ExamQuest: Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy

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Privacy Policy

1. Privacy Statement

1.1. GradeQuest (also known as Learning Goals, referred to herein as "GradeQuest", "we", "us", or "our") takes the protection of its students', parents', guardians', and tutors' personal data seriously. Any reference to personal data in this policy refers to information that directly or indirectly identifies an individual.

1.2. This privacy policy explains how GradeQuest collects, processes, stores, and protects personal data provided when visiting gradequest.co.uk, subscribing to our live online GCSE tutoring services, participating in live lessons, or otherwise communicating with us.

1.3. GradeQuest complies with all applicable UK data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), and the ICO’s Age Appropriate Design Code (Children’s Code).

2. Data Controller

2.1. GradeQuest (also known as Learning Goals) is the data controller responsible for your personal data.

2.2. For any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or data processing, please contact our Data Protection lead via email at: [email protected].

3. Children’s Privacy & Parental / Guardian Consent

3.1. GradeQuest provides educational services designed primarily for GCSE students (typically aged 13 to 16) and their parents or guardians.

3.2. Account Creation & Payment: Accounts must be created by a parent, legal guardian, or an individual aged 18 or older. If a student is under the age of 13, explicit consent from a parent or legal guardian is required before any personal data is collected or service is accessed.

3.3. Age-Appropriate Safeguards: In accordance with the ICO Children’s Code, we prioritize the privacy, safety, and well-being of young learners. We do not sell children’s personal data, display targeted third-party advertising within student accounts, or process children's data in ways detrimental to their health or well-being.

4. What Information We Collect

We collect information directly from parents, guardians, students, and tutors, as well as automatically through your use of our platform.

A. Information Provided Directly

• Parent/Guardian Information: Full name, email address, phone number, billing address, and account login details.
• Student Information: Student first and last name, date of birth / age, school attended, academic year, target and current GCSE grades, subject preferences, and educational progress notes.
• Communication Data: Inquiries sent via contact forms, email correspondence, or customer support messages.

B. Live Lesson & Classroom Data

• Microphone & Camera Settings: To protect student privacy and maintain a safe classroom environment, all student microphones and cameras are kept muted and turned off by default during live online lessons. Students interact with tutors primarily via moderated text chat.
• Text Chat & Poll Responses: Written messages, questions submitted during live lessons, quiz answers, and polls.
• Lesson Recordings: Video, audio, and chat recordings of live virtual lessons.

C. Automatically Collected Technical & Usage Data

• IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, time zones, pages visited, and interaction data collected via cookies and tracking tags.

D. Financial Data

• Payments are processed via secure third-party payment providers (e.g., Stripe or PayPal). GradeQuest does not store full credit card or debit card numbers on its servers.

5. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data

Under the UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases to process your information:

6. Live Online Lessons, Recording & Safeguarding

6.1. Classroom Controls (Muting & Cameras): To ensure maximum privacy, safety, and focus during online GCSE group sessions:

• Student webcams and microphones are permanently muted/disabled by default.
• Only the authorized tutor's camera and microphone are broadcast.
• Students communicate with the tutor and ask questions via supervised, monitored text chat boxes.

6.2. Lesson Recordings:

• Live lessons are recorded by GradeQuest for safeguarding, quality assurance, tutor training, and to allow enrolled students to watch replays for revision purposes.
• Lesson recordings capture the tutor's video/audio stream, shared lesson materials, and on-screen chat text. Because student cameras and mics are disabled, student video and voice are not recorded.
• Access to lesson recordings is strictly restricted to active, enrolled GradeQuest students and authorized internal personnel via secure, password-protected portals. Recordings are not made available to the public.

7. Who Has Access To Your Data

7.1. Internal Team & Tutors: Tutors and staff members receive student information strictly on a need-to-know basis (e.g., student first name, subject level, academic needs) to conduct classes and support learning. All tutors undergo background checks and are bound by strict confidentiality obligations.

7.2. Third-Party Service Providers: We share personal data with trusted third-party service providers who assist in operating our services, including:

• Virtual classroom platforms and cloud hosting facilities.
• Customer support and CRM software.
• Secure payment gateways.
• Email dispatch and analytics providers.

All service providers act as data processors under strict contractual agreements ensuring data security and UK GDPR compliance.

7.3. No Sale of Data: Under no circumstances will GradeQuest sell, lease, or commercialize student or parent personal data to third parties.

8. Data Retention

8.1. GradeQuest retains personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, safeguarding, and reporting obligations.

8.2. Account & Academic Data: Retained for the duration of your active enrollment plus a standard archival period (typically up to 6 years for legal and financial compliance).

8.3. Live Lesson Recordings: Retained for the academic year in which the course runs to support student revision, after which recordings are securely archived or deleted in line with safeguarding policies.

9. Your Data Rights

Under UK Data Protection law, parents, guardians, and students (depending on age and understanding) have the following rights:

• Right of Access: Request a copy of the personal data GradeQuest holds about you or your child.
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): Request deletion of personal data where legal obligations or legitimate safeguarding grounds do not require its retention.
• Right to Restrict or Object: Limit or object to how we process your data.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw marketing or cookie consent at any time without affecting prior lawful processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact [email protected]. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.

10. Data Security & International Transfers

10.1. Data Security: We implement strict physical, technical, and organizational security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These include encrypted storage, secure HTTPS connections, role-based access controls, and multi-factor authentication.

10.2. International Transfers: Where data is transferred or hosted outside the UK or European Economic Area (EEA), GradeQuest ensures equivalent protection levels by using UK International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTAs), Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), or statutory adequacy decisions.

11. Cookie & Tracking Technology Policy

11.1. Overview: GradeQuest uses cookies, tracking pixels, and web analytics to improve site performance, analyze traffic, and manage online advertising campaigns (including Google Ads).

11.2. Types of Cookies Used:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies: Essential for website security and navigation.
• Analytical/Performance Cookies: Collect anonymous traffic data (e.g., Google Analytics) to help us improve site performance.
• Targeting & Advertising Cookies: Used by advertising networks (such as Google Ads) to deliver relevant ad campaigns to adult users across the web and measure conversions.

11.3. Managing Preferences: Non-essential marketing and analytics cookies are disabled by default until granted consent via our Cookie Consent Banner. You may update your cookie preferences or opt out at any time using the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer of gradequest.co.uk. Additional controls are available at www.aboutcookies.org and Google Ad Settings.