SchoolGuru Hertfordshire terms & conditions

Last updated 13 May 2019

Terms and conditions

If you experience any problems at all with the site, or have any queries, please just drop us an email at . We will respond as quickly as possible (we aim to get back to members within 24 hours). In an emergency, please text 07957 464585.

These terms and conditions govern the sale of products by us (SchoolGuru) to you on the SchoolGuru.co.uk and SchoolGuruHertfordshire.co.uk websites. These terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement between SchoolGuru and you.

Please read these conditions carefully before purchasing SchoolGuru services. By ordering our products or services, you signify your agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.

Charges

Our charges are as advertised on the website for basic membership (access to the Calculators) and premium membership (access to the Calculators and email support). If you start with a basic membership, you can upgrade at any point during the year to get email support - please email . Your email support will end when your basic membership ends. Any refunds are entirely discretionary.

The admission data

Please note that we only use official data from Hertfordshire County Council and individual schools (ie the admission authorities). The admission authorities retain their copyright of the admission data. SchoolGuru has created a unique database that contains information from a variety of sources (including admission authorities) and we hold the copyright and intellectual rights to our database. The admission authorities supply the data in good faith. We interpret and publish the data in good faith. We are not funded by Hertfordshire County Council or connected to them in any way.

Summary

We do our best to ensure that the information that we provide is accurate and up to date. We're obsessive about detail, and love our stats, so don't expect inaccuracy to be an issue... but it's possible that we may have made the odd mistake. If we have, and we're notified about it, we will endeavour to correct it as soon as possible. However we cannot be held responsible for any decisions that you make as a result of any information that we provide (whether it is correct or incorrect). We're a small collective, who do this for love, not money, and don't have the resources to fight a law suit. If you sign up, you do so on the understanding that you do so at your own risk... and you won't sue us at a later date. You can double check all the information on this site with the schools and Hertfordshire County Council and we recommend that you do so before making any decisions, such as purchasing a house or completing your application form. You should also remember that past results may (or may not) have any bearing on future results. Also please bear in mind that the distances calculations made on this site are approximations and we do not use the same measuring tools as Hertfordshire County Council. You can double check the measurements yourself on the Hertsdirect.org website, and we recommend that you do so before investing in a house or making any other decision.

There is no guarantee that for the forthcoming year's admission that a school will offer places up to the same distance as in the previous year, as each year it is subject to the number of applications, and where the applicants live, and possibly additional factors (such as faith). SchoolGuru cannot be held responsible if a child would have been eligible for a place but the parent did not apply based on the previous year's distance, nor if a parent is unsuccessful because a school is not able to allocate out to the same distance as in the previous year.

We help our members as much as possible, by answering queries, if you opt for our enhanced package... but we operate a 'fair usage' policy to stop us devoting all our resources to one or two members. We've never had to impose this, but just in case, we thought we'd mention it. We will always answer technical questions, whatever package you choose.

Phew, that should cover it, eh lawyers? More small print follows...

Introduction

These terms and conditions are deemed to include our privacy policy and are collectively known as "these Terms". When you use this Site, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms, you may not use this Site. You may print and keep a copy of these Terms. They are a legal agreement between us and can only be modified with our consent. We may change these Terms at our discretion by changing them on the Site. The then current version of these Terms will apply whenever you use this Site.

Refund policy

We are unable to offer refunds except in limited situations and then only at our discretion. If you are unsure about signing up, then please do email us with any questions before making your decision.

Responding to your queries

Any technical issues that you raise will be addressed by us as a matter of priority. If you have a more general enquiry, and you are a member, then we will endeavour to respond as quickly as possible, if you have taken out our enhanced package (or pay extra to upgrade your membership). We will only respond by email, not telephone. That's how we keep our costs so low. Please do not call us - instead, just email . We'll get back to you, promise!

Updating the site

The website data is updated by us on a regular basis, as schools change their status, rules, names and so on. The information on the site does not remain static.

