We keep all of our policies under review and they are updated regularly when needed.
How We Use Your Information
This privacy notice outlines your rights and our obligations to you regarding the collection of personal data by Small Steps Big Minds. By asking for or using our services, you agree to let us use your personal information in the ways described in this policy.
We firmly believe that in order to give you the service you require, trust must come first. We want to be entirely open and honest about how we store and utilise your data, as well as the justifications for the specific data requests we make. Above all, we want to be clear that we only need data that is genuinely necessary for us to provide the service you have requested.
Parents and potential students.
When you contact us, we create a file with your information. This often includes your name, address, gender, contact information, and the reason you’re looking to enrol in school. We will need information regarding your child’s name, school attended, age, date of birth, and academic profile in order to present a suitable instructor. We do this in order to deliver a precise, practical, and knowledgeable tutor introduction service or to offer you pertinent educational consulting. We also ask how you learned about us so that we may properly aim our advertising and appreciate anyone who referred you.
The only purpose for which we will utilise the personal data we gather is to process the inquiry and find a qualified tutor. We only provide the potential tutor with the information required to create a successful introduction; nevertheless, we do share part of this information with them. It will be kept in a secure location, with access controlled in accordance with the “need to know” approach.
Tutors and potential tutors
We request that you send a copy of your resume whenever a possible tutor contacts us. We will ask you to an interview if you are chosen. We maintain information about you, like your age, gender, name, residence, schools you’ve attended, interests, and employment history, on file. We enquire in great detail about your qualifications, hobbies, and skills. We can’t connect you with appropriate employment without this information. We use this data to create a profile that might be shown to the general public on our website. Your photograph appears on public-facing profiles on our websites, but neither your last name nor any of your contact information is displayed. However, your entire name and the details you’ve provided regarding your credentials and teaching experience are included when we send a parent a copy of your profile for review. In our CRM system, we employ straightforward automated decision-making algorithms to match your abilities and qualifications with assignments that are a good fit for you. Your bank information is kept on file so that we can send you payments for your tuition. Additionally, we maintain databases that list your references (we always ask for you to send us email addresses for two referees, thereby giving us your permission to contact these referees).
We give the prospective parent or student important details including your CV and details demonstrating why you would be an excellent tutor. Assuming you are okay with us putting your information forward in this way by applying for the position, we won’t typically seek for your express consent before doing this. We will always exercise judgement when providing basic details so that a parent or student can explore your potential for a job. We will provide the parent or kid with your basic contact information if they choose to proceed and schedule a meeting, phone conversation, or interview with you. Your address will appear on the invoice we send to a client on your behalf.
Visitors to our website
We track visitor behaviour patterns and the usual internet log information when someone visits our website. We do this to learn information like the number of visits to the different sections of the website. We do not personally identify anyone when collecting this data. We don’t try to identify the people who visit our website in any way. To track how people are using our website, we utilise Google Analytics. This analytical tool employs “cookies,” which are text files that are stored on your computer, to gather anonymous visitor behaviour and regular internet log information. Your IP address and other data produced by the cookie about how you use the website are sent to Google. The use of the website by visitors is then assessed, and statistical analyses of website activity are compiled using this information. We won’t track or gather any personally identifiable information about visitors to our website using the statistical analytics tool, and we won’t permit any third party to do so either. As part of our usage of the Google statistic analytics service, we will not link any data collected from this site with any personally identifying information from any source. Your IP address won’t be linked to any other information that Google stores. Neither Google nor we will attempt to connect an IP address to a computer user’s identity. We will be up up about this if we do decide to collect personally identifying information through our website. When we gather personal information, we’ll be transparent about it and say why we need it.
Protecting your data
To preserve the integrity of your data, all of our workers are obligated to maintain confidentiality. They won’t divulge any confidential information until forced to do so by the law. We have numerous safeguards in place to safeguard all of the personal data we hold. These consist of:
All computer access is protected with rigorous password authentication, and only authorised staff members have access to shared network drives.
Passwords are changed on a regular basis.
Data is kept on hosted infrastructure that is secure and encrypted and is only available to authorised workers.
Although we may transmit, access, use, or keep data about you beyond the European Economic Area, we will take steps to ensure that any such transfer, access, or use complies with applicable laws and continues to be controlled by this privacy statement.
Every computer has installed and regularly updated anti-virus and anti-malware software.
Firewalls are used to protect both incoming and outgoing internet traffic on all networks.
Although we make every effort to protect your data once it has been received, we regrettably cannot guarantee the security of your data while it is being transmitted via email, an inquiry form, a phone call, or another form of communication. This is because data transmission over the internet is not entirely secure.
Complaints or queries
When gathering and using personal information, we strive to uphold the highest standards. We take any complaints we receive about this very seriously as a result. If someone feels that our acquisition or use of information is unfair, deceptive, or improper, we welcome them to bring it to our attention. Any recommendations for enhancing our processes are also appreciated. With simplicity and clarity in mind, this privacy notice was written. It does not give a complete breakdown of every facet of how we gather and use personal data. We will gladly offer any more details or justifications, though. Send any requests for this to the address listed at the bottom of this notice.
