What do class providers need to include in their Privacy Policy?
As a business, it is absolutely essential to have a privacy policy in place to protect the privacy of your class attendees. It’s especially important when said attendees are children and their families! But if you’ve never started up your own business before, it can be difficult to know what to include, or even what a privacy policy is.
In summary, a Privacy Policy is a document that outlines how you collect, use, share, and protect your customers’ personal information, and should be accessible to anyone who wants to see it.
Not only is it essential to ensure compliance with various privacy laws, but it also helps build credibility with your customers and portrays you as a trustworthy business.
In this article, we will let you know everything important that you need to include in your privacy policy as a class provider, and we’ll direct you to the right places to find external help if you need it.
Here’s all the information you should provide in your Privacy Policy:
The information your business collects
Within your Privacy Policy, as class providers, you must clearly state what information you collect from your clients. This will most likely be their contact details, including their names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and anything else you collect to enroll them onto your classes or activities.
How you collect data, and how you use it
It is essential to state where and how you collect personal information. In some cases, this may be obvious, as you probably collected their information after they displayed interest in your classes. But make sure that you clearly state where this information was taken. This might be through your website, in-person registration, or any other means.
On top of that, you need to also explain how you use the personal information. For example, as well as using the information to enrol them into classes, do you use their details to send them promotions and marketing? Make sure to state clearly if you will use their data to send newsletters, or market your services.
Who has access, how it’s protected, and how long do you retain their information
Who has access to the personal information collected from your clients? This is a big factor in showing the precautions that your business is taking and how you prioritise safety for personal data. So be sure to state this clearly. This would include your staff members or any third-party service providers that you use as a business.
Remember to also detail how you protect the personal information collected from your clients, as safeguarding is something you need to be incredibly careful with. Examples of these measures include encryption, firewalls, and any other security protocols you take to make sure no one else can access their data.
Don’t forget to also include how long you retain the personal information collected from your class attendees too! Including how long you keep enrolment records or retainment of email addresses for marketing purposes.
How to access and update their information
In order to make sure your clients can keep their data up to date, state clearly how parents and carers can access and update their personal information that your business may have. This might come in the form of a request form or a contact email with clear instructions.
How customers can opt-out of marketing communications
In order to allow your customers to protect their own information, you need provide a way for clients to opt-out of receiving marketing communications from you. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they want their data completely removed from your systems, but it may mean that they wish to opt out of emails and newsletters. In order to work around this, be sure that any email marketing you send to your customers has an unsubscribe link and that you provide a contact email for them to send enquiries to (in case they do wish for you to remove all of their data).
Cookies or other tracking technologies
If you use cookies or other tracking technologies on your website, you must disclose this in your privacy policy. You must also explain how you use these technologies and what information is collected.
Where you can find examples or templates for your privacy policy as class providers
When this question has popped up in our Children’s Activity Provider Community, a lot of independent providers have said that they write up their own privacy policy, finding others they have found online and adapting them for their own business.
With a quick google search, you can find plenty of templates, and for a legal document like a privacy policy, there’s often not a lot of point in trying to reinvent the wheel! It’s a good idea to see what other businesses similar to your own have written. Or you can check out Happity’s Privacy Policy for a bit of inspiration.
If you’re looking for a bit more support in setting up your legal documents (and are possibly looking for some GDPR training), there’s a few companies out there who can help. The one we usually recommend to our class providers when they get in touch is KoffeeKlatch.
Happity: Created with baby class providers in mind!
If you are looking for ease and a listing/booking service that’s catered specifically to you (busy parents and small business owners) then you are on the right blog page.
It’s free to list with Happity, and you can offer all sorts of ticket options through our site. Though we also offer cost-effective membership for when your baby class needs an extra boost in its marketing or if you would like access to our provider-catered booking system.
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