Privacy Policy

Focus Music School ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect personal information about you when you use our services or visit our website at focus-music.co.uk.

We process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We may collect and process the following personal data:

• Identity data: name, date of birth, parent/guardian name.
• Contact data: address, email address, telephone number.
• Financial data: payment card details, bank account information (processed securely via our payment provider).
• Transaction data: details of payments made for our services.
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, pages visited on our website.
• Profile data: lesson history, instrument preferences, progress notes.
• Communications: emails, messages, or correspondence you send us.
• Special category data: where relevant and with consent, health information that may affect lesson delivery (e.g. learning needs, disabilities).

We collect data in the following ways:

• When you complete our enrolment or contact forms.
• When you correspond with us by phone, email, or post.
• When you make a payment for our services.
• Automatically via cookies and analytics tools on our website.
• From third parties such as schools we work with (in-school programme only).

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• To deliver music tuition and manage your enrolment.
• To process payments and manage billing.
• To communicate with you about lessons, timetables, and school updates.
• To comply with safeguarding and legal obligations.
• To improve our services and website.
• To send you information about our services (where you have given consent).

We rely on the following legal bases to process your personal data:

• Contract: processing is necessary to deliver the service you have enrolled for.
• Legal obligation: we must process certain data to comply with safeguarding, tax, and other legal requirements.
• Legitimate interests: we may process data to improve our services, provided this does not override your rights.
• Consent: for marketing communications and special category data, we rely on your explicit consent.

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it with trusted third parties in the following circumstances:

• Payment processors (e.g. Stripe, GoCardless) to handle billing securely.
• Schools where in-school tuition is delivered, as necessary to manage lessons.
• IT service providers who assist us in running our website and systems.
• Regulatory or legal authorities where required by law.

All third parties are required to process your data securely and in accordance with UK GDPR.

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

• Student and enrolment records: retained for 7 years after the end of tuition.
• Financial records: retained for 7 years in line with HMRC requirements.
• Safeguarding records: retained in line with statutory guidance.
• Marketing consent records: retained until consent is withdrawn.

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: request a copy of the data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure: request deletion of your data (subject to legal obligations).
• Right to restrict processing: ask us to limit how we use your data.
• Right to data portability: request a copy of your data in a portable format.
• Right to object: object to processing based on legitimate interests or for marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent: withdraw marketing consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below. We will respond within one month.

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience and analyse site traffic. By using our website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with this policy.

• Essential cookies: required for the website to function correctly.
• Analytics cookies: help us understand how visitors use our site (e.g. Google Analytics).
• Marketing cookies: used to show you relevant adverts on other platforms.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect website functionality.

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, or disclosure. These include:

• Secure, encrypted storage of digital records.
• Access controls ensuring only authorised staff can view personal data.
• Secure payment processing via certified third-party providers.
• Regular review of our data protection practices.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Where changes are significant, we will notify you by email.

If you have questions about this policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Data Controller:

• Email: admin@focus-music.co.uk
• Phone: 01708 599640
• Address: Drapers' Pyrgo Priory School, Settle Road, Harold Hill, RM3 9RT

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority — the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.