Your rights
You have the right to ask us what information we have about you at any time, to get access to it, to have it updated, to have it deleted, and to have its processing restricted. Additionally, you have the right to object to any data that we may hold on you and the right to be shielded from automated judgments, such as profiling.
Erasure of your material
Upon your request, we will delete all of the personal information we have on file about you, with the exception of any billing data or other information we are required by law to maintain.
Portability of your data
We can offer a.csv file including simple contact information. You can log into your account and copy and paste this information if you want to download your complete profile data for use with another data controller. We do not have the capability to export entire records, however we can offer screenshots instead.
Restriction of data processing
You can contact us by phone, email, or letter if you ever want us to stop processing your information for the reasons we previously described.
Access to personal information
When it comes to providing people with access to their personal information, we strive to be as transparent as we can. By submitting a “subject access request” in accordance with the Data Protection Act of 1998, individuals can learn if we hold any personal information about them. If we do have information about you, we’ll let you know what it is, why we have it, who we could release it to, and how to get a copy of it in a form you can understand. You must write to our Internal Compliance Team or send a letter to the address listed below to make a written request for any personal information we may have. If you agree, we will make an effort to handle your request amicably, such as by giving you the precise information you require over the phone. We will not charge you for any printing or mailing costs if necessary. We reserve the right to levy a nominal fee of up to £10 for processing requests that are obviously unjustified or excessive. You can ask us to make any corrections if we do have information about you by getting in touch with the Internal Compliance Team once more. Within 30 days, we will provide you the information you requested. To make sure we are getting your information to the right individual, we will request identification documentation.
Disclosure of personal information
Without permission, we will not release personal information. However, we will comply with any legal requirements to provide information. The hyperlinks on our website that lead to other websites are not covered by this privacy notice. Read the privacy policies on the other websites you visit, as we strongly advise you to do.
Use of your data
We use a portion of your information to further our legitimate interest in connecting parents with tutors. First off, we never divulge surnames or private contact information. We do, however, publish all contact information when the tutor and student have decided to work together so that the parties can schedule lessons. Our entire staff has received training on how to thoroughly vetting all connections. All tutors are interrogated, and information on DBS certification is gathered. Parents and students pay a registration fee and supply address details.
In order to fulfil your request for an application service, we might additionally utilise your data. For instance, we might use your information to apply on your behalf to a school, institution, or other educational facility in the UK or abroad.
We may use your personal information for internal analysis to spot trends in our industry, such as whether or not a certain region or demographic demands a particular kind of tutor. This information is anonymous and cannot be used to identify you.
We don’t divulge any of your personal information to outside businesses.
Your personal information will always be fully utilised by us for such purposes as debt collection or notifying you of service changes that will have an impact on you.
In order to provide tutor introductions or academic advice—anything you have requested of us or that you have given us contractual permission to deliver for you—we may be required to disclose limited contact information with partners with whom we collaborate only when it is absolutely necessary. We shall only divulge the absolute minimal amount of information necessary, and any information we do divulge will be done so out of “legitimate interest.”
Small Steps Big Minds is fully committed to safeguarding the welfare of all children in its care. It recognises the responsibility to promote safe practice and to protect children from harm, abuse and exploitation. For the purposes of this policy and associated procedures a child is recognised as someone under the age of 18 years.
Staff and volunteers will work together to embrace difference and diversity and respect the rights of children and young people.
This document outlines Small Steps Big Minds is commitment to protecting children.
These guidelines are based on the following principles:
Small Steps Big Minds will:
Review
This Policy and these Procedures will be regularly reviewed:
AVAILABILITY
Although we try our best to accommodate all students, we cannot guarantee any spaces. If no space is available, the student will be placed on a waiting list and places will be offered when made available. We are unable to specify when spaces will become available. Places are offered on a first come, first serve booking system and we encourage parents/guardians to register early. Students who have attended the previous term will be given priority to continue on to the next term.
All class bookings are made strictly on a first come, first served basis and under no circumstance will priority be given.
CANCELLATION OF LESSONS BY STUDENT
A 121 session (appointment) may be cancelled without any charge being incurred if cancelled 24 hours prior to the session. Sessions not attended by the student without giving 24 hours’ notice will be charged at full price.
All course sessions should be completed within the term, any missed sessions or sessions cancelled within 24 hours will not be refundable, but a makeup session can be made if booked within the term time during the course booking or the session will be lost. Fees are based upon the student attending all sessions in the course as specified in the schedule and no discount or refund will be made regarding sessions missed by the student.
All class sessions show completed, any missed sessions or sessions cancelled within the 24-hour timeframe will not be refunded and no makeup class will be available. Any cancellations made with 24 hours’ notice will be refunded or a makeup class provided.
CANCELLATION OF SESSIONS BY TUTOR
The tutor may cancel appointments by giving 24 hours’ notice in which case no charge will be incurred. If a session is pre-booked, the session will be rescheduled at an agreeable time for both tutor and student, if no time is suitable, a refund will be made. If an appointment has been cancelled by the tutor a makeup session will need to be made within 7 days of the cancelled session date or the session will be lost.
