data in certain circumstances;
  • ask us to restrict processing in certain circumstances;
  • object to processing based on legitimate interests;
  • request data portability in certain circumstances;
  • withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent; and
  • complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”).

These rights are not absolute, and whether they apply will depend on the legal basis and the circumstances.

To exercise your rights, please contact us at [email protected].

14. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We may use cookies and similar technologies on our website for essential functionality and, where enabled, for analytics, performance, communication or marketing purposes.

Where cookies or similar technologies are not strictly necessary, we will ask for consent before placing them on your device.

You can also manage cookies through your browser settings, although disabling some cookies may affect how the website works.

Please also see our Cookie Policy for further details.

15. Third-Party Links and Platforms

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, platforms or services. These may include payment providers, WhatsApp, Zoom, social media platforms or other external websites.

If you click through to a third-party platform or contact us through one, that platform may process your personal data under its own privacy notice. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services that we do not control.

16. Automated Decision-Making

We do not currently make decisions about individuals based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements or data practices.

The latest version will be posted on our website with the updated date shown at the top.

18. Contact Us and Complaints

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle personal data, please contact:

GCSE Tutoring Academy
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 07835 780 875

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

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