Privacy Policy

Last updated: 25/11/25

1. Who we are

Being Best is a small, bespoke family business set up to help young school‑aged people succeed both in education and personally. We provide coaching, teaching, wellbeing support and SEN (Special Educational Needs) support in a friendly, positive and safe environment.

In this Privacy Policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Being Best.

Data controller:
Being Best – Coaching, Teaching, Wellbeing, SEN Support
Email: Marianne@beingbest.co.uk
Phone: 07787 501505

We are responsible for deciding how and why we use personal data about you and your child.

2. What this policy covers

This Privacy Policy explains:

  • What personal data we collect about parents/carers and students

  • How and why we use that data

  • The lawful bases we rely on

  • Who we share data with

  • How long we keep data

  • Your rights under data protection law

  • How to contact us or make a complaint

This policy applies to:

  • Parents, carers and guardians

  • Students/young people who use our services

  • People who contact us by phone, email, our website or social media

3. The types of personal data we collect

3.1 Information about parents/carers

We may collect:

  • Full name

  • Contact details (email address, phone number, postal address)

  • Relationship to the student

  • Payment information (e.g. bank transfer details, invoice records – we do not store full card details if you pay by card through a payment provider)

  • Communication history with us (emails, messages, notes of calls)

  • Consent records (e.g. consent for photos, consent to contact, consent to share information with schools or other professionals)

3.2 Information about students

We may collect:

  • Full name

  • Date of birth and age

  • School year and school name

  • Contact details (if appropriate for age, e.g. email or phone)

  • Academic information (subjects, grades, reports, areas of strength and difficulty)

  • Information about learning needs and SEN (e.g. dyslexia, ADHD, autism, other diagnoses or assessments)

  • Information about wellbeing, confidence, self‑awareness, behaviour and emotional needs, where relevant to our work

  • Session notes and progress records

  • Feedback from students and parents/carers

  • Emergency contact details and relevant medical information where necessary to ensure safety during sessions (e.g. allergies, health conditions)

3.3 Website and communication data

If you visit our website or contact us online, we may collect:

  • Technical data such as IP address, browser type, and basic usage data (pages visited, time on site)

  • Information you submit through enquiry forms (name, email, phone, message content)

  • Social media usernames and messages if you contact us via social platforms

We may use cookies or similar technologies on our website. If we do, details will be set out in a separate Cookie Policy.

4. How we use personal data and our lawful bases

We only use personal data when we have a valid legal reason to do so under UK data protection law (UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018). The main lawful bases we rely on are:

  • Contract – to provide our services to you and your child

  • Legitimate interests – for running and improving our business in a way that does not unfairly impact your rights

  • Consent – where you have clearly agreed to something (e.g. using photos for marketing)

  • Legal obligation – to comply with the law (e.g. safeguarding, tax records)

  • Vital interests – in rare cases, to protect someone’s life or safety

4.1 Providing our services

We use personal data to:

  • Assess your child’s needs and suitability for our coaching, teaching, wellbeing and SEN support

  • Plan and deliver sessions tailored to your child’s goals and requirements

  • Monitor progress and adjust support over time

  • Communicate with parents/carers about sessions, progress and any concerns

  • Arrange and manage bookings, timetables and cancellations

  • Invoice and process payments

Lawful bases: Contract, legitimate interests.

4.2 SEN and wellbeing information (special category data)

Information about SEN, learning difficulties, diagnoses, and wellbeing is considered special category data. We handle this with extra care and only collect what is necessary to support your child.

We use this information to:

  • Understand your child’s learning profile and needs

  • Adapt our teaching/coaching approach

  • Liaise (with your consent) with schools or other professionals to support your child’s education and wellbeing

Lawful bases: Explicit consent, vital interests, or substantial public interest (e.g. safeguarding), depending on the situation. For children, consent is normally provided by a parent/carer with parental responsibility.

You can withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent, but this will not affect any use of data that has already taken place.

