Introduction
This is the privacy policy of School of TEFL. In this policy, “we”, “our”, or “us” refer to School of TEFL.
This privacy policy sets out how, why and for how long we process information that we collect from our users (“you”), or that you provide to us. It covers information that could identify you (“personal information”) and information that could not. In the context of the law and this notice, “process” means collect, store, transfer, use or otherwise act on.
We take seriously the protection of your privacy and maintaining the security of any personal information received from you. We understand that you are entitled to know that your personal data will not be used for any purpose unintended by you.
We strictly adhere to the requirements of data protection legislation in the UK, including that required by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The law requires us to inform you about your rights and our obligations regarding the processing and control of your personal data. You can learn more about your rights by visiting:
By using our website you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions of this privacy policy. If you do not agree to all of the terms of this privacy policy, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue use of the website.
How, why and for how long we process your personal data
Except as set out below, we do not share, sell or disclose to a third party any information collected through our website, unless disclosure is necessary to (1) conform to legal requirements, (2) enforce the School of TEFL Terms of Use or protect our rights, or (3) protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another person.
The law requires us to determine under which of six defined bases we process different categories of your personal information, and to notify you of the basis for each category. If a basis on which we process your personal information is no longer relevant then we shall immediately stop processing your data. If the basis changes then if required by law we shall notify you of the change and of any new basis under which we have determined that we can continue to process your information.
Usage data
- Google Analytics
When you browse our website, we process data about your use of the website. This may include information such as your approximate geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views, and website navigation paths. Additionally, we may collect data on the timing, frequency, and patterns of your visits. This data is non-personally identifiable, meaning you remain anonymous to us.
The legal basis for processing this data is our legitimate interest in monitoring, analyzing, and improving our website usage and the services we provide.
We use Google Analytics to process and store this data. Data collected by Google Analytics may be retained for an indefinite period unless we determine it is no longer necessary for the purposes outlined above. For more information on how Google processes this data, please review Google’s Privacy Policy.
You can prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
- Google Ads
We use Google Ads to promote our website and services through search advertisements. These ads are displayed on Google Search and other platforms, and they direct users to our website. Google Ads may use cookies and other tracking technologies to measure ad performance, such as clicks, conversions, and user interactions on our website.
Additionally, we may use Google Ads remarketing to display targeted advertisements to users who have previously visited our website. This enables us to tailor our ads to your interests and improve your experience with our services. Google Ads remarketing works by placing a cookie in your browser to track your browsing behavior and display relevant ads across Google Search, the Google Display Network, and other third-party websites. These cookies collect anonymized data and do not identify you personally.
The legal basis for processing this data is our legitimate interest in marketing our services and understanding the effectiveness of our campaigns. You can learn more about how Google processes this data by reviewing Google’s Privacy Policy.
If you wish to opt out of personalised advertising through Google Ads, you can do so via Google’s Ads Settings or by managing your cookie preferences through our cookie banner.
When you make an enquiry through our contact form or by sending us an email
When you submit an enquiry, we process the information contained in your enquiry, including your name and email address. We believe that you would reasonably expect us to process this data for the purposes of responding to your enquiry, and so we process it on the basis that there is a legitimate interest to you and to us in doing so.
We process this data and any data in subsequent email communication between you and us for as long as is necessary to adequately deal with your enquiry and track our communications with you.
When you request a free TEFL info guide
When you request a free TEFL info guide, we ask for your consent to process your personal information, including your name, email address, and optionally your phone number, age, level of education and nationality. We also ask for your consent to send you marketing communications by email. We process the information you provide in order to send you the download you have requested and to send you marketing communications. We continue to process your information on this basis until you withdraw your consent or it can be reasonably assumed that your consent no longer exists. You can withdraw your consent at any time by instructing us by email at privacy@schooloftefl.org or by clicking the Unsubscribe link in the emails you receive.
