Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy, together with our website terms and conditions and any other document referred in it, governs the collection, storage and use of personal information collected by all schools and companies in the UK, USA and South Africa within the LAL group, via our websites, authorised platforms and via any of our third party language travel operators, language travel agencies as well as other third party providers to LAL companies. By accessing or browsing this website, www.lalschools.com, and by providing information to either LAL directly or our third party agents, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to this Privacy Policy in its entirety. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy in its entirety, you must not use this website or provide any personal information to LAL or our third party agents.

LAL Language Centres Holding Limited is a company registered in England and Wales (registration number 01525902), whose registered office is at Sigma House, Oak View Close, Edginswell Park, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 7FF.  LAL Language Centres Holding Ltd is the 100% owner of the subsidiary companies: LAL Language Centres UK Ltd; LAL Language Centres South Africa (Pty) Ltd; LAL Language Centers Florida Inc; LAL Language Centers Massachusetts Inc; LAL US Holdings Inc and LAL Management Services Inc. LAL Language Centres trades as:  LAL London, LAL Torbay, LAL Summer Schools and LAL Cape Town

LAL Language Centres Holding Limited is registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office, registration number Z3319050.  We respect your right to privacy and will only process personal information you provide to us in accordance with current data protection legislation and other applicable privacy laws.

If you have any questions about how we collect, store and use personal information, or if you have any other privacy-related or data protection questions, please contact us by any of the following means:

• phone: +44 (1803) 558555
• e-mail: [email protected]
• write: Data Protection Officer, LAL Torbay, Conway Road, Paignton, Devon TQ4 5LH

Principles

1. We aim to protect your privacy by using security technology appropriately. This means:
   1. we make sure that we have appropriate security measures to protect your information
   2. we make sure that when we ask another organisation to provide a service for us, they have appropriate security measures.
2. We aim to respect your privacy:
   1. You may receive marketing emails only from us.
   2. We will make sure it is clear when you can make these choices.
   3. We use “opt in” boxes which you need to tick if you want to receive further contact from LAL. This may be in the form of information or questions about our service to you and/or future products and offers.
3. We will collect and use individual user details only if we have your permission or we have sensible business reasons for doing so, such as collecting enough information to manage your stay at any of our schools, including safeguarding and health and safety.
4. We will be clear in our dealings with you as to what information about you we will collect and how we will use it.
5. We will use personal information only for the purposes for which it was originally collected and we will make sure we delete it securely where appropriate (see Data Retention below).
6. Our websites and social media platforms are accessible via the internet. This means that people around the world who access our websites and social media can see anything you post there, for example, comments about your stay with us.
7. We will obtain your permission before we post any images of you on social media platforms or for other LAL purposes. We moderate all social media platforms and have the right to remove any posts which we deem offensive, inaccurate, derogatory or inappropriate for public consumption. You have the right to ask to have information or images posted on our social media platforms by LAL to be removed.
8. If we or our service providers transfer any information outside the European Economic Area (EEA), it will only be done with the relevant protection (stated under UK law) being in place.

We collect different types of information about our users for the following purposes:

1. To provide personalised services unique to individual users
2. To help us to monitor and improve the services we offer
3. To keep customers up-to-date about the products and services they have purchased
4. To fulfil contracted services
5. Where permission is given by users, to market products and services to them
6. To provide a safe environment for students

How and when we use your information

Purpose

We collect information on you and/or your children or dependents:

• when you enrol for a course
• when you complete our Welfare Form for all students on Young Learner courses and 16 and 17 year olds who study on our year-round school adult courses
• when you complete Feedback Questionnaires at various stages of your stay with us
• through cookies
• when a third party language travel operator or agency enrols you for a course
• when you enter sales promotions and competitions

Type

When you access and browse our website (including when you submit personal information to us through data entry fields on the websites) and when you provide information to our third party language travel operators or agencies which may be passed on to us, we may collect the following information from you:

• name
• age and sex
• postal and email addresses
• phone number
• date of birth
• photo
• passport details (only when needed for visa and immigration purposes)
• physical and mental health details (relevant to your stay with us only) including allergy details and dietary requirements.

