Privacy Policy

Last updated: 13 August 2026

Your privacy

Creative Art Courses respects your privacy and takes care to look after the personal information you share with us.

Creative Art Courses is a small independent art education business operated by Brian Raymond. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we may share it with, how long we keep it and the rights you have over your information.

We aim to keep this policy straightforward and easy to understand. We only collect information that we reasonably need and use it for clear and specific purposes.

This Privacy Policy applies when you:

• visit or use our website;
• contact us by email, telephone, contact form or social media;
• make a booking or purchase;
• attend a course, class, workshop, session or event;
• sign up to receive our newsletter or other marketing;
• provide feedback, a review or testimonial; or
• interact with Creative Art Courses in another way.

Who is responsible for your information?

The person responsible for your personal information is:

Creative Art Courses
Operated by Brian Raymond
516 The Gallery Studio
AWOL Studios, Hope Mill
113 Pollard Street
Manchester
M4 7JA
United Kingdom

Email: brian@creativeartcourses.org

Telephone: 07816 791 023

Creative Art Courses is the data controller for the personal information we collect and use, except where another organisation is independently responsible for information it processes under its own privacy policy, such as a payment provider or social media platform.

Creative Art Courses does not have a Data Protection Officer because we are not required to appoint one.

What personal information do we collect?

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

This may include:

• your name;
• email address;
• telephone number;
• postal address and postcode;
• booking and purchase information;
• course, class or workshop information;
• payment and transaction information provided to us by our payment provider;
• information you provide when contacting us;
• feedback, reviews and comments;
• photographs or video recordings where you have given permission for us to use them;
• photographs of artwork where we use them for agreed purposes;
• your social media username where you choose to interact with us through social media;
• information about accessibility or other requirements that you voluntarily provide to help us support your participation in a course; and
• technical information about your use of our website, where this is collected through cookies or similar technologies.

We do not normally collect payment-card details ourselves. When you pay through a payment provider, your payment information is processed by that provider in accordance with its own privacy policy.

Please do not provide us with information that we have not asked for unless you consider it necessary for us to provide our services or respond to you.

How we collect your information

We may collect information:

• directly from you when you make a booking or enquiry;
• when you complete a registration or booking form;
• when you contact us by email or telephone;
• when you sign up for our newsletter;
• when you provide feedback or a review;
• when you attend a course, class, workshop or event;
• when you interact with us through social media;
• automatically when you use our website, through cookies and similar technologies; and
• from payment, booking, website or other service providers where necessary to administer your booking or provide our services.

Why we use your personal information

We use your personal information only where we have a lawful reason to do so.

The main reasons we use your information are set out below.

To manage your booking and provide your course

We use your information to:

• process your booking;
• confirm your booking;
• take or arrange payment;
• provide information about your course;
• contact you about changes to your course;
• send course reminders and practical information;
• manage attendance;
• provide appropriate support during a course where you have told us about a relevant requirement; and
• deal with cancellations, transfers, refunds or other matters relating to your booking.

Our lawful basis for this is generally contract, because we need certain information in order to provide the service you have booked.

To respond to enquiries

If you contact us with an enquiry, we use the information you provide to respond to you and, where appropriate, to take steps towards providing a service you have asked about.

Our lawful basis will generally be legitimate interests or, where appropriate, taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

To communicate with you about a booking or service

We may contact you by email or telephone about your booking, payment, course, workshop, event or another service you have requested.

These are service or administrative communications rather than marketing communications.

Our lawful basis is generally contract or legitimate interests, depending on the circumstances.

To meet our legal and accounting responsibilities

We may need to keep and use certain information to:

• maintain financial and accounting records;
• meet tax and other legal requirements;
• deal with legal claims or disputes;
• comply with legal obligations; and
• provide information to law enforcement, courts, regulators or other authorities where we are legally required to do so.

Our lawful basis is legal obligation where the law requires us to process the information, and legitimate interests where processing is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or protect our business.

To keep Creative Art Courses safe and secure

We may use personal information to help protect our website, systems, customers and business from fraud, misuse, security threats or other unlawful activity.

Our lawful basis is generally legitimate interests.

To improve our courses and services

We may use information such as booking history, course feedback and other non-sensitive customer information to understand how our courses are being used and to improve the courses and services we provide.

Where possible, we will use information in an aggregated or anonymised form so that individuals cannot be identified.

Our lawful basis is generally legitimate interests.

To ask for feedback and reviews

We may contact you after a course to ask about your experience or invite you to provide feedback or a review.

We use feedback to improve our courses and customer service.

Where we send an electronic feedback request, we will comply with the applicable rules on electronic marketing and communications. Where consent is required, we will obtain it.

Our lawful basis for processing the underlying customer information will generally be legitimate interests, or consent where consent is required.

Marketing and newsletters

We may use your email address to send you information about Creative Art Courses, including new courses, classes, workshops, events and other news, where we are permitted to do so.

Where we need your consent to send marketing communications, we will ask for it separately. Consent to receive marketing is optional and is not a condition of booking or attending a course.

