1. Who we are

A&O Homestays (“A&O”, “we”, “us” or “our”) provides homestay accommodation and educational travel support across Essex, including Thurrock and Clacton-on-Sea, and Northamptonshire.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, A&O Homestays is the data controller for personal information collected directly through our website and services.

Registered company name: A&O Homestays Limited

Company registration number: 09814821

Registered office: 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, W1W 5PF

ICO registration number: ZC268912

For questions about this Privacy Policy or how we use your personal information, please contact:

Email: aohomestays@gmail.com

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2. Personal information we collect

The information we collect depends on your relationship with A&O Homestays and the services you use.

Enquiries

When you contact us, we may collect:

Your name

Email address

Telephone number

Organisation or school

Country

Details contained within your enquiry or message

Students and parents/guardians

To arrange and safely manage homestay placements, we may collect:

Student's name

Age and date of birth where required

Nationality

Parent or guardian contact details

School, organisation or agent information

Programme and placement dates

Dietary requirements

Allergies

Relevant medical or health information

Emergency contact information

Travel and transfer information

Other information reasonably required to provide a safe and suitable placement

Some of this information, particularly health information, is classed as special category personal data and receives additional protection under data protection law.

Groups, schools and agents

We may collect:

Group size and age ranges

Group leader and organiser contact details

School or organisation details

Programme requirements

Arrival and departure information

Travel and transfer arrangements

Relevant student information necessary to arrange placements

Host families and applicants

When you apply to become an A&O Homestays host, we may collect:

Your name and contact details

Home address

Details about members of your household

Property and bedroom information

Hosting preferences and availability

Information relevant to safeguarding and suitability

DBS information or status where applicable

Identification and verification information

References where required

Photographs of bedrooms, communal areas or other relevant parts of your home

Documents and photographs submitted through our application process

We ask hosts not to upload information that is unrelated to their application.

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3. How we use personal information

We may use personal information to:

Respond to enquiries

Provide information, quotations and proposals

Arrange and administer homestay placements

Match students with suitable host families

Communicate with students, parents, schools, agents and host families

Coordinate arrivals, departures and transfers

Assess and manage host family applications

Carry out appropriate safeguarding and suitability checks

Support students and hosts during placements

Respond to emergencies, welfare concerns or safeguarding incidents

Maintain appropriate placement and safeguarding records

Manage complaints, incidents and enquiries

Meet our legal, regulatory and safeguarding responsibilities

Protect the safety and wellbeing of students, hosts and others using our services

Operate, maintain and improve our website and services

We will not use personal information for purposes that are incompatible with those described in this Privacy Policy unless permitted or required by law.

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4. Our lawful bases for processing

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on:

Contract – where processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract, including arranging and administering a homestay placement.

Legitimate interests – where processing is reasonably necessary to operate A&O Homestays, respond to enquiries, coordinate our services, protect our organisation and provide appropriate support, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms.

Legal obligation – where we need to process information to comply with a legal requirement.

Consent – where you have freely provided consent for a particular use of your personal information and consent is an appropriate lawful basis.

Where we process special category information, such as relevant medical or health information, we will also identify an appropriate condition under Article 9 UK GDPR. Depending on the circumstances, this may include explicit consent or a condition relating to safeguarding children or individuals at risk.

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5. Children’s personal information

A&O Homestays provides services involving children and young people. We recognise that children's personal information requires particular protection.

We collect only the information reasonably required to arrange placements, provide appropriate care and support, manage safeguarding responsibilities and respond to emergencies.

Where appropriate, information may be provided to us by a parent or guardian, school, educational organisation or authorised agent.

We will only share children's personal information where there is a legitimate need to do so, including with their matched host family and relevant organisations involved in arranging or managing their placement.

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6. Host application documents and photographs

Information submitted as part of a host application is used to assess the suitability of applicants and their accommodation.

Photographs of bedrooms and relevant areas of the home may be used to assess accommodation and, where appropriate, to provide students, parents, schools or agents with information about a proposed placement.

Identification and DBS-related information is treated with particular care. Such information is used only where necessary for identity verification, safeguarding and suitability purposes and is accessible only to authorised persons who require it for their role.

We will not publish identification or DBS documents on our public website.

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7. Sharing personal information

We only share personal information where there is a legitimate and appropriate reason to do so.

Depending on the placement or service, information may be shared with:

Matched host families

Students and their parents or guardians

Schools, educational organisations and agents

Group leaders

Transport or transfer providers

Service providers that support our website, forms, email, hosting or administration

Professional advisers, insurers or authorities where necessary

Police, local authorities, safeguarding organisations or other relevant bodies where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect someone's welfare or safety

We aim to share only the minimum information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

A&O Homestays does not sell personal information.

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8. Safeguarding disclosures

Safeguarding is a priority for A&O Homestays.

Where we have concerns about the safety or welfare of a child or an individual at risk, it may be necessary to share relevant information with appropriate safeguarding professionals, local authorities, police, schools or other organisations.

Where permitted by law, this may occur without consent when necessary to protect an individual from harm or fulfil safeguarding responsibilities.

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9. How we protect your information

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against accidental or unlawful loss, misuse, alteration, disclosure or unauthorised access.

These measures include limiting access to personal information to people who need it for legitimate business or safeguarding purposes and using appropriate systems to store and manage information.

However, no internet-based service can guarantee absolute security.

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10. How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet legal, contractual, insurance, safeguarding and regulatory requirements.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the circumstances surrounding a placement or safeguarding matter.

We periodically review information we hold and securely delete or anonymise information when it is no longer required.

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11. International transfers

Students, parents, schools and agents using our services may be based outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate protections required by UK data protection law are in place.

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12. Cookies and website information

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies necessary for it to operate correctly.

Where we use non-essential cookies, including analytics or other tracking technologies, we will provide appropriate information and obtain consent where required.

Further information will be available in our Cookie Policy and through the website's cookie settings.

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13. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law may give you the right to:

Request access to personal information we hold about you

Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information

Request deletion of your personal information

Request restriction of processing

Object to certain uses of your information

Request transfer of your information where the right to data portability applies

Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent

These rights are not absolute and certain exemptions may apply.

To exercise your rights, please contact us at aohomestays@gmail.com.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.

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14. Complaints

If you have concerns about how A&O Homestays handles your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to address your concerns.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.

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15. Third-party websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by other organisations. A&O Homestays is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites. You should review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

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16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes to our services, website, legal requirements or data protection practices.

The latest version will be published on our website and the Last updated date at the top of this policy will be amended accordingly.

A&O Homestays

Connecting Cultures. Creating Memories.

Homestay accommodation and educational travel support across Essex and Northamptonshire.

Privacy enquiries: aohomestays@gmail.com