Storage and Use

We (or third party data processors acting on our behalf) may collect, store and use your personal information listed above for the following purposes:

• to make this website available to you and to provide you with content which is tailored to your individual tastes
• to complete any transactions you make through this website
• to provide you with services that you request
• where you have given us your express consent, to disclose your personal information to third parties
• to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us.

We will not disclose, sell or rent your personal information to any third party unless you have consented to this. If you do consent but later change your mind, you may contact us and we will cease any such activity.

However, if a third party acquires all (or substantially all) of our business and/or assets, we may disclose your personal information to that third party in connection with the acquisition. We may also disclose your personal information where we are required to do so by applicable law, by a governmental body or by a law enforcement agency.

Finally, we may also collect details about visitors to our websites or other users for the purposes of aggregate statistics, reporting or marketing, though this will not infringe your data protection rights.

Data Retention

Language Travel Operators or Agents

Personal and Contact Information

We will hold data on our databases indefinitely unless asked to remove it.

Students

Booking Information

We will hold data on our student database indefinitely unless asked to remove it or make it anonymous. Retaining this data is useful for LAL when a repeat booking is made, though all relevant data is checked for accuracy at each time of booking.

Welfare Forms

This data is removed 30 days after the student has finished the course or the end of the calendar month in which they left, whichever is the longest.

Registration Forms

This data is removed 30 days after the student has finished the course or the end of the calendar month in which they left, whichever is the longest.

Group Leader Police Check Forms

This data is removed 30 days after the leader has left or the end of the calendar month in which they left, whichever is the longest.

Payment Details

Destroyed or deleted once payment has been processed.

Feedback

We reserve the right to produce statistical data from this information and we will ensure that the identity of the person submitting this is kept anonymous to the public unless consent has been given to the contrary. This data is made anonymous at the end of each calendar year.

Homestay Hosts

Personal and Contact Information

We will hold data on our databases indefinitely unless asked to remove it.

Third Party Suppliers & Contractors

Personal and Contact Information

We will hold data on our databases indefinitely unless asked to remove it.

Staff

Network Drive

Records are archived for HR use and access only.

Training Site

This data is removed 30 days after the member of staff has left or the end of the calendar month in which they left, whichever is the longest.

Unsuccessful Employment Applicants

CVs and Applications

All documentation, whether it be paper or electronic will be destroyed within six months of confirmation of an unsuccessful application. However, if express consent is asked for and given, the CV may be kept on record for a further six months. If you require this data to be removed before the end of six months, please contact us.

Information About Children

We do not, and will not, knowingly collect information from any unsupervised child under the age of 14.  If you are under the age of 14, you may not use this website unless you have the consent of, and are supervised by, a parent or guardian.

Transfers and International Transfers

We may transfer personal information that we collect from you to third party data processors, or to members of our group of companies or our agents or affiliates in connection with the above purposes. Some of these entities may be located in countries that are outside of the European Economic Area.

Please be aware that countries which are outside the European Economic Area may not offer the same level of data protection as the United Kingdom, although our collection, storage, protection and use of your personal data will continue to be governed by this Privacy Policy.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website.  This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.  For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them, see our Cookie Policy.

Security

Whilst we take appropriate technical and organisational measures, including secure websites,  to safeguard the personal information that you provide to us, no transmission over the internet can ever be guaranteed secure.  Consequently, please note that we cannot guarantee the security of any personal information that you or third parties transfer over the internet to us.

Your Rights

You have the following rights:

• the right to ask us to provide you with copies of personal information that we hold about you at any time
• the right to ask us to update and correct any out-of-date or incorrect personal information that we hold about you
• the right to withdraw your consent to any marketing communications that we (or any third party to whom we have disclosed your personal information with your consent) may send you.

If you wish to exercise any of the above rights, please write to us (either by post or by e-mail) at the address specified above.

Third Party Sites

Our websites contain links to other websites operated by third parties. Please note that this Privacy Policy applies only to the personal information that we collect through this website and we cannot be responsible for personal information that third parties may collect, store and use through their website.  You should always  carefully read the Privacy Policy of each website you visit.