Privacy Policy | Compass Academy

In plain English

We only ask for information that helps us respond to enquiries, understand a student’s needs and provide education services. We do not sell personal information.

1. Who we are

Compass Academy Ltd (“Compass Academy”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a UK education company. For the purposes of UK data protection law, Compass Academy Ltd is the controller of the personal information described in this policy.

Contact: info@compass-academy.co.uk
Registered office: Compass Academy Ltd, 124 City Road, London, England, EC1V 2NX
Company number: 15988163 (registered in England and Wales)

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

parent or guardian name, email address and mobile number;
a student’s first name, school year, exam board, current grade, target grade and exam tier;
information you provide about concerns, learning needs or educational progress;
diagnostic responses and assessment files returned through our secure upload link, plus work a student uploads for tutor support, teaching notes, attendance, homework, feedback and progress information if a student receives support from us;
payment, invoicing and administrative records where you purchase a service, including payment status, Stripe customer references and any automatic-renewal preference. We do not receive or store complete card details; and
for tutor recruitment, identity and DBS verification details needed to check suitability, consent and the outcome, plus bank account details needed to pay completed sessions. We do not ask tutors to upload a copy of their DBS certificate; and
limited technical information needed to operate and secure our website, including parent, student and tutor login-session records. If optional analytics or advertising tools are introduced, we will provide an appropriate choice before non-essential cookies are used.

Please avoid including medical or other sensitive information in the general enquiry form unless it is necessary for us to support the student. If we need this information, we will explain why and how it will be used.

3. How and why we use information

PurposeLawful basis

Responding to enquiries, sending service acknowledgements and arranging an assessmentLegitimate interests and taking steps before entering a contract

Delivering tuition, assessments, feedback and parent updatesPerformance of our contract and legitimate interests in delivering effective education

Processing one-off payments and any automatic four-lesson renewal you separately activate, including payment reminders and failed-payment noticesPerformance of our contract and your specific renewal instruction

Keeping our services safe, preventing misuse and handling complaintsLegitimate interests and, where relevant, legal obligation

Checking tutor identity, eligibility and suitability to work with childrenLegitimate interests and, where relevant, legal obligation

Optional marketing communicationsConsent, or another lawful basis permitted by direct-marketing law. You can opt out at any time.

4. Children’s information

Our services support young people, so some of the information we use relates to children. We ask a parent or guardian to submit the initial enquiry and to provide information they are authorised to share. Where a student dashboard is provided, the verified parent approves the student’s own email address once. Login codes are then sent directly to that student address, while the account remains linked to the parent and can be disabled by them. The dashboard shows only the student’s timetable, lesson links, topics, homework and files the student has chosen to send to their tutor. Student uploads are available only to the student, their assigned tutor and authorised Compass Academy administrators. Payment information, parent feedback and private teaching records are not shown in the student dashboard. We use a child’s information only where it is necessary to assess learning needs, provide tuition, communicate progress, keep the service safe or meet a legal obligation. We take the child’s best interests into account when deciding how their information is used.

5. Who we share information with

We may share only the information needed with carefully selected tutors and service providers who help us deliver our services, such as online teaching, email delivery, communications, payment, website hosting, record keeping and professional advice. Stripe processes card payments and may securely retain a payment method where a parent separately activates automatic renewal. Compass Academy does not receive or store complete card details. Service providers must handle information securely and only for the agreed purpose.

We may also disclose information where required by law, to protect a child or another person, to establish or defend legal rights, or in connection with a legitimate business reorganisation. We do not sell personal information.

6. International transfers

Some technology providers may process information outside the UK. Where this happens, we use providers and safeguards intended to give personal information a level of protection consistent with UK data protection law, such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contractual safeguards.

7. How long we keep information

We keep information only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose it was collected and to meet legal, accounting or safeguarding responsibilities. Our usual periods are:

enquiries that do not become customers: up to 12 months after the last meaningful contact;
student learning, attendance and progress records: normally up to 24 months after support ends, unless a longer period is needed for safeguarding or a dispute;
contracts, invoices, payment records and renewal instructions: normally six years after the relevant financial year or relationship ends, while payment tokens are disabled when no longer required;
tutor DBS information: detailed checking data only while the recruitment decision is being made; afterwards we retain the minimum verification record needed for safeguarding, audit and legal purposes;
marketing preferences: until consent is withdrawn or the information is no longer useful, with suppression records retained where needed to respect an opt-out.

We may securely delete or anonymise information earlier where it is no longer needed.

8. Security

We use proportionate organisational and technical measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. Access is limited according to role. A verified parent authorises the student email linked to the account, student login codes are sent only to that approved address, tutor access is checked against an approved teaching-group list, and login sessions can be revoked.

9. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to ask for access to personal information, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, or transfer of information, and to withdraw consent. These rights are not absolute and legal exceptions may apply.

To make a request, email info@compass-academy.co.uk. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

10. Cookies

Our website currently uses only technology needed to operate the site and form experience. If we add non-essential analytics, advertising or similar cookies, we will update this policy and request consent where required before using them.

11. Concerns and complaints

Please contact us first so we can try to resolve your concern. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator, through ico.org.uk.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our services, technology or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on this page with a revised date.