Privacy Policy

Who we are

Amberleaf English is an English language centre in the UK offering General English, Business English, IELTS exam preparation and Cambridge exam preparation to international students and professionals. We teach in small groups, with in-person and online classes, and we start most learners with a placement test. This policy explains what personal information we hold about you, why we hold it and what you can ask us to do with it. We are the data controller for the information described here, and we handle it under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The information we collect

When you enquire, book a placement test or enrol on a course, we collect your name, contact details, nationality, first language, date of birth and the course you are interested in. Your placement test gives us your answers, your score and the level we recommend. During your course we keep attendance records, homework, progress notes from your teacher and, for exam classes, your mock test results. If you pay us, we record what you paid and when; card details are handled by our payment provider and we do not store full card numbers. For online classes, our video platform may process your image, voice and connection details while a lesson is running.

Some students give us visa, passport or sponsor details because they need a letter of enrolment. We only ask for these when you request that kind of document.

How we use your information

We use your details to place you in the right class, run your lessons, track your progress, prepare you for IELTS or Cambridge exams and contact you about your timetable. We rely on our contract with you for most of this. We rely on legal obligations for accounting and safeguarding records, and on our legitimate interests for things like improving our courses and keeping the centre secure. If you agree to hear about new courses or term dates, we rely on your consent, and you can withdraw it at any time by replying to one of our messages or writing to us.

We do not sell your data. Ever.

Who we share it with

We share information only where we need to: with the IT, video and payment services that help us run classes, with exam boards when you register for an exam through us, with a sponsor or employer who is paying for your course if you have agreed to this, and with authorities where the law requires it. Some of our service providers may store data outside the UK, and where that happens we use the safeguards UK law requires, such as approved contract clauses.

Students under 18

Some of our learners are under 18, often teenagers preparing for Cambridge exams or joining a course during the summer holidays. For these students we ask a parent or guardian to complete enrolment and to agree to how we use the student's information. For online learners under 13, we only process data with a parent's or guardian's consent. Teachers' progress notes for younger students are shared with the parent or guardian who enrolled them, and we keep safeguarding records separately with restricted access.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to make it work and, with your permission, to understand how visitors use it. Our Cookie Policy gives the details and explains how to change your choices.

How long we keep it

We keep enquiry details for as long as the enquiry is active and a reasonable period afterwards. Student records, including placement test results and attendance, are kept for as long as you study with us and then for a period that lets us answer reference requests and meet our legal and accounting duties, after which we delete or anonymise them. Online lesson recordings, where a class is recorded, are kept only for a limited time that we tell you about before recording starts.

Keeping it safe

Access to student records is limited to staff who need it. We use password protected systems and choose service providers who take security seriously.

Your rights

You can ask us for a copy of your information, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it, ask us to limit how we use it, object to certain uses, and ask for a portable copy of data you gave us. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it. We may need to confirm your identity before we act on a request. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, telephone +44 151 9714593, website ico.org.uk, although we would appreciate the chance to sort out your concern first.

Changes to this policy

We update this policy when our courses or systems change, and the latest version is always on this page.

Contact us

For any question about your data, write to us at [email protected], call +44 151 9714593, or send a letter to Amberleaf English, 237 The Green.