Intellectual property

The copyright and all other intellectual property rights in this Site (including all database rights, trade marks, service marks, trading names, text, graphics, code, files and links) belong to us or our licensor(s). You may download material from this Site for the sole purpose of using this Site for your personal benefit. However, you must not copy, transmit, modify, republish, store (in whole or in part), frame, pass-off or link to any material or information on or downloaded from this Site without our prior written consent.

This Site contains links to websites operated by third parties. We have no control over their individual content. We therefore make no warranties or representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any of the information appearing in relation to any linked websites. The links are for your convenience only. We do not recommend any products or services advertised on those websites. If you decide to access any third party website linked from this Site, you do so at your own risk.

Your responsibilities

You accept that you are solely responsible for ensuring that your computer system meets all relevant technical specification necessary to use this Site and that your computer system is compatible with this Site.

You must not misuse our system or this Site. In particular, you must not hack into, circumvent security or otherwise disrupt the operation of our system and this Site, or attempt to carry out any of the foregoing.

Registration

To use the Admission Calculators, you must submit a completed registration form to us. At our discretion, we may refuse your application for registration. If we accept your application for registration, we will confirm this by sending you an email.

You undertake that all information provided by you for the purposes of registering with us is accurate and complete.

You accept sole responsibility for all use of and for keeping secret any account ID and password that may have been given to you or chosen by you for use on this Site. You will notify us immediately of any unauthorised use of them or any other breach of security of this Site of which you become aware.

Each registration is for a single user only. You may not share your username and password with any other person nor with multiple users on a network. We operate a fair useage policy and may monitor IP addresses if we suspect that more than one user is accessing the site with the same account. We reserve the right to suspend or cancel accounts or limit the account to one IP address (with prior notification) if we feel fair useage has been breached (see below, Barring from the site).

Barring from the site

We reserve the right to bar users from this Site and/or restrict or block their access or use of any and all elements of our services, on a permanent or temporary basis at our sole discretion. Any such user shall be notified and must not then attempt to use this Site under any other name or through any other user.

Whilst we endeavour to ensure that any material available for downloading from this Site is not contaminated in any way, we do not warrant that such material will be free from infection, viruses and/or similar code.

Use of site

Due to the nature of software and the internet, we do not warrant that your access to, or the running of, this Site will be uninterrupted or error free. We shall not be liable if we cannot process your details due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

The information provided on this Site is for general interest only and does not constitute specific advice. Whilst we endeavour to ensure that the information on the Site is accurate, complete and up-to-date we make no warranties or representations that this is the case.

We make no warranty or guarantee that the Site or information available over it complies with laws other than those of England.

Our contract

When you place an order to purchase a product or service from us through SchoolGuru.co.uk, you will be sent an e-mail confirming receipt of your order and setting out the details of your order. Your order represents an offer to us to purchase a product, which is accepted by us when we send e-mail confirmation stating that we've dispatched that product to you. That acceptance will be complete at the time we send the Dispatch Confirmation E-mail. Any products on the same order which have not been confirmed in a Dispatch Confirmation E-mail as having been dispatched do not form part of that contract.

Payment

All payments between us and you will be made via PayPal or cheque in advance. For information about your statutory rights, please visit the Department of Trade and Industry's Consumer Gateway website at: http://www.consumer.gov.uk/consumer_web/shopping.htm#4

Pricing and availability

We list availability information for products sold by us on the SchoolGuru.co.uk website. We cannot be more specific about availability. Please note that dispatch estimates are just that. They are not guaranteed dispatch times and should not be relied upon as such. As we process your order, we will inform you by e-mail if any products or services you order turn out to be unavailable. Each order is individually processed. We have to undertake research before we are able to tell you whether we can provide the service or product requested. We make every effort to advise you of this before payment is accepted. In the unusual event that we later discover that we cannot process a request, the cost of the order will be immediately refunded.

Privacy

Please review our Privacy Notice, below, which also governs your relationship with SchoolGuru, to understand our practices.

Children

SchoolGuru does not sell products or services for purchase by children. If you are under 18, you may purchase products or services from us only with the involvement of a parent or guardian.

