Privacy policy

1. Introduction

1.1    References in this Policy to “you” are to any Customer using the Platform (and “your” should be construed accordingly); and references in this Policy to “us” are to the Providers, Tuition Works, Lessonspace, Inc and TutorCruncher (and “we” and “our” should be construed accordingly).

1.2    This policy applies where we are acting as joint data controllers with respect to the Personal Data of the Platform visitors and users; in other words, where we determine the purposes and means of the processing of that Personal Data.

1.3    We use cookies on the Platform. Insofar as those cookies are not strictly necessary for the provision of the Platform and Services, we may ask you to consent to our use of cookies when you first visit the Platform. For more details on how we use cookies, please visit our cookie policy here.

1.4    Tuitionworks is part of the Supporting Education Group family of companies. We may share your personal information with our group companies as necessary to carry out the purposes for which the information was supplied or collected (i.e. to provide the services and products you have requested from us).

2. How we use your Personal Data

2.1    In this Section 2 we have set out:

(a)    the general categories of Personal Data that we may process;

(b)    in the case of Personal Data that we did not obtain directly from you, the source of that data;

(c)    the purposes for which we may process Personal Data; and

(d)    the legal bases of the processing.

2.2    We may process data about your use of the Platform and Services (“usage data“). This may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and Platform navigation paths, as well as information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your Service use. The source of the usage data is our analytics tracking system. This usage data may be processed for the purposes of analysing the use of the Platform and Services. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely monitoring and improving the Platform and Services.

2.3    We may process your Account data (“account data”), which you have provided. This may include your name, date of birth, country of residence, address, school, email and phone number. The account data may be processed for the purposes of operating and securing the Platform, providing the Services, and communicating with you. The legal basis for this processing is: the performance of a contract between you and us or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract; legitimate interests, namely the administration of the Platform and business; and legitimate interests, namely the safeguarding our users.

2.4    For Tutors, we may process your Tutor profile data (“profile data”), which you may provide, if applicable. This may include your photo, qualifications, accreditations, verifications, tutoring and teaching experience, availability, and the tutoring you offer. The profile data may be processed for the purposes of allowing you to use the Services. The legal basis for this processing is the performance of a contract between you and us or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.

2.5    For Tutors, we may process your verification documents (“verification data”), which you may provide, if applicable. This may include proof of identification, proof of address, qualification certificates, DBS certificates, references and other documents relevant to verifying your Account or profile. The verification data may be processed for the purposes of verifying your tutor credentials and providing safeguarding and quality control. The legal basis for this processing is: the performance of a contract between you and us; legitimate interests, namely the administration of the Platform and business and the safeguarding of our users.

2.6    We may process the Personal Data you generate in the course of using of our Services (“service data“). This may include your Lesson history. The service data may be processed for the purposes of operating the Platform and providing the Services. The legal basis for this processing is: the performance of a contract between you and us; legitimate interests, namely the administration of the Platform and business.

2.7    We may process the information contained in the messages that you send and receive (“message data“). This may include the message content, any file attachments and any associated metadata. The Platform will generate metadata associated with messages sent or received via the Platform. The message data may be processed to allow you to use the Services and to allow us to provide safeguarding and quality control. The legal basis for this processing is the performance of a contract between you and us and legitimate interests, namely the safeguarding of our users.

2.8    We may process the information contained in reviews submitted by Students (“review data“). This may include a star rating and a written review. The review data may be processed to allow you to use the Services and to allow for quality control. The legal basis for this processing is the performance of a contract between you and us and legitimate interests, namely the quality control of the Platform and Services.

2.9    We may process the information contained in Lesson recordings (“recording data”). This may include audio (microphone) and video (webcam) streams as well a presentation stream (whiteboard and uploaded documents). The data is generated during online Lessons in the Online Classroom. This data may be processed to provide safeguarding for Platform users, resolve disputes and technical problems and to conduct tutor observations to ensure quality control. The legal basis for this processing is the performance of a contract between you and us and legitimate interests, namely the safeguarding of our users and the quality control of our Service.

2.10    We may process any of your Personal Data identified in this policy where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the protection and assertion of our legal rights, your legal rights and the legal rights of others.

2.11    We may process any of your Personal Data identified in this policy where necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, or obtaining professional advice. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the protection of our business against risks.

2.12    In addition to the specific purposes for which we may process your Personal Data set out in this Section 2, we may also process any of your Personal Data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.

2.13    You must not supply any other person’s Personal Data to us, unless we prompt you to do so in writing.

3. Automated decision-making

3.1    If you are a Tutor, we may use your Personal Data for the purposes of automated decision-making in relation to ranking of your tutor profile (if applicable) in search results on the Platform. This automated decision-making may use a range of data including: the tutoring you offer; your qualifications and experience; and your ratings. The significance and consequence of this is the Tutors with higher level qualifications, greater experience and positive ratings from Students will rank higher while Tutors with negative ratings from Students may rank lower.

4. Providing your Personal Data to others

4.1    For Tutors, once your Account is approved your profile data may be visible to other logged in users on the Platform. Depending upon the Agency requirements, this visibility may be limited to Agency administrators or may extend to any logged in user.

