Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Sama School of Kathak collects, uses, stores, and protects personal information about you when you visit our website, enquire about classes, or enrol as a student. We are committed to handling your information with care, transparency, and respect.
Last updated: 19/04/2026
1. Who We Are
Sama School of Kathak is an independent dance school based in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom. The school is led and operated by Suruchi Saxena.
School name
Sama School of Kathak
Data controller
Suruchi Saxena
Address
12 Mulberry Avenue, Staines-upon-Thames, TW19 7SF, United Kingdom
suruchi3@gmail.com
Telephone / WhatsApp
+44 7710 184203
Website
www.samaschoolofkathak.co.uk
For the purposes of UK data protection law, Suruchi Saxena is the data controller responsible for your personal information.
2. What Information We Collect
We collect personal information in the following situations:
When you make an enquiry
When you contact us — whether through our online enquiry form, by email, or via WhatsApp — we collect the information you provide, which typically includes your name, email address, telephone number, and details of the class or examination you are enquiring about. If you are enquiring on behalf of a child, this will also include the child's name and age.
When you enrol as a student
When a student joins Sama School, we collect the information needed to manage their classes and examinations. For adult students, this includes name, contact details, and relevant health or medical information where provided. For child students, we additionally collect the parent or guardian's name and contact details, the child's date of birth, and any medical conditions, allergies, or special requirements that are relevant to their safe participation.
When you visit our website
Our website uses third-party services including Google Maps and a website translation tool. These services may collect data about your activity on our site, such as pages visited, browser type, and IP address. This data is collected by those third parties and is subject to their own privacy policies. Our website also uses tracking technologies; you will be asked for your consent before these are activated.
Photography and video
From time to time we take photographs or video footage at classes, performances, and events. Where images include identifiable students — particularly children — we will ask for your explicit consent before using them on our website, social media, or any other public-facing material.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the personal information we hold for the following purposes:
Managing class enrolment
To register students, maintain attendance records, and communicate class schedules, cancellations, or changes.
PRSSV examination administration
To register students for PRSSV graded examinations, including submitting required details to PRSSV Institute of Performing Arts and Heritage.
Communication
To respond to enquiries, send class updates, share performance dates, and keep parents informed about their child's progress.
Safeguarding
To maintain the records necessary to keep children safe in our care, including emergency contact details and relevant medical information.
Payments
To manage and record fee payments for classes and examinations.
Marketing (with consent)
Where you have given your consent, to share photographs or video from classes and performances on our website or Instagram account (@samaschoolofkathak).
Legal and regulatory compliance
To comply with our obligations under UK law, including data protection, safeguarding, and tax legislation.
4. Our Legal Basis for Processing
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following:
- Contract — processing necessary to deliver the classes and services you have enrolled in.
- Legitimate interests — for example, maintaining records of enquiries and communicating with current students about class matters.
- Legal obligation — where we are required by law to retain or share information, for example for tax purposes or safeguarding obligations.
- Consent — for photography and video, for marketing communications, and for any non-essential cookies or tracking on our website. You may withdraw your consent at any time.
- Vital interests — in an emergency, we may use medical or contact information to protect the safety of a student.
5. Children's Data
Because many of our students are under the age of eighteen, we take particular care with children's personal data. We collect only the information that is genuinely necessary for their safe participation in classes and examinations. We do not share children's information with third parties except where required for examination registration (PRSSV) or where legally required.
We will not publish photographs or video of children without the explicit written consent of a parent or guardian. If you have previously given consent and wish to withdraw it, please contact us and we will remove any relevant material promptly.
6. Who We Share Your Information With
We do not sell your personal data to anyone. We share it only in the following limited circumstances:
- PRSSV Institute of Performing Arts and Heritage — to register students for graded examinations. PRSSV is a registered UK charity and has its own data protection obligations.
- Our website platform — our website is hosted through a third-party platform which may process data as part of normal hosting operations.
- Google — our website uses Google Maps. Google's use of data is governed by Google's own Privacy Policy.
- Legal authorities — where we are required to share information by law, court order, or to protect the safety of a person.
We do not transfer your personal data outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, except where a third-party service (such as Google) operates internationally. Where this occurs, we rely on standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards.
7. How Long We Keep Your Information
We retain personal information only for as long as it is needed:
Enquiries (not followed up)
Deleted after six months.
Active student records
Retained for the duration of enrolment and for six years afterwards, in line with standard UK business record-keeping requirements.
Examination records
Retained for six years following the examination date.
Safeguarding records
Retained in accordance with UK safeguarding guidance, which may require longer retention in certain circumstances.
Photographs and video
Retained for as long as they remain in active use, or until consent is withdrawn.
Financial records
Retained for six years in line with HMRC requirements.
8. Your Rights
Under UK GDPR you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
- The right to access — you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- The right to rectification — you may ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- The right to erasure — in certain circumstances, you may ask us to delete your data.
- The right to restrict processing — you may ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
- The right to data portability — you may ask for your data in a structured, machine-readable format in certain circumstances.
- The right to object — you may object to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interests.
- The right to withdraw consent — where we process your data on the basis of consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us by email at suruchi3@gmail.com. We will respond within one calendar month. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.
9. Keeping Your Data Safe
We take reasonable steps to protect personal data from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. Student records are held securely and are not accessible to third parties. WhatsApp and email communications are secured by the encryption provided by those platforms.
We cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to us over the internet, but once we receive it we treat it with care.
10. Cookies and Tracking
Our website uses cookies and third-party tracking technologies. You are asked for your consent before any non-essential cookies are activated. You may change your cookie preferences at any time using the Privacy Settings link in the footer of our website.
For more information about how the specific third-party services on our site use data, please refer to:
- Google Privacy Policy — policies.google.com/privacy
- The privacy policy of our website platform provider
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time — for example if our services change, or if there are changes to UK data protection law. The date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version. Where changes are significant, we will notify active students by email.
12. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or about how we handle your personal data, please get in touch:
suruchi3@gmail.com
+44 7710 184203
Post
Sama School of Kathak, 12 Mulberry Avenue, Staines-upon-Thames, TW19 7SF
Website
www.samaschoolofkathak.co.uk