Other businesses

We may provide links to the websites of affiliated companies and certain other businesses. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating, and we do not warrant or endorse the offerings of any of these businesses or individuals, or the content of their websites. SchoolGuru does not assume any responsibility or liability for the actions, products, and content of any of these and any other third-parties.

Electronic communications

When you transact with SchoolGuru or send e-mails to us, you are communicating with us electronically. We communicate with you by e-mail or by posting notices on the SchoolGuru.co.uk website. For contractual purposes, you consent to receive communications from us electronically and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. This condition does not affect your statutory rights.

Losses

SchoolGuru will not be responsible for any losses (direct, indirect or consequential loss) that result from your order to us.

Alteration of service or amendments to the conditions

We reserve the right to make changes to our policies, and these terms and conditions at any time. You will be subject to the policies and terms and conditions in force at the time that you order goods from us, unless any change to those policies or these conditions is required to be made by law or government authority (in which case it will apply to orders previously placed by you). If any of these conditions is deemed invalid, void, or for any reason unenforceable, that condition will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining condition.

Events beyond our reasonable control

We will not be held responsible for any delay or failure to comply with our obligations under these conditions if the delay or failure arises from any cause which is beyond our reasonable control including but not limited to any statutory changes or rulings by any act or customs authority affecting the customs duty payable by you. This condition does not affect your statutory rights.

Waiver

If you breach the terms and conditions and we take no action, we will still be entitled to use our rights and remedies in any other situation where you breach these conditions.

Disclaimer

Please note that we cannot be held responsible for any decisions made as a result of the information we supply. The information is official data that is copyright of the relevant Local Authority and individual schools and has been interpreted by us in good faith. We make every effort to ensure accuracy and cannot be held responsible for any errors that result.

Governing law and jurisdiction

Your relationship with us is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England. You agree, as we do, to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts.

SchoolGuru Privacy Notice

SchoolGuru knows that you care how information about you is used and shared and we appreciate your trust in us to do that carefully and sensibly. This notice describes the privacy policy of SchoolGuru. By visiting SchoolGuru, you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Notice.

Controllers of personal information

Any personal information provided to or to be gathered by SchoolGuru is controlled primarily by SchoolGuru, The Haven, St Boniface Road PO38 1PL.

Collection and use of personal information about customers

The information we learn from customers helps us personalise and continually improve your experience at SchoolGuru. We use the information to handle orders, deliver services, process payments, communicate with you about orders, products, services and promotional offers, update our records, generally maintain your accounts with us, and recommend merchandise and services that might be of interest to you. We also use this information to improve our site, prevent or detect fraud or abuses of our website and enable third parties to carry out technical, logistical or other functions on our behalf. We reserve the right to pass on data to selected third parties.

Here are the types of information we gather.

  • Information you give us: we receive and store any information you enter on our website or give us in any other way. You can choose not to provide certain information but then you might not be able to take advantage of many of our features.

  • Automatic information: we receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact with us. For example, like many websites, we use "cookies" and we obtain certain types of information when your Web browser accesses SchoolGuru. A number of companies offer utilities designed to help you visit websites anonymously, if you prefer.

  • E-mail communications: to help us make e-mails more useful and interesting, we often receive a confirmation when you open e-mail from SchoolGuru if your computer supports such capabilities. If you do not want to receive e-mail or other mail from us, please just email us at

What about cookies?

Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your computer's hard drive through your Web browser to enable our systems to recognise your browser and to provide features such as personalised greetings

  • The Help menu on the menu bar of most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie and how to disable cookies altogether. However, SchoolGuru may introduce innovative features to the site that depend on Cookies, therefore we recommend that you leave them turned on.

  • If you do leave cookies turned on, be sure to sign off when you finish using a shared computer.

Does SchoolGuru share any information they receive?

Information about our customers is an important part of our business and we are not in the business of selling it to others. We share customer information only as described below and with the subsidiaries which SchoolGuru controls and that are either subject to this Privacy Notice or follow practices at least as protective as those described in this Privacy Notice.

