The Online Academy is committed to protecting your and your family's personal information when you are using The Online Academy services. We want our services to be safe and enjoyable environments for our visitors to our website. This Privacy Policy relates to our use of any personal information we collect from you via the following online services:
- any The Online Academy website that links to this Privacy Policy;
- social media or official The Online Academy content on other websites;
- mobile (“Apps”);
It also relates to our use of any personal information you provide to us by phone, SMS, email, in letters and other correspondence and in person
In order to provide you with the full range of The Online Academy services, we sometimes need to collect information about you.
This Privacy Policy explains the following:
- what information The Online Academy may collect about you;
- how The Online Academy will use information we collect about you;
- when The Online Academy may use your details to contact you;
- whether The Online Academy will disclose your details to anyone else;
- your choices regarding the personal information you provide to us;
- the use of cookies on The Online Academy websites and how you can reject cookies.
The Online Academy is committed to safeguarding your personal information. Whenever you provide such information, we are legally obliged to use your information in line with all laws concerning the protection of personal information, including the Data Protection Act 1998 (these laws are referred to collectively in this Privacy Policy as the "data protection laws").
The Online Academy websites may contain hyperlinks to websites owned and operated by third parties. These third party websites have their own privacy policies, and are also likely to use cookies, and we therefore urge you to review them. They will govern the use of personal information you submit, which may also be collected by cookies whilst visiting these websites. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third party websites and your use of such websites is at your own risk.
- Who are we?
The Online Academy is an online organisation working world wide to promote education.
The Online Academy World wide’s activities are only covered by this Privacy Policy in relation to its use of data collected via www.theonlineacademy.org . To find out more about, please see its privacy policy.
When we refer to ‘’we’’ or ‘’our’’ or ‘’ "The Online Academy" we are referring to TOA T/A The Online Academy and it does not include our agents working across the world.
- What information will The Online Academy collect about me?
When you participate in, access or sign up to any of The Online Academy’s services, activities or online content, on the online registration system we may receive personal information about you. This can consist of information such as your name, email address, postal address, telephone or mobile number or date of birth, as well as information collected about your use of The Online Academy services (such as what you read or watch on The Online Academy).
Please note that sometimes we will require you to provide additional personal information, and sometimes sensitive personal information. When we do this we will provide further information as to why we are collecting your information and how we will use it.
The Online Academy also uses cookies and similar technologies and collects IP addresses (an IP address is a number that can uniquely identify a specific computer or other network device on the internet) and other information about devices from visitors to The Online Academy websites.
- How will The Online Academy use the information it collects about me?
The Online Academy will use your personal information for a number of purposes including the following:
- to provide our services, activities or online content, to provide you with information about them and to deal with your requests and enquiries;
- for "service administration purposes", which means that The Online Academy may contact you for reasons related to the service, activity or online content you have signed up for, as set out in section 5 below (e.g. to provide you with password reminders, to notify you that a particular service, activity or online content has been suspended for maintenance, to notify you of updates to our Privacy Policy or Terms of Use);
- where we provide personalised services, we may need to analyse the information you supply, as well as your activity on our services, so that we can offer you a better personalisation service. If you are signed-in or subscribed to email newsletters, you will receive a personalised service. If you do not wish to receive this, please sign-out and/or unsubscribe from the emails;
- to contact you about a submission you have made, including any content you provide.
- for analysis and research purposes so that we may improve the services offered by The Online Academy;
- to provide you with the most user-friendly navigation experience. The Online Academy may also use and disclose information in aggregate (so that no individuals are identified) for marketing and strategic development purposes; and
Where The Online Academy proposes using your personal information for any other uses we will ensure that we notify you first. You will also be given the opportunity to withhold or withdraw your consent for the use of your personal information for purposes other than those listed above.
- When will The Online Academy contact me?
The Online Academy may contact you:
- in relation to any service, activity or online content you have signed up for in order to ensure that The Online Academy can deliver the services to you;
- in relation to any correspondence we receive from you or any comment or complaint you make about The Online Academy services;
- in relation to any personalised services you are using;
- to invite you to participate in surveys about The Online Academy services (participation is always voluntary); and
- for marketing purposes, where you have agreed to this (see section 6 below)
Local pages will give you detailed information about how The Online Academy will contact you in relation to specific services, activities or online content.
- Will I be contacted for marketing purposes?
The Online Academy will only send you emails or otherwise contact you for marketing purposes, or to promote new services, activities or content where you have agreed to this. Where you have agreed to receive these communications, we may personalise the message content based upon any information you have provided to us and your use of The Online Academy.
- Will The Online Academy share my personal information with anyone else?
We will keep your information confidential except where disclosure is required or permitted by law (for example to government bodies and law enforcement agencies) or as described in this section and section 8 below.
Generally, we will use your information within The Online Academy and will only share it outside the The Online Academy where you have requested it or given your consent. However, sometimes The Online Academy uses third parties to process your information on our behalf, for example to provide services or analysis. The Online Academy requires these third parties to comply strictly with its instructions and The Online Academy requires that they do not use your personal information for their own business purposes, unless you have explicitly consented to the use of your personal information in this way.
- Offensive or inappropriate content on The Online Academy websites or emails.
If you post or send offensive, inappropriate or objectionable content anywhere on or to The Online Academy websites or otherwise engage in any disruptive behaviour on any The Online Academy service, The Online Academy may use your personal information to stop such behaviour.