4.2    We may disclose your Personal Data to our insurers and professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, obtaining professional advice, or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.

4.3    We may disclose your Personal Data to our trusted verification partners in order to confirm the validity of any submitted data or documentation. This may include your identification documents (including passport or UK driving licence), DBS certificates, qualification certificates, address, date of birth, TRN (teacher reference number) and other Personal Data where applicable. We will share this data only for the purposes of confirming the validity of the data and documents.

4.4    In addition to the specific disclosures of Personal Data set out in this Section 4, we may disclose your Personal Data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. We may also disclose your Personal Data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.

4.5 We may disclose all or any of the personal data set out in Section 2. to our data processors, Tutor Cruncher, https://tutorcruncher.com/ in order to fulfil the purposes set out in Section 2. Specifically we use Tutor Cruncher to manage our tutoring records. Tutor data is input into the system to enable enquiries for tutoring, book lessons and to hold data on tutor experiences. Client data is input onto the Tutor Cruncher system in order to manage enquiries as well as booking sessions and detailing progress.

5. Retaining and deleting Personal Data

5.1    Personal Data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.

5.2    We may retain your Personal Data for a period of 3 years from the date of the most recent login to your Account or for 2 months following the closure of your Account.

5.3    Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Clause 5, we may retain your Personal Data where such retention is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.

6. Security of Personal Data

6.1    We will take appropriate technical and organisational precautions to secure your Personal Data and to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your Personal Data.

6.2    We will store your Personal Data on secure servers.

6.3    All Personal Data sent from your web browser to our web server, or from our web server to your web browser, will be protected using encryption.

6.4    You acknowledge that the transmission of unencrypted (or inadequately encrypted) data over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data sent over the internet.

6.5    You should ensure that your password is not susceptible to being guessed, whether by a person or a computer program. You are responsible for keeping the password you use for accessing your Account confidential and we will not ask you for your password (except when you log in to your Account).

7. Amendments

7.1    We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on the Platform.

7.2    You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.

7.3    We may notify you of significant changes to this policy by email or through the Platform.

8. Your rights

8.1    In this Section 8, we have summarised the rights that you have under data protection law. Some of the rights are complex, and not all of the details have been included in our summaries. Accordingly, you should read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory authorities for a full explanation of these rights.

8.2    Your principal rights under data protection law are your rights to: access; rectification; erasure; restrict processing; object to processing; data portability; complain to a supervisory authority; and withdraw consent.

8.3    You have the right to confirmation as to whether or not we process your Personal Data and, where we do, you have the right to access the Personal Data, together with certain additional information. That additional information includes details of the purposes of the processing, the categories of Personal Data concerned and the recipients of the Personal Data. Providing the rights and freedoms of others are not affected, we will supply to you a copy of your Personal Data. The first copy will be provided free of charge, but additional copies may be subject to a reasonable fee. You can access most of your Personal Data by logging in to your Account.

8.4    You have the right to have any inaccurate Personal Data about you rectified and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have any incomplete Personal Data about you completed. If any Personal Data that we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated you can contact us via email at enquiries@tuitionworks.com

8.5    In some circumstances you have the right to the erasure of your Personal Data without undue delay. Those circumstances include: when the Personal Data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; if you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; if you object to the processing under certain rules of applicable data protection law; when the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and if the Personal Data have been unlawfully processed. However, there are exclusions of the right to erasure. The general exclusions include where processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; for compliance with a legal obligation; or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

8.6    In some circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your Personal Data. Those circumstances are: you contest the accuracy of the Personal Data; processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure; we no longer need the Personal Data for the purposes of our processing, but you require Personal Data for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; and you have objected to processing, pending the verification of that objection. Where processing has been restricted on this basis, we may continue to store your Personal Data. However, we will only otherwise process it: with your consent; for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or for reasons of important public interest.

8.7    You have the right to object to our processing of your Personal Data on grounds relating to your particular situation, but only to the extent that the legal basis for the processing is that the processing is necessary for: the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of any official authority vested in us; or the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party. If you make such an objection, we will cease to process your Personal Data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

8.8    You have the right to object to our processing of your Personal Data for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.

8.9    To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your Personal Data is either consent or performance of a contract (to which you are party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract), and such processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your Personal Data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.

8.10    If you consider that our processing of your Personal Data infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection.

8.11    To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your Personal Data is consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.

8.12    You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your Personal Data by contacting us via the Platform or via email at enquries@tuitionworks.com. Alternatively if you have any questions you can contact our data protection officer, Judicium Education, on the details below.

9. Third party Platforms

9.1    Our Platform may include links to and details of third party Platforms. We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the policies and practices of any other Platforms.

10. How to complain

We hope that we can resolve any query or concern you raise about our use of your information. In the first instance we would recommend contacting our data protection officer, Judicium Consulting, using their contact details below: –

Data Protection Officer: Judicium Consulting Limited

Address: 72 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6AE

Email: dataservices@judicium.com

Web: http://www.judiciumeducation.co.uk

Lead Contact: Craig Stilwell

The GDPR also gives you right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted at ico.org.uk/concerns/ or telephone: 0303 123 1113

Last update 29 June 2023