4.3 Safeguarding and safety

We may use personal data to:

  • Identify and respond to safeguarding concerns

  • Contact parents/carers or emergency contacts in urgent situations

  • Share information with relevant authorities or professionals where we believe a child or another person may be at risk of harm

Lawful bases: Vital interests, legal obligation, substantial public interest.

4.4 Communication and administration

We may use your contact details to:

  • Respond to enquiries

  • Send information about upcoming sessions, changes to timetables or policies

  • Request feedback to help us improve our services

Lawful bases: Contract, legitimate interests.

If we ever send marketing communications (e.g. about new services or workshops), we will only do so with your consent or where we have a legitimate interest and it is reasonable to contact you, and we will give you a clear way to opt out at any time.

4.5 Improving our services

We may use anonymised or aggregated data (with names and identifying details removed) to:

  • Review and improve our teaching/coaching methods

  • Understand general trends in student needs and progress

  • Develop new services and resources

Lawful bases: Legitimate interests.

5. Who we share personal data with

We treat personal data as confidential and only share it when necessary and lawful. We may share data with:

  • Tutors and team members working with your child, so they can plan and deliver appropriate support

  • Schools or other education providers, but only with your consent or where there is a safeguarding concern

  • Other professionals involved in your child’s care (e.g. educational psychologists, therapists), with your consent where appropriate

  • Service providers who help us run our business (e.g. email providers, secure document storage, invoicing/accounting software). These providers are required to keep your data secure and only use it on our instructions.

  • Regulators, local authorities or safeguarding bodies, where we are legally required or where there is a serious concern about safety or wellbeing

  • Professional advisers (e.g. accountants, legal advisers) where necessary for our business and legal obligations

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

6. International transfers

Some of our service providers (for example, email or cloud storage providers) may store data on servers outside the UK. Where this happens, we take steps to ensure that your data is protected, such as using providers in countries with adequate data protection laws or using standard contractual clauses approved by the UK authorities.

7. How long we keep personal data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including:

  • For as long as your child is using our services

  • For a reasonable period afterwards, in case of queries, complaints or legal requirements

Typical retention periods might include:

  • Student and session records: up to [for example, 6 years] after the last contact, unless there is a specific reason to keep them longer (e.g. safeguarding records)

  • Financial records (invoices, payment information): at least 6 years, to comply with tax and accounting laws

  • Safeguarding records: kept in line with legal and best‑practice guidance, which may require longer retention

When data is no longer needed, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to an individual.

8. How we keep data safe

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including:

  • Limiting access to personal data to those who genuinely need it

  • Using secure passwords and, where possible, multi‑factor authentication

  • Using reputable, secure service providers for email, storage and communication

  • Training our tutors and team members on confidentiality and data protection

  • Keeping devices and physical records secure

While no system can be 100% secure, we work hard to protect your data from loss, misuse or unauthorised access.

9. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These include:

  • Right to be informed – to know how we use your data (this Privacy Policy is part of that).

  • Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you or your child.

  • Right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.

  • Right to erasure – to ask us to delete personal data in certain circumstances.

  • Right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain situations.

  • Right to data portability – to receive your data in a commonly used format, in some circumstances.

  • Right to object – to object to certain types of processing, such as direct marketing.

  • Rights in relation to automated decision‑making and profiling – we do not currently use automated decision‑making or profiling that has legal or similarly significant effects.

For children and young people, these rights usually need to be exercised by a parent or carer with parental responsibility, depending on the child’s age and understanding.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in section 11.

We may need to ask for proof of identity before responding to a request, and we will normally respond within one month.

10. Complaints

If you have any concerns about how we use personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the UK data protection regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Website: https://ico.org.uk
Helpline: 0303 123 1113

11. How to contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle personal data, please contact:

Being Best – Coaching, Teaching, Wellbeing, SEN Support
Email: Marianne@beingbest.co.uk
Phone: 07787 501505

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the “Last updated” date at the top and, where appropriate, let you know about significant changes.