Last updated: September 2026
English, Explained takes the privacy of students and their families seriously. This privacy notice explains what personal information I collect, why I collect it, how it is used and the rights you have in relation to your information.
1. Who I am
English, Explained is a private English tuition service operated by Teri White, a sole trader.
For the purposes of UK data protection law, I am responsible for deciding how and why personal information is used.
For any questions about this privacy notice or how your information is handled, please contact:
Email: hello@englishexplained.co.uk
2. Information I may collect
Depending on how you use my services, I may collect:
parent or carer name and contact details;
Information about the student’s education, such as their year group, exam board, subjects or texts being studied, current or predicted grades, mock examination results, areas of strength and areas where they may need additional support.
Examples of a student’s work, such as practice essays, mock examination papers or teacher feedback, where these are provided to help me plan and deliver tuition.
information provided through enquiry forms, emails or consultation calls;
records relating to tuition, attendance and progress;
payment and transaction information; and
correspondence relating to tuition.
Some information is necessary for me to respond to an enquiry, arrange tuition or provide tuition. If this information is not provided, I may not be able to offer or deliver the requested tuition service.
3. How I collect information
I usually receive information directly from parents or carers through my website enquiry forms, email correspondence, consultation calls and during the course of tuition.
I may also receive information about a student from the student themselves during tuition.
4. How I use personal information
I use personal information where necessary to:
respond to tuition enquiries;
determine whether my tuition services are suitable for a student;
arrange and deliver 1:1 or micro-group tuition;
plan tuition appropriate to a student's needs;
communicate with parents and carers;
keep appropriate records of attendance and progress;
administer payments and maintain financial records;
manage the operation of English, Explained; and
meet legal, safeguarding or regulatory obligations where applicable.
I do not use automated decision-making or profiling to make decisions about students.
5. My lawful basis for using personal information
Data protection law requires me to have a valid reason for collecting and using personal information. The reason I rely on will depend on why I need the information.
For English, Explained, I may use the following lawful bases:
Contract – I use information where it is needed to respond to an enquiry about tuition, arrange tuition, or provide and manage tuition that has been booked.
Legitimate interests – I may use information where it is reasonably necessary to provide an effective and well-organised tutoring service. For example, this may include keeping appropriate records about a student's tuition and progress, or communicating with parents or carers. When I rely on legitimate interests, I consider the privacy and rights of the people whose information I am using, particularly where the information relates to a child.
Legal obligation – I may need to keep or use certain information because I am required to do so by law. For example, I am required to keep certain financial and tax records.
Consent – For some optional uses of personal information, I may ask for consent. Where I rely on consent, I will make this clear when I ask for it, and consent can be withdrawn at any time.
I will only collect and use personal information where I have an appropriate lawful basis for doing so.
6. How I store and protect personal information
I take reasonable steps to keep the personal information I hold secure.
Information submitted through my website may be stored by Squarespace and will also be sent to my business email account.
If you enquire about a micro-group, relevant information may be added to my secure interest list so that I can consider suitable student groupings and contact you if an appropriate group becomes available.
Once a student begins tuition, I may keep relevant information in a secure client record. This may include contact details, tuition arrangements and appropriate records relating to the student's learning and progress.
I use password-protected accounts and devices and take reasonable steps to prevent personal information from being lost, misused, accessed or disclosed without authorisation.
7. How long I keep personal information
I only keep personal information for as long as I reasonably need it, or for as long as I am required to keep it by law.
General enquiries – If you make an enquiry but do not go on to book tuition or join a micro-group interest list, I will normally delete the personal information relating to your enquiry within 30 days of my final contact with you.
Micro-group interest list – If you ask to join a micro-group interest list, I may keep the information needed to match your child with a suitable group for up to six months. If a suitable group has not become available during this time, I may contact you to ask whether you would like to remain on the interest list. If you do not wish to remain on the list, or I do not hear from you, I will delete information that I no longer need.
Student and tuition records – If your child becomes a client, I will normally keep information relating to their tuition for the duration of the tutoring relationship and for up to 12 months after tuition ends. This allows me to maintain appropriate records and provide continuity if a student returns to tuition.
Financial and tax records – Some financial information may need to be kept for longer where I am required to do so for tax, accounting or other legal purposes.
Other records – In some circumstances, I may need to retain particular information for a different period where there is a legal, safeguarding or other legitimate reason to do so.
When information is no longer required, I will securely delete or dispose of it.
8. Who I share personal information with
I do not sell or trade personal information.
I use a small number of trusted service providers to help me run English, Explained. These providers may process or store personal information on my behalf where this is necessary to provide their services.
These currently include:
Squarespace – to host my website and process information submitted through website enquiry forms.
Google Workspace – to provide my business email and manage email communications.
Microsoft – to provide Excel Online, which I use to maintain appropriate business and tuition records.
Zoom – to provide online tuition sessions. Online tuition sessions are not recorded.
Banking providers – to receive and manage payments for tuition and maintain appropriate financial records.
I may also disclose personal information where required by law or where necessary to protect the safety or welfare of a student or another person.
9. International transfers
Some of the service providers I use to run English, Explained operate internationally. This means that personal information may sometimes be processed or stored outside the UK.
Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, I take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate protections are in place in accordance with UK data protection law. This may include relying on UK adequacy regulations or appropriate contractual safeguards provided by the relevant service provider.
If you would like further information about how your personal information is protected when it is transferred internationally, please contact me.
10. Your data protection rights
Under UK data protection law, you have rights over your personal information. Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:
Access your information – you can ask me for a copy of the personal information I hold about you.
Correct your information – you can ask me to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Ask for information to be deleted – in certain circumstances, you can ask me to delete personal information that I hold about you.
Ask me to restrict how information is used – in certain circumstances, you can ask me to limit the way I use your personal information.
Object to the use of your information – in certain circumstances, you may object to how I am using your personal information.
Ask for your information to be transferred – in certain circumstances, you may have the right to receive personal information you have provided to me in a portable format or ask for it to be transferred to another organisation.
Withdraw consent – where I rely on your consent to use personal information, you can withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect any processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.
If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact me at hello@englishexplained.co.uk
There is normally no charge for exercising your data protection rights.
11. Complaints
If you have any concerns about how I collect, use or protect your personal information, please contact me in the first instance at hello@englishexplained.co.uk . I will take your concerns seriously and will look into the matter.
You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator, if you are unhappy with how your personal information has been handled. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
12. Changes to this privacy notice
I may update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes to my services, the systems I use, or the way I handle personal information.
I will keep this notice under regular review and update it where necessary. If I make a significant change to how I use personal information, I will make this clear and, where appropriate, let affected clients know.
The date at the top of this page shows when this privacy notice was last updated.