The tutor may cancel a course session by giving 24 hours’ notice in which case a makeup session will be provided during the term at a time mutually suitable for student and tutor. If a mutual agreement is not possible during the term time, a refund will be made for the missed course session.
The tutor may cancel a class by giving 24 hours’ notice. A makeup class will be available within 2 weeks where possible, if no makeup class is mutually agreed then a refund will be made.
LATE ARRIVAL
Fees are gaged by the times specified in the schedule and no amendment will be made for time lost due to late arrival by the student. The course sessions will start promptly, and sessions will not be restarted for late arrivals.
Late arrivals made by the student during 121 sessions will result in students being taught for the remaining period of time of the session with no makeup time provided.
Late arrivals made by students during the class sessions will result in the class being continued for the remainder of the time and no makeup time available.
Late arrival at the tutor’s responsibility will be reimbursed by extending a session mutually agreed by tutor and student by the amount of time lost.
NO SHOW POLICY
Students who do not attend course sessions at the predetermined setting or those who are more than 15 minutes late are considered no-shows. This will still result in the student being responsible for fee charges. No refund or makeup session will be available under any circumstances.
SEVERE WEATHER
In 121 appointments, in the circumstance of severe weather (snow, sleet, hail etc) it is at the discretion of the student and the tutor as to whether the session will still be held. All students have the option of using online tutoring as an option instead of cancellation. Please communicate with your tutor in events of severe weather conditions. The tutor will reschedule an appointment at a mutually aggregable day and time.
Course sessions will be moved online in cases of severe weather conditions at the discretion of the tutor. If the course is not available, refunds will be made.
Classes which are cancelled by the tutor due to severe weather conditions will be fully refunded.
COVID-19
Guidance for our students:
If anyone in the student’s household develops any symptoms of Covid-19, such as a high temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius or higher, a continuous new cough or loss of taste/smell, the tutor must be informed immediately if a class booking, course booking or an appointment has been made.
All face to face 121 appointments will be changed to online where possible, in the event of developing symptoms.
The tutor and student will remain at home and refrain from providing any classes, course sessions or 121 appointments for a minimum of 7 days if the tutor is unwell with Covid-19 symptoms or 14 days if someone in their household has symptoms.
Any suspected case of Covid-19 or exposure to someone with Covid-19 will result in a Covid-19 test being obtained with a negative result before returning back to face to face appointments. During this time, online tutoring will be provided where possible.
All surfaces and resources will be disinfected before and after course sessions, classes and 121 appointments.
Parents must wear masks when collecting and dropping off their child(ren). The tutor will do the same during the entrance and exiting of the children.
Masks for tutors and students are not mandatory whilst in a course session, class and 121 appointment, however may wear them if they wish and parents/guardians/students may request the tutor and student wear a mask.
Parents/guardians, students and tutors must use hand sanitiser upon arrival and departure.
Cancellation: Where possible we ask that tutors are made aware of a cancellation in line with our cancellation policy in the terms and conditions
REFUND POLICY
Please be aware that we have no refund policy for all services. Refund requests, including (but not limited to), not being able to attend, will not be upheld regardless of the notice period provided or reasons provided. Should you choose to cancel a course booked in advance, a refund will not be made. Exceptions will be made for serious illness, or the death of a significant relative. In these cases, proof of documentation may be requested.
OBLIGATIONS OF THE STUDENT
OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARENT/GUARDIAN
EXCLUSION
We promote good behaviour at our tutoring centre and reserve the right to exclude any child, without refund, should they cause disruption to the learning sessions. We reserve the right to exclude at immediate effect and without notice.
WORKBOOKS AND OTHER MATERIALS
Students will be provided with needed workbooks and materials which, when required, must be returned or replaced at the parents/guardian’s expense. The tutors are not held responsible for any lost personal belongings of the students.
PERSONAL DETAILS
By providing us with personal details and/or other information, you agree that we are allowed to hold this information on our secure database. We will not pass any information to third parties without consent. We may also use your details e.g. email or phone number, to share information about our services or invite you to join our communications network including social media and blog site. There is no obligation to accept. You can also opt out from receiving any communication at any time.
PROGRESS
Parents may arrange a short appointment with the tutor before or after the 121 appointment or course session to discuss their child’s progress (1 appointment is recommended at the end of the term).
WARRANTIES
While we aim to provide the best educational amenities where possible, the tutor makes no promises or guarantees in regard to the students’ performance as a result of any tutoring provided. In no circumstances shall our responsibilities, expressed or implied, to any other client, exceed those responsibilities precisely notable here.
AGREEMENT FOR PAYMENT
All 121 appointments must be paid for in advance when booking. At no circumstance will an appointment be held without prepayment.
All course bookings must be booked and paid for termly before starting the course. At no circumstance will a course be held without prepayment.
All class bookings must be prepaid when booking and at no circumstance will attendance of a class be allowed without prepayment.
No cash payments are permitted.
COMPLAINTS
All complaints must be made in writing and responses and resolutions will be made corresponding the matter in hand.
