This Privacy Policy explains how Doinel Education (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses and protects your personal data. We act as the data controller for the personal data described in this notice.
1. Who we are
Doinel Education provides educational consulting and tutoring coordination services. If you have any questions about this notice or how we handle your data, please contact us at info@doineleducation.com.
2. Who this notice covers
This notice applies to prospective and current students, parents and clients; tutors and teachers who apply to or work with us; and visitors to our website. Where we say “you” below, we mean any of the above unless we state otherwise.
3. Information we collect
Information you provide directly:
- Name, email address and phone number (where provided)
- Educational background, qualifications and preferences
- Messages sent through enquiry forms
- Account credentials, if you register for a portal
- For tutors: CV, references, right-to-work documents and banking details for payouts
- For students and parents: information needed to deliver the service (school, year group, subjects)
Information collected automatically when you visit our site:
- IP address, browser type and device information
- Pages visited and basic usage behaviour
- Cookies and similar technologies (see section 8)
We do not intentionally collect special category data (such as health or religion) unless you choose to provide it as part of your enquiry. If you do, we treat it under Article 9 UK GDPR with appropriate care.
4. How we use your information and our legal basis
We process personal data under the following purposes and legal bases under UK GDPR:
- Responding to enquiries and providing consultations — contract (steps prior to entering a contract)
- Matching students with tutors or programmes — contract
- Operating tutor and student portals and managing accounts — contract
- Processing payments and tutor payouts — contract and legal obligation (tax, accounting)
- Improving our website and services — legitimate interests
- Sending administrative communications about your engagement — contract
- Sending marketing communications — consent (you can withdraw at any time)
- Meeting tax, accounting, safeguarding and other legal duties — legal obligation
- Verifying tutor right-to-work and qualifications — legal obligation and contract
We do not sell your personal data. We do not carry out solely-automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you — tutor matching always involves human review.
5. Sharing your information
We share data only with parties that have a clear role in delivering our service, including:
- Tutors and educational partners involved in delivering services to you
- Hosting, database and IT infrastructure providers
- Email and communications providers
- Payment providers, for fees and tutor payouts
- Professional advisers (accountants, lawyers) where reasonably required
- Regulators or law enforcement, where we are legally required to do so
All third-party processors are bound by written agreements under Article 28 UK GDPR to handle your data securely and only for the purposes we instruct.
6. International transfers
Doinel Education operates internationally, with activities in the United Kingdom, the European Economic Area and parts of Asia (including mainland China and Hong Kong). Your data may be transferred to and processed in these regions. Where we transfer personal data outside the UK to a country that the UK has not deemed “adequate”, we rely on the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), the EU Standard Contractual Clauses with the UK Addendum, or another lawful safeguard recognised under UK GDPR. You may request a copy of the relevant safeguard by contacting us.
7. Data retention
We keep personal data only for as long as we need it. Typical retention periods are:
- Website enquiries that don’t lead to a service — 24 months from last contact
- Active client and student records — duration of services plus 6 years (UK Limitation Act / tax records)
- Tutor engagement records (contracts, payments) — duration of engagement plus 6 years
- Unsuccessful tutor applications — 12 months from decision
- Marketing contacts — until you unsubscribe or after 24 months of inactivity
- Website analytics and server logs — up to 12 months
Where a longer period is required by law (for example tax records), we follow that period.
8. Cookies
Our website uses cookies that are strictly necessary for the site to function, including authentication cookies that keep you signed in to portal areas. These do not require your consent. If we introduce non-essential cookies (such as third-party analytics or marketing), we will only set them after you have opted in via a cookie banner. You can clear cookies at any time through your browser settings.
9. Data security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. These include access controls, encryption in transit (TLS), restricted administrative access and supplier due diligence. No internet-based system is completely secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a personal data breach that meets the UK GDPR notification threshold, we will report it to the ICO within 72 hours and to affected individuals where required.
10. Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
- Request erasure of your data (“right to be forgotten”) where applicable
- Restrict or object to our processing
- Request data portability in a structured, machine-readable format
- Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent
- Lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk) — though we’d appreciate the chance to address your concern first
To exercise any of these rights, email info@doineleducation.com. We will respond within one month of receiving a valid request.
11. Children’s data
We provide services to students under 18. Where required, we will obtain consent or involvement from a parent or legal guardian. For children under 13, we will not knowingly collect personal data without verifiable parental consent. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal data without parental consent, please contact us so we can remove it.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated where appropriate (for example by email to registered users). The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent revision.