When you fill out a form to enrol on a TEFL course and/or sign our Enrolment Agreement
When you fill out a form to enrol on a TEFL course, and when you complete and sign our Enrolment Agreement, we process information about you including your name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, level of education and nationality. We may also process other data, depending on the course you are enrolling on. We use this data to assess your eligibility for the course you have enrolled on. We process this information on the basis that you have requested we use the information before we enter into a legal contract. We shall continue to process this information until the contract between us ends or is terminated by either party under the terms of the contract.
When you sign our Enrolment Agreement, we ask for your consent to use your name, image, likeness, voice, and professional and personal biographical information, including materials created by or on our behalf, such as videos and photos taken during TEFL training or created for reviews. If you provide this consent, we may use this data for promotional and advertising purposes related to the services we provide for a period of 5 years. After that period, we will not use your data for any new promotional material without first renewing your consent. The legal basis for processing this data is our legitimate interests, namely promoting our services so that we may continue to provide these services.
If you pay for and take the TEFL course you have enrolled in, one of the services you pay for is support and job guidance from us. We therefore store the information you provide in order to provide you with these services, until such time as you withdraw your consent. You can withdraw this consent at any time by instructing us by email at privacy@schooloftefl.org.
When you write a review of School of TEFL
When you write a review of School of TEFL, we store your name and photo (if you choose to provide one) in addition to the content of your review. By checking the Consent checkbox on the Review form, you agree to your name and photo (if you have provided one) being published along with your review on the School of TEFL website.
Information provided by you on the understanding that it will be shared with a third party
Our website allows you to post information with a view to that information being read, copied, downloaded or used by third parties. Here are the individual cases where you may post information with a view to that information being read, copied, downloaded or used by third parties:
- When you fill out a form to enrol on a TEFL course
Our in-person and hybrid TEFL courses are run by our partner centres. When you fill out a form to enrol on a TEFL course, if we assess that you are eligible for the course, we send your information to the relevant partner centre so that they may further assess your eligibility and communicate with you about the course. We believe that in filling out a form to enrol on a TEFL course, you would reasonably expect us to process the data and send it to the relevant partner centre. As a result, we process it on the basis that there is a legitimate interest to us and to you in doing so, namely providing you with the TEFL course that you have enrolled in. By filling out the form, you accept that the relevant partner centre will also process your data according to their own privacy policy, and you accept that we have no control over the privacy policies of these partner centres. You can find out which partner centre we will send your information to by emailing us at privacy@schooloftefl.org. - When you schedule a callback from us
We use Calendly to enable you to schedule callbacks from our team. When you schedule a callback, Calendly ask for your name, email address and phone number, as well as any other information you choose to give us. Calendly process this data in accordance with their privacy policy. You can read this privacy policy here.
When you make a payment for a TEFL course
We do not collect or store your payment information directly. Instead, payment transactions are securely processed by our third-party payment providers.
At the point of payment, you will be directed to a secure checkout page on our website, where payments are processed through:
- WooCommerce Payments, powered by Stripe, which handles credit/debit card transactions.
- PayPal, which allows payments via your PayPal account or linked credit/debit cards.
In all cases, your payment is processed securely by either PayPal or Stripe, not by us. You can find information about PayPal’s privacy policies and practices here, and about Stripe’s privacy policies and practices here.
Information we process because we have a legal obligation
We may process, including disclosing to third parties, any of your data identified in this policy, if we are under a duty to do so in order to comply with a legal obligation, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. This may include your personal information.
Other information we may process
We may process any of your 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.
We may process any of your 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 proper protection of our business against risks.
Accessing, updating and removing your personal information
You can at any time request a copy of your personal data processed by us, or request to have it updated if it is incorrect. You can do both these things by sending an email to privacy@schooloftefl.org. After receiving your request, we will tell you when we expect to provide you with the information requested or correct the incorrect information.
If you wish to remove your personal information from our website, you can make a request by sending an email to privacy@schooloftefl.org.
Verification of your information
When we receive any request to access, edit or delete personal identifiable information we shall first take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting you access or otherwise taking any action. This is important to safeguard your information.