Where the law allows us to contact existing customers about similar services without obtaining separate consent, we may do so in accordance with the applicable electronic marketing rules. We will always provide a clear and simple way to stop receiving marketing communications.

You can unsubscribe from our marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting us at brian@creativeartcourses.org.

Unsubscribing from marketing will not stop us sending essential administrative communications relating to a booking or service you have requested.

We will not sell your personal information or provide your contact details to another organisation for that organisation’s own marketing purposes.

Photography, video and artwork

Photography and video does take place during Creative Art Courses courses, workshops, exhibitions and events.

We use photographs and video to show the creative activities and studio environment at Creative Art Courses and to promote our courses, classes, workshops and services. This may include use on our website, social media, printed promotional material and other Creative Art Courses marketing.

We rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis for this photography and video. Our legitimate interest is to show prospective students what our courses, studio and creative community are like and to promote the courses and services we provide. We consider this use to be reasonable and proportionate, particularly where photographs show the general course environment, group activities or creative work rather than focusing on individuals.

We will make reasonable efforts to avoid intrusive photography and to respect anyone who does not wish to appear in photographs or video.

If you do not wish to be photographed or filmed for promotional purposes, you can object at any time. You can tell your tutor before or during the course, or contact us at brian@creativeartcourses.org. We will respect your objection and will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are not deliberately included in future photographs or video used for promotional purposes.

Where we specifically arrange a close-up or posed photograph or video of an individual for promotional purposes, or where we intend to identify an individual by name or include their personal story or testimonial alongside their image, we will ask for their permission before using it.

We may photograph artwork produced during Creative Art Courses activities to show and promote the work produced on our courses. Where artwork is accompanied by information that identifies the student who created it, such as their name, we will ask for their permission before using that identifying information for promotional purposes.

We will not deliberately use photographs or video in a way that is intrusive, misleading or likely to cause embarrassment or harm.

If you object to the use of a photograph or video in which you are identifiable, please contact us. We will consider your objection in accordance with your data-protection rights and, where we do not have compelling legitimate grounds to continue using the image, we will stop using it for promotional purposes.

Accessibility, health and other sensitive information

We want our courses to be accessible and welcoming.

You may choose to tell us about an accessibility requirement, medical condition, disability, SEND requirement, dietary requirement or other information if you believe it is relevant to your participation in a course or event.

Some of this information may constitute special-category personal data under UK data-protection law.

We do not routinely need this information and ask you to provide only information that is relevant to the support or arrangements you require.

Where we process special-category information, we will have both a lawful basis under UK GDPR and an appropriate additional condition for processing special-category data. Where we rely on your explicit consent, we will ask for this separately.

We will only use this information for the purpose for which it was provided, such as making reasonable arrangements for your participation, supporting your safety or responding to a specific request.

We will only share this information with another person, such as a course tutor, where it is necessary for the relevant purpose and we have an appropriate lawful basis to do so.

We will not use special-category information for marketing.

You are not generally required to provide special-category information. However, if you choose not to provide information that is genuinely necessary for us to make appropriate arrangements for your participation or to manage a particular safety issue, we may not be able to provide the specific support or arrangements you require.

We will not use the fact that you have chosen not to provide optional information as a reason to refuse a refund or cancel a booking where your normal booking and cancellation terms otherwise provide for one.

Children’s information

Some Creative Art Courses activities may involve children or young people.

Where we collect information about a child, we will only collect information that is reasonably necessary for the course or activity, including information needed for registration, communication, safeguarding, accessibility or health and safety.

Where consent is required for processing a child’s personal information, we will obtain it from the appropriate parent, guardian or person with parental responsibility.

Where we collect special-category information about a child, such as health or SEND information, we will apply the additional legal requirements that apply to special-category data.

We will not use children’s personal information for marketing purposes without the appropriate permission.

Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share personal information with trusted organisations that help us operate Creative Art Courses, where this is necessary to provide our services or operate our business.

Depending on the service you use, these may include:

• website and hosting providers;
• booking and e-commerce systems;
• payment providers;
• email and newsletter providers;
• IT and software providers;
• course tutors or other people involved in delivering a course, where necessary;
• professional advisers such as accountants, insurers or legal advisers where necessary; and
• government bodies, regulators, law enforcement agencies or courts where we are legally required or permitted to provide information.

Some of these organisations process information on our behalf as data processors. We take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place for the protection of personal information.

Some providers may process information outside the UK. Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that the transfer is made in accordance with applicable UK data-protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place where required.

If you interact with us through a social-media platform, that platform may also process your personal information under its own privacy policy. We do not control how those platforms use information that you provide directly to them.

Cookies and website analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies are necessary for the website to function correctly, for example to support security, navigation, shopping and other essential functions.

We may also use optional cookies or similar technologies for purposes such as analytics or improving the website.

Where consent is required for optional cookies or similar technologies, we will ask for your consent before using them.

You can change your cookie choices through the cookie settings provided on our website.