Where The Online Academy reasonably believes that you are or may be in breach of any applicable laws (e.g. because content you have posted may be defamatory), The Online Academy may use your personal information to inform relevant third parties such as your employer, school email/internet provider or law enforcement agencies about the content and your behaviour.
- What if I am a user aged 16 or under?
If you are aged 16 or under, please get your parent/guardian's permission before you provide any personal information to The Online Academy.
- How long will The Online Academy keep my personal information?
We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with The Online Academy or The Online Academy s corporate retention schedule (a database that defines which documents should be kept and for how long). If you cancel your The Online Academy ID registration some personal information is deleted immediately, a flag goes on the database and, while The Online Academy cannot use the remaining personal information, it stays on the system for a period up to one year for administration purposes before being deleted or anonymised for analytical purposes.
Where you contribute material to The Online Academy we will generally only keep your content for as long as is reasonably required for the purpose(s) for which it was submitted. For example, we will only keep copies of entries to a photographic competition for the duration of the competition. However other projects are likely to have a longer, or even permanent, duration..
- Can I find out what personal information The Online Academy holds about me?
Under the Data Protection Act you have the right to request a copy of the personal information the The Online Academy holds about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected. (We charge £10 for information requests and require you to prove your identity with 2 pieces of approved identification). We will use reasonable efforts to supply, correct or delete personal information about you on our files.
Please address requests and questions about this or any other question about this Privacy Policy to the Data Protection Officer, on email admin@theonlineacademy.org
- Web browser cookies
- What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes a unique identifier that is sent to your computer, tablet or mobile phone (referred to here as a "device") web browser from a website's computer and is stored on your device's hard drive. Each website can send its own cookie to your web browser if your browser's preferences allow it. Many websites do this whenever a user visits their website in order to track online traffic flows. Similar technologies are also often used within emails to understand whether the email has been read or if any links have been clicked. If you continue without changing your settings, we’ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on The Online Academy website. However, you can change your cookie settings at any time.
On The Online Academy websites, cookies record information about your online preferences and allow us to tailor our websites to your interests.
During the course of any visit to a The Online Academy website, the pages you see, along with a cookie, are downloaded to your device. Many websites do this, because cookies enable website publishers to do useful things like find out whether the device (and probably its user) has visited the website before. This is done on a repeat visit by checking to see, and finding, the cookie left there on the last visit.
2. How does The Online Academy use cookies?
Information supplied by cookies can help us to analyse the profile of our visitors and help us to provide you with a better user experience. For example, if on a previous visit you went to our education pages, we might find this out from your cookie and highlight educational information on your second and subsequent visits. The Online Academy uses this type of information to help improve the services it provides to its users. Certain areas of The Online Academy websites may use cookies for a specific reason - for example, to help an online work effectively on your device.
3. Third Party Cookies in embedded content on The Online Academy pages
Please note that during your visits to The Online Academy websites you may notice some cookies that are not related to The Online Academy.
As a result, when you visit a page containing such content, you may be presented with cookies from these websites and these third party cookies may track your use of The Online Academy website. The Online Academy does not control the dissemination of these cookies and you should check the relevant third party's website for more information. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on The Online Academy website.
Where The Online Academy embeds content from social media and other third party websites, some sites may use Google Analytics to collect data about user behaviour for their own purposes. The Online Academy does not control this.
The Online Academy Sharing Tools
You will also see embedded ‘share’ buttons on The Online Academy web pages; these enable users to easily share content with their friends through a number of popular social networks. When you click on one of these buttons, a cookie may be set by the service you have chosen to share content through. Again, The Online Academy does not control the dissemination of these cookies. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on The Online Academy website.
a.) The Online Academy cookies and how to reject cookies
If you wish to control what cookies are set on your device through The Online Academy website then you can find out how to do this in the Managing Cookies section of The Online Academy Privacy & Cookies website. It is important to note that if you change your settings and block certain cookies, this means that certain personalised features cannot then be provided and accordingly you may not be able to take full advantage of all of the websites' features.
b.) Other information collected from web browsers
Your web browser may also provide The Online Academy with information about your device, such an IP address and details about the browser that you are using. Where requesting local news or weather, it may be possible for you to choose to provide The Online Academy with access to your device’s location through the web-browser. We use information provided by your browser or by the link that you have clicked to understand the webpage that directed you to The Online Academy and this may be captured by performance cookies.
- Do Not Track (DNT) browser setting
DNT is a feature offered by some browsers which, when enabled, sends a signal to websites to request that your browsing is not tracked, such as by third party ad networks, social networks and analytic companies. This website does not currently respond to DNT requests.
A uniform standard has not yet been adopted to determine how DNT requests should be interpreted and what actions should be taken by websites and third parties. The Online Academy will continue to review DNT and other new technologies and may adopt a DNT standard once available.
- Changes to The Online Academy's Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time so you may wish to check it each time you submit personal information to The Online Academy. The date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page. If you do not agree to these changes, please do not continue to websites to submit personal information to The Online Academy. If material changes are made to the Privacy Policy we will notify you by placing a prominent notice on the website.
- Contacting the The Online Academy about this Privacy Policy
If you any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy please contact:
The Data Protection Officer via email admin@theonlineaxademy.org