Complaints regarding content on our website
We moderate user-generated content when necessary, but we are not always able to do so as soon as that content is published.
If you complain about any of the content on our website, we shall investigate your complaint. If we feel it is justified or if we believe the law requires us to do so, we shall remove the content while we investigate.
Free speech is a fundamental right, so we have to make a judgement as to whose right will be obstructed: yours, or that of the person who posted the content that offends you.
If we think your complaint is vexatious or without any basis, we may not correspond with you about it.
Processing of your data outside the United Kingdom
We use outsourced services in countries outside the United Kingdom in certain aspects of our business. Accordingly, data obtained within the United Kingdom could be processed outside the United Kingdom.
We use Automattic and Calendly for the purposes as outlined in this policy. Automattic and Calendly are situated in the USA. The European Commission has made an “adequacy decision” with respect to the data protection laws of the USA, by means of the Privacy Shield Framework. Transfers to the USA from the EU and the United Kingdom will therefore be protected by appropriate safeguards adopted or approved by the European Commission. You can obtain a copy of the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework here.
Our use of cookies
About cookies
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device by your web browser when you visit any website. They allow information gathered on one web page to be stored until it is needed for use on another. Cookies allow us to distinguish you from other visitors to the website, helping us to provide you with a good user experience and allowing us to improve the site.
Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date. A session cookie will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
Our website uses cookies. They are placed by software that operates on our servers, and by software operated by third parties whose services we use.
You can choose to disallow cookies. However, by doing so, you may hinder your user experience on this and other websites.
Cookies that we use
Necessary cookies
Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.
Functional cookies
Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.
Analytical cookies
Analytical cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website. These cookies provide insights into metrics such as visitor numbers, bounce rates, traffic sources, and other website performance indicators. We use Google Analytics to collect and report this information anonymously, which helps us improve our website and services. To learn more about how Google Analytics cookies function and how your data is handled, please read about Google Analytics cookies and privacy here.
Marketing and advertising cookies
Marketing cookies are used to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and help us improve our marketing efforts. We use Google Ads cookies to track the performance of our search advertisements that direct users to our website. These cookies collect data such as click activity, conversion rates, and interactions on our website after users arrive via our ads. You can manage your preferences for marketing cookies through our cookie banner or opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google’s Ads Settings.
Cookies used for processing payments
We may use these cookies when you make a payment on our website, for the functionality of the checkout process.
Uncategorised cookies
Uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
You can view the list of individual cookies we use in the Preference Centre, by clicking “Customise” in the cookies popup that appears when you first visit our website. If you’ve already saved your preferences, you can view the list by clicking the “Consent Preferences” cookie icon in the bottom left corner of your screen.
Encryption of data sent between us
We use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates to verify our identity to your browser and to encrypt any data you give us. Whenever information is transferred between us, you can check that it is done so using SSL by looking for a closed padlock symbol or other trust mark in your browser’s URL bar or toolbar.
How you can complain
If you are not happy with our privacy policy or if have any complaint then you can tell us by sending an email to privacy@schooloftefl.org.
If you are in any way dissatisfied about how we process your personal information, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. This can be done at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/.
Retention period for personal data
Except as otherwise mentioned in this privacy policy, we keep your personal information only for as long as required by us:
- to provide you with the services you have requested
- to comply with other law, including for the period demanded by our tax authorities
- to support a claim or defence in court
Third party websites
We may include links to third party websites that are controlled and maintained by others. It is your responsibility to review the privacy and cookie policies of these sites. We are not responsible for the policies and practices of third party sites.
More information and review of this privacy policy
You can find more information about UK data protection legislation at the Information Commissioner’s website.
We may update this privacy policy from time to time as necessary. The terms that apply to you are those posted here on our website on the day you use our website.
How to contact us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, want to exercise any of your rights as set out above, or have a complaint, please contact us by email at privacy@schooloftefl.org or through our contact form. If you’d like to, you can write to us at:
School of TEFL, 69 Hillcrest Road, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8HN, United Kingdom