We may use Google Analytics or similar analytics services to understand how visitors use our website, such as which pages are visited and how visitors navigate the site.

Analytics information is used to help us understand and improve the website. We will not describe analytics information as anonymous where it may constitute personal data.

Our cookie notice provides further information about the cookies and similar technologies used on the website.

How we protect your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage.

These measures include appropriate security for our website, online systems and accounts, secure passwords and access controls, and appropriate care when handling paper records and information held on computers or other devices.

No method of transmitting or storing information can be guaranteed to be completely secure. However, we take reasonable steps appropriate to the nature of the information we hold and the size and circumstances of our business.

How long we keep your information

We do not keep personal information indefinitely.

We keep information only for as long as we reasonably need it for the purpose for which it was collected, unless we are required or permitted by law to keep it for longer.

Our normal retention periods are:

Booking and customer records

We normally retain booking and customer records for up to 7 years after the relevant transaction or customer relationship, where necessary for accounting, tax, legal, insurance or business-record purposes.

Payment and financial records

Financial and transaction records are normally retained for 7 years, or for the period required by applicable accounting, tax or other legal requirements.

Enquiries

Information relating to an enquiry that does not result in a booking will normally be deleted or anonymised when it is no longer reasonably required, normally within 24 months.

Marketing information

If you unsubscribe from marketing, we will stop sending marketing communications to you. We may retain a minimal record of your unsubscribe request so that we can respect your preference and do not accidentally contact you again.

Accessibility, health and other special-category information

We will normally delete special-category information when it is no longer reasonably required for the course or purpose for which it was provided. Where appropriate, this will normally be within 3 months after the relevant course or event, unless we need to retain it for a legal, insurance, safeguarding or other legitimate reason.

Photography and promotional consent

We may retain records of permissions and withdrawals for as long as reasonably necessary to demonstrate what permission was given and to manage future use of images.

Reviews and testimonials

We may retain reviews or testimonials while they remain relevant and are being used. If you ask us to remove a review or testimonial that is based on your personal information, we will consider your request in accordance with applicable data-protection law.

When information is no longer required, we will securely delete it or, where appropriate, anonymise it.

Your rights

You have a number of rights under UK data-protection law.

Depending on the circumstances, these include:

Right of access

You can ask us whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy of that information.

Right to correction

You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

Right to erasure

In certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal information.

This right does not apply in every situation. For example, we may need to retain information to comply with a legal obligation or establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.

Right to restrict processing

In certain circumstances, you can ask us to restrict how we use your personal information.

Right to object

You may have the right to object to certain processing, particularly where we rely on legitimate interests as our lawful basis.

You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

Right to data portability

In certain circumstances, where we process your personal information using automated means on the basis of your consent or because it is necessary to perform a contract with you, you may have the right to receive the information you provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

Right to withdraw consent

Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.

Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdrew it.

Not every right applies in every circumstance. Your rights depend on the reason we are processing your information and the lawful basis we rely on.

How to exercise your rights

If you want to exercise any of your data-protection rights, please contact:

Brian Raymond
Creative Art Courses
Email: brian@creativeartcourses.org

You do not have to use a particular form or wording when making a request.

To help us deal with your request, please tell us what information or right you are asking about and provide enough information for us to identify you and locate your information.

We may need to ask for reasonable information to confirm your identity where this is necessary to protect your personal information. We will not routinely require photographic identification unless it is reasonably necessary.

We will normally respond to a valid request without undue delay and within one month. In certain circumstances, we may extend this period by up to a further two months where the request is complex or where we have received a number of requests from you. If we need to extend the response period, we will tell you within the first month and explain why.

We will normally provide information and deal with rights requests free of charge. We may charge a reasonable fee or refuse to act where the law allows us to do so, for example where a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

Data protection complaints

If you have a concern about the way we have collected, used, stored or otherwise handled your personal information, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve the matter.

You can make a data-protection complaint by emailing:

brian@creativeartcourses.org

Put ‘Data Complaint’ as the subject line, and within the body of the email explain what you are concerned about and, where possible, tell us what you would like us to do to resolve the matter.

We will acknowledge a data-protection complaint within 30 days, investigate it appropriately and keep you informed about its progress. We will provide the outcome of our investigation without undue delay.

You do not need to use legal terminology or refer to particular sections of data-protection law when making a complaint.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information or how we have dealt with your complaint.

The ICO is the UK’s independent regulator for data protection.

You can find information about making a complaint on the ICO’s website.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business, the services we use, our processing of personal information or changes in data-protection law.

When we make significant changes, we will publish the updated Privacy Policy on our website and update the date at the top of this page.

We recommend checking this page occasionally to see the latest version.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we use your personal information, please contact:

Brian Raymond
Creative Art Courses

Email: brian@creativeartcourses.org
Telephone: 07816 791 023

Studio address:
516 The Gallery Studio
AWOL Studios, Hope Mill
113 Pollard Street
Manchester
M4 7JA
United Kingdom