  • Agents: we may employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include sending postal mail and e-mail, analysing data, providing marketing assistance, processing payments and providing customer service. They have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes. Further, they must process the personal information in accordance with this Privacy Notice and as permitted by the UK's Data Protection Act.

  • Promotional offers: sometimes we may send offers to selected groups of customers on behalf of other businesses. When we do this, we do not give that business your name and address. If you do not want to receive such offers, please email

  • Business transfers: as we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy stores, subsidiaries or business units. In such transactions, customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets but remains subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Notice (unless, of course, the customer consents otherwise). Also, in the unlikely event that SchoolGuru or substantially all of its assets are acquired, customer information will of course be one of the transferred assets.

  • Protection of SchoolGuru: we release account and other personal information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with law, to enforce or apply our Conditions of Use and other agreements or to protect the rights, property or safety of SchoolGuru, our users or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction. Obviously, however, this does not include selling, renting, sharing or otherwise disclosing personally identifiable information from customers for commercial purposes in a way that is contrary to the commitments made in this Privacy Notice.

  • With your consent: other than as set out above, you will receive notice when information about you might go to third parties and you will have an opportunity to choose not to share the information.

Whenever we transfer personal information to countries outside of the European Economic Area in the course of sharing information as set out above, we will ensure that the information is transferred in accordance with this Privacy Notice and as permitted by the UK's Data Protection Act.

What Information can I access?

SchoolGuru gives you access to a broad range of information about your account and your interactions with SchoolGuru upon request. Email:

What choices do I have?

As discussed above, you can always choose not to provide information, even though it might be needed to make a purchase or to take advantage of such features such as membership to the website.
You can add or update certain information by email. When you update information, we usually keep a copy of the previous version for our records.

  • If you do not want to receive e-mail or other mail from us, please email . (If you do not want to receive Conditions of Use and other legal notices from us, such as this Privacy Notice, those notices will still govern your use of SchoolGuru and orders placed with SchoolGuru, and it is your responsibility to review them for changes.)

  • The Help menu on the menu bar of most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie and how to disable cookies altogether. However, you may not be able to use key features of the site if you do not use cookies.

Conditions of use, notices and revisions

If you choose to visit SchoolGuru, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Privacy Notice and our Conditions of Use, including limitations on damages and application of the laws of England. If you have any concern about privacy at SchoolGuru, please e-mail us a thorough description and we will try to resolve the issue for you.

Our business changes constantly and our Privacy Notice and the Conditions of Use will change also. We may e-mail periodic reminders of our notices and conditions, unless you have instructed us not to, but you should check our website frequently to see recent changes. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Notice applies to all information that we have about you and your account. We stand behind the promises we make, however, and will never materially change our policies and practices to make them less protective of customer information collected in the past without the consent of affected customers.

Information you give us

You provide most of such information when you place an order, answer a questionnaire or communicate with customer services. For example, you provide information when you place an order through SchoolGuru, provide information for Your Account (and you might have more than one if you have used more than one e-mail address when ordering with us), communicate with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise, complete a questionnaire or an order form. As a result of those actions, you might supply us with such information as your name, address and phone number, your credit card information, details of people to whom purchases are for (including address and phone number), details of your children’s ages, addresses, any relevant personal information (eg, medical needs) and additional information.

Automatic information

Examples of the information we collect and analyse include the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, login, e-mail address, password, computer and connection information such as browser type and version, your operating system and platform, purchase history, which we sometimes aggregate with similar information from other customers to create features such as Most Popular Lists, the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our website (including date and time), cookie number and products you viewed or searched for.

Information you can access

Examples of information you can currently access at SchoolGuru include up-to-date information regarding recent orders, personally identifiable information (including name, e-mail, Address and schools you’re interested in), payment preference (eg, Paypal or cheque).

School admissions:
Primary schools Admission Calculator
Secondary schools Admission Calculator
Herts school appeals:
Appeals advice
School appeals guides