Privacy Policy

Who we are

Hawthorne House ("we", "us", "the House") is a founder-led tutoring practice based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. We are the controller of the personal information described in this policy. You can reach us at info@hawthornehouse.ae.

The information we collect

We collect only what we need to respond to enquiries and deliver our service:

• Enquiry details you give us — your name, email, phone number, your child's year group, and anything you choose to tell us in your message or consultation.
• Engagement information if you become a client — the academic plan, lesson summaries, progress notes, scheduling, and documents you or we upload (for example school reports).
• Booking information when you schedule a consultation through our booking tool.
• Website usage data — basic, mostly anonymised analytics about how the site is used (see "Cookies and analytics" below).

How we use your information

• To respond to your enquiry and arrange a consultation.
• To plan, deliver and oversee tutoring, and to keep you informed of your child's progress.
• To manage scheduling, invoicing and our relationship with you.
• To improve our website and service.
• To meet our legal and regulatory obligations.

Our legal basis

We process your information on the basis of your consent, the performance of our agreement with you, our legitimate interests in running and improving the House, and compliance with applicable law, including the UAE Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021).

Children's information

Our service concerns the education of children. Any information we hold about a student is provided and overseen by their parent or guardian, who engages us on the child's behalf. We treat this information with particular care and share it only as set out below.

Who we share it with

We do not sell your information. We share it only where necessary:

• Your child's teacher, so they can deliver and tailor the lessons.
• Trusted service providers who help us operate — for example our scheduling tool (Calendly), website analytics (Google Analytics), and any client-portal provider we use. These providers process information on our instructions.
• Authorities or advisers where we are required to by law.

Cookies and analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website, which sets cookies on your device. This helps us improve the site. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings; the site will still work.

How long we keep it

We keep enquiry information for as long as needed to respond and follow up. For clients, we keep engagement records for the duration of our relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards, unless a longer period is required by law. We then delete or anonymise it securely.

How we protect it

We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep your information secure, including restricted access, encryption in transit, and careful selection of the providers we work with.

Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may ask us to:

• access the information we hold about you or your child;
• correct anything that is inaccurate;
• delete information where it is no longer needed;
• withdraw consent, or object to certain processing.

To exercise any of these, email info@hawthornehouse.ae and we will respond promptly.

International transfers

Some of our service providers are based outside the UAE, which means your information may be processed abroad. Where this happens, we take steps to ensure it remains appropriately protected.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "last updated" date above shows when it was last revised.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information? Email us at info@hawthornehouse.ae.