01. Who We Are & Contact Details
UK Bright Minds operates the educational platform and online tutoring service accessible at ukbrightminds.org ("the Website", "Service", "we", "us", or "our"). We provide personalised 1-on-1 tutoring in GCSE Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), UK Bright Minds acts as the Data Controller in respect of your personal data.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data protection practices, please contact us at:
- Official Website: ukbrightminds.org
- Primary Contact Email: hello@ukbrightminds.org
- Support / Alternative Email: ukbrightminds@gmail.com
02. Information We Collect
We collect personal data from parents, legal guardians, and students in connection with booking lessons, delivering academic support, and maintaining platform security.
A. Information Provided by Parents or Legal Guardians
- Identity & Contact Details: Full name, email address, phone number, and residential location (to match timezones and school curricula).
- Booking Information: Preferred study times, session availability, and introductory lesson preferences submitted through our booking interface (Calendly).
- Payment & Billing Data: If booking continuing paid sessions, billing details are processed securely through PCI-DSS accredited payment gateways. Note: Free 30-minute trial lessons do not require any card details.
B. Academic Information Concerning Students (Minors)
- Student Profile: First name or preferred name, school year group (e.g. Year 10 or Year 11), and target GCSE subjects (Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology).
- Exam Board Curriculum: Relevant UK exam boards (such as AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC, or Cambridge IGCSE).
- Learning Needs & Goals: Academic strengths, tricky topics, target grades, past paper feedback, and any special educational requirements shared by the parent.
C. Technical & Device Information
- Log files, browser type, operating system, IP address, and anonymised analytics metrics to ensure fast page delivery and prevent malicious access.
03. How & Why We Use Your Personal Data
Under the UK GDPR, we only process personal information where a valid legal basis applies:
| Purpose of Processing | Data Category | Lawful Basis (UK GDPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling & delivering 1-on-1 tutoring sessions | Parent contact, student name, subject info | Contractual Necessity: (Art. 6(1)(b)) to fulfil our tutoring service. |
| Safeguarding students and verifying tutor identity | Lesson timestamps, attendance logs, communications | Legal Obligation & Vital Interests: (Art. 6(1)(c) & (d)) under UK child protection laws. |
| Parent updates, lesson feedback, progress reports | Email address, academic notes, homework feedback | Legitimate Interests: (Art. 6(1)(f)) supporting student educational attainment. |
| Website maintenance, security, and abuse prevention | Technical logs, IP addresses, cookie data | Legitimate Interests: (Art. 6(1)(f)) safeguarding platform infrastructure. |
04. Children's Privacy (Under 18s & The Children's Code)
Because we specialise in GCSE tuition for students aged 13 to 18, protecting minors' privacy is paramount. UK Bright Minds adheres strictly to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) Age Appropriate Design Code (Children's Code):
- Parental Authority: All tutoring bookings for individuals under 18 years old must be initiated and authorised by a parent or legal guardian.
- No Direct Marketing to Minors: We do not serve commercial advertisements, behavioral tracking, or commercial marketing to children.
- Data Minimisation: We only collect the minimal academic details necessary to deliver lessons and assess GCSE progression.
- High Privacy Defaults: Student profiles are not publicly visible or indexed by search engines.
05. Lesson Recordings & Online Safety
To uphold rigorous child protection standards and ensure teaching quality, virtual lesson classrooms may be monitored or recorded.
- Safeguarding Oversight: Lesson recordings exist primarily as an audit trail for safeguarding reviews and dispute resolution.
- Access Restrictions: Recordings are strictly confidential and encrypted. They may only be accessed by our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) in response to a reported safeguarding incident or upon verified parent request.
- No Commercial Exploitation: We will never post student lesson footage, voices, or work onto social media or marketing channels without explicit, written parental consent.
06. Third-Party Service Providers
We partner with trusted, secure third-party processors to operate our service. All partners are bound by strict data processing agreements ensuring compliance with the UK GDPR:
- Calendly Inc.: Used for self-service scheduling of free 30-minute introductory lessons (calendly.com).
- Google Workspace: Used for secure administrative email communication (hello@ukbrightminds.org and ukbrightminds@gmail.com).
- Virtual Classroom Providers: Encrypted video conferencing (Zoom / Google Meet) used exclusively for delivering online tutoring sessions.
07. Data Storage, Retention & Security
We implement comprehensive technical and organizational measures to safeguard your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.
- Encryption: All web traffic to ukbrightminds.org is encrypted using modern TLS (HTTPS).
- Retention Periods: Academic notes and student records are retained for the duration of the tutoring engagement and safely archived for up to 3 years thereafter to comply with educational dispute and safeguarding standards, after which they are securely deleted.
- Data Erasure Requests: Parents may request premature deletion of their family's data at any time, subject to statutory safeguarding obligations.
08. Your Legal Rights (UK GDPR)
As a data subject located in the UK, you have extensive legal rights regarding your personal information:
- Right of Access (Subject Access Request): You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you or your child.
- Right to Rectification: You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You may request the deletion of your personal data where there is no compelling legal reason for its continued processing.
- Right to Restrict Processing: You may ask us to suspend processing your data in certain scenarios.
- Right to Data Portability: You may request your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
- Right to Object: You may object to data processing based on legitimate interests.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@ukbrightminds.org. We do not charge a fee for standard requests and will respond within one calendar month.
09. Contact & Privacy Inquiries
If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy or wish to review data held regarding your child's tutoring, please reach out directly:
UK Bright Minds Data Protection Contact
Our dedicated team is ready to answer any questions from parents and students.