Privacy and Cookies Policy

The Read with Phonics service, accessible through the Read with Phonics Website and App, is designed for use by children between 3 and 8 years old. Because the protection of children and personal data is extremely important to us, the Read with Phonics service can only be setup and subscribed to by the parent or legal guardian of the child using the Read with Phonics service, or by a teacher in limited circumstances.

This policy sets out the limited circumstances in which we process the personal data of children using the Read with Phonics Website and App and the personal data of any parent, legal guardian or teacher.

For parents and legal guardians

By registering to use the Read with Phonics service, you provide your consent for us to use your data as set out in this privacy policy.

By registering, setting up or allowing your children to use the Read with Phonics service, you give consent on behalf of your children for us to use their data as set out in this privacy policy.

For teachers

If you are a teacher setting up the Read with Phonics service for use in your classroom, you should only do this where you have obtained consent for the children in your class to use the Read with Phonics service from their parents.

We need you to obtain this consent because young children are unable to give consent for themselves.

By registering, setting up or allowing the children in your class or school to use the Read with Phonics service, you confirm that you have obtained the consents that you need from the parents/legal guardians for their child to use the Read with Phonics service, and for us to use their children's data as set out in this privacy policy.

By registering with Read with Phonics service, you also consent to us using your data as set out in this privacy policy.

The Read with Phonics Five Principles

  1. We will never ask you for more personal information than we need.
  2. We may share aggregated statistical information with third parties. However, we will not share any personal information that identifies you to third parties.
  3. We will make sure the data you have provided to us is kept secure.
  4. We will not advertise to your children.
  5. There will be no hidden costs.

What Information do we collect about you, and why?

When you create a Read with Phonics account

  • We will ask you, as the teacher, parent or legal guardian, to provide your first and last name, as well as your email address. We ask for this in order to provide you with the Read with Phonics service. We also need to collect your email address to contact you where you have asked us to send you Read with Phonics progress reports.
  • We will also ask you to provide a "username" for each child using the Read with Phonics service. You may decide to use each child's first name as the username, or their initials. We will never ask you to provide the full name of each child using the Read with Phonics service, and we ask for a unique username to be provided for each child for the sole purpose of providing an easy way for you to monitor each child's progress.

When you use the Read with Phonics App or Website

  • When you use the Read with Phonics service, we collect anonymous information about how the Read with Phonics service is being used, such as the number of attempts to pass a particular level, information relating to the time spent on the Read with Phonics service, as well as how quickly each level is being completed. We collect this information to improve the service we provide to you (such as by adjusting the difficulty or content of particular levels), to report on progress to you, and to help us contribute to industry wide discussions around improving the education of children.
  • We will also collect limited, anonymous information about your computer or the device you are accessing the Read with Phonics service from, in order to ensure the Read with Phonics service is presented in the most effective way for you and your computer or device. For example, we are able to detect whether you are accessing the Read with Phonics Website via a mobile phone, in which case we may provide you with the mobile version of our Website.
  • We will also collect and process data about you when you fill in forms on our Website or App, when you complete surveys or feedback forms that we use for research purposes or if you contact us.

How we market to you

We make the commitment that we do not market or advertise to children. However, where and only where requested by you, we will send you and keep you updated with:

  • information by email or mail about existing and new goods, services, promotions and special offers from us; and
  • information by e-mail or mail about related goods or services of selected third parties that may be of interest to you.

If you agree to us providing you with this marketing information, you can always opt-out at a later date, by clicking on the "unsubscribe" link sent in our email messages and newsletters, or by sending an email to support@readwithphonics.com writing "unsubscribe" in the subject heading.

Where do we store your personal data?

  • The personal information that we collect from you will be stored by us on servers in the European Economic Area and will not be processed or transferred by us outside the European Economic Area.

How do we protect your personal data?

  • We try to take all reasonable steps to protect your personal data. Where possible, we use industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer technology to allow for the encryption of information such as your name, address and credit card number.
  • Unfortunately the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. We will do our best to protect your personal data, but we cannot guarantee the security of your data whilst it is transmitted to us. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Cookies

Cookies are small data files that are stored on your computer or handheld device. Unlike many of our competitors, we do not use cookies to send you adverts. Find out more detail about how we use cookies.

What cookies do you use?

Some of the cookies we use are essential for parts of the Read with Phonics service to operate, and these are saved to your device automatically. We also use non-essential cookies, including Google Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google, Inc. which sets a number of cookies in order to provide Us with information around your use of the Read with Phonics service.

Don't you need my consent to use cookies?

We do not need your consent to place cookies on your device which are essential for the operation of the Read with Phonics service. Because we are committed to explaining how we use your information in full, we have set out in the table below the details of the essential cookies we use:

Name of cookie Why this cookie is essential
PHPSESSID Maintain user state
SESSecb66193447ae29a3e2d0475b184c89f Manage network routing

We do need your consent for cookies which are not essential to the operation of the Read with Phonics service, and we ask for this via the banner at the bottom of our Website when you first visit.

Where you consent to us doing so, we use the non-essential cookies listed in the table below to improve your experience of the Read with Phonics service, enabling you to carry information across different sections of the Read with Phonics service (such as your login details) without having to re-enter that information, and to help us personalise our content to you (such as by greeting you by name, and remembering your preferences).

Where you consent to us doing so, we also use Google Analytics to compile anonymous, aggregated statistics to help us understand how our users interact with the Read with Phonics service. The information we gather from these cookies includes how frequently particular areas of the Read with Phonics service are visited, and to ensure we have the necessary infrastructure in place to support the predicted number of individuals using the Read with Phonics service in the future. Google stores the information collected by these cookies on servers in the United States, and may transfer this information to third parties when required to do so by law. You do not have to consent to the placement of this cookie on your device, and you can reject or delete this cookie by clicking here.

Where you consent to us doing so, we use the following non-essential cookies:

Name of cookie Why this cookie is essential
_ga To maintain list of pages visited
_gat To maintain list of pages visited
has_js To determine if user has javascript

You can find out more about cookies, and how to disable/enable them by clicking on the "Manage Cookies" section of the Interactive Advertising Bureau UK website available here. You can also refer to the help tab in your browser for more information on disabling or enabling cookies, and you can withdraw your consent to our use of non-essential cookies here.

What information do we share with others, and why?

  • We will never share information which can personally identify you without your consent.
  • We work with schools, teachers, government bodies and other third parties to help improve education. As part of this work, we may share general trends that appear from use of the Read with Phonics service, as well as anonymous, aggregated information.
  • In the event that we buy or sell any part of a business, we may disclose your user account to a prospective buyer or purchaser.
  • We may also disclose your personal information when required to do so by law or a regulatory body.

Access to your information

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to access information held about you. Unlike many organisations, we will not charge you when providing you with the details of the information we hold about you. You can make a request for this information by contacting us by email at support@readwithphonics.com or by post at Flat 3, 9 Clifton Hill, Exeter EX1 2DL.

Changes to our privacy policy

We may update and amend this privacy policy from time to time, and any changes will be posted on this page. Where we make any major changes to this privacy policy, we will attempt to notify our registered users of this by email.

We have notified the Information Commissioner's Office about our data processing activities under notification number ZA164339.

Contact us

Questions, comments and requests relating to this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to Flat 3, 9 Clifton Hill, Exeter EX1 2DL or emailed to support@readwithphonics.com