Privacy Notice

Last updated: 15 July 2026

1. About This Notice

Courses for Professional Development respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Notice explains how we collect and use personal information when you visit our website, make an enquiry, create a learner account, enrol on a course, submit coursework, complete an assessment or quiz, purchase a service or otherwise interact with us.

It also explains your rights under applicable UK data protection law.

2. Who We Are

The organisation responsible for your personal information is:

BOLC ACADEMY LIMITED
Company number: 16439992
Registered office: 12 Hawkins Drive, Chafford Hundred, Grays, England, RM16 6GG
Trading name: Courses for Professional Development
Website: https://www.cpdcourses.com/
Email: info@cpdcourses.com

In this notice, “Courses for Professional Development”, “CPD Courses”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to BOLC ACADEMY LIMITED trading as Courses for Professional Development.

3. Personal Information We Collect

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

Identity and contact information

This may include your:

• name;
• postal address;
• country;
• email address;
• telephone number; and
• communication preferences.

Account, course and assessment information

This may include:

• account registration information;
• courses accessed or purchased;
• enrolment details;
• learning progress;
• quiz responses;
• assignments and assessment submissions;
• assessment results and tutor feedback;
• course completion records;
• requests for learner support;
• certificate orders; and
• certificate-verification information.

Payment and transaction information

This may include:

• courses, certificates or services purchased;
• payment amount and status;
• billing information;
• transaction dates;
• instalment arrangements;
• refunds; and
• payment disputes.

Payments may be processed by third-party payment providers. We do not normally receive or retain complete payment-card numbers, card security codes or online-banking credentials.

Communications and preferences

This may include information you provide when you:

• submit an enquiry;
• request a call;
• contact us by email, telephone, post or social media;
• communicate with a tutor, adviser or support team;
• submit a complaint or request a refund;
• provide feedback or a review; or
• manage your marketing preferences.

Technical and website information

When you use our website or learning platform, we may collect:

• internet protocol address;
• browser and device information;
• operating system;
• referring website;
• pages viewed;
• links selected;
• login and session information;
• date, time and duration of visits;
• website-performance information; and
• cookie and similar-technology information.

Sensitive information

We do not normally require sensitive personal information.

If you provide health, disability or accessibility information when requesting support or a reasonable adjustment, we will use it only where necessary and where permitted by law.

4. How We Collect Information

We may collect personal information:

• directly from you when you create an account, submit an enquiry, enrol, make a purchase, complete an assessment, submit coursework or communicate with us;
• automatically through cookies, server logs and similar technologies; and
• from organisations involved in delivering or supporting our services, such as payment providers, learning-platform providers, employers, sponsors, awarding organisations and technology suppliers.

Where an employer, sponsor or another person provides information about you, we expect them to have an appropriate basis for doing so.

5. How and Why We Use Personal Information

We use personal information only where we have a lawful basis.

Enquiries, accounts and course delivery

We use your information to:

• respond to enquiries;
• provide course information;
• create and manage learner accounts;
• process enrolments;
• provide access to course materials;
• deliver courses;
• provide learner and tutor support;
• record learning progress;
• administer quizzes and assessments;
• assess submitted work;
• provide feedback;
• issue certificates; and
• verify certificates.

We normally rely on taking steps before entering into a contract, performing our contract with you and our legitimate interests in operating and improving our educational services.

Payments and business records

We use payment and transaction information to:

• process fees;
• manage instalments;
• issue receipts;
• process refunds;
• manage failed or disputed payments;
• prevent fraud; and
• maintain financial and business records.

We rely on our contract with you, our legal obligations and our legitimate interests.

Service improvement and security

We may use technical, usage, course and feedback information to:

• improve our website and courses;
• understand how our services are used;
• maintain system security;
• prevent misuse;
• investigate technical problems; and
• protect our rights and systems.

We rely on our legitimate interests.

Marketing

We may use your contact details and course interests to send information about relevant courses, certificates, promotions, learning resources and services.

We send electronic marketing only where:

• you have given consent; or
• the law permits us to contact an existing customer about our own similar services.

You may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link in a marketing message or contacting us.

Legal and regulatory purposes

We may use or disclose information where reasonably necessary to:

• comply with law;
• respond to a lawful request;
• prevent fraud;
• protect our rights;
• investigate misconduct; or
• establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

6. Information Required From You

Some information is required so that we can:

• create an account;
• process an enrolment;
• provide a course;
• administer or assess submitted work;
• process a payment;
• issue or verify a certificate; or
• comply with legal obligations.

If required information is not provided, we may be unable to provide the requested service.

Information marked as optional does not need to be provided.

7. Courses, Assessments and Certificates

We use learner information to administer courses, record progress, assess quizzes or submitted work, record results, confirm completion, issue certificates and verify that certificates were validly awarded.

Essential certificate-verification records may be retained for an extended period so that we can confirm the authenticity of an award.

We will limit such records to information reasonably necessary for verification.

8. Sponsored Learners

If an employer, school or another organisation arranges or pays for your course, we may provide it with relevant:

• enrolment information;
• participation information;
• progress information;
• assessment results;
• completion information; and
• payment or administrative information.

We will explain the applicable reporting arrangement at or before enrolment.

We will not ordinarily disclose unrelated personal communications to an employer or sponsor.

9. Marketing Preferences

You may stop receiving marketing communications at any time by:

• selecting the unsubscribe link in an email;
• changing available communication preferences; or
• contacting info@cpdcourses.com.

When you unsubscribe, we may retain limited information on a suppression list so that we continue to respect your request.

Opting out of marketing will not stop necessary communications about:

• your account;
• an active course;
• an assessment;
• a payment;
• a certificate;
• service security; or
• important changes affecting a service you use.

We do not sell personal information.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• operate and secure the website;
• keep users signed in;
• remember preferences;
• maintain enrolment or payment sessions;
• understand website use;
• measure performance; and
• support advertising or marketing.

Strictly necessary technologies may be used where required for the website to function or remain secure.

Where consent is required, non-essential technologies will not be used until you have made an appropriate choice.

You can manage or withdraw your choices through the website’s cookie controls.

Further information should be provided in our separate Cookie Policy.

11. Sharing Personal Information

We may share relevant information with organisations that help us operate and deliver our services, including providers supporting:

• website hosting;
• learning platforms;
• payments;
• communications;
• analytics;
• information technology;
• accounting;
• security; and
• certificate services.

We may also share information with:

• tutors;
• assessors;
• learner-support personnel;
• awarding, certification, endorsement, accreditation or quality-assurance organisations relevant to your course;
• employers or sponsors;
• professional advisers; and
• public authorities where required by law.

Service providers acting on our behalf may use personal information only for authorised purposes and must protect it appropriately.

We do not share learner information with an organisation merely because its name or logo appears on our website.

12. International Transfers

Some service providers, tutors or systems may be located outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we use an appropriate safeguard required by UK data protection law, such as an adequacy regulation or approved contractual protection.

You may contact us for further information about safeguards used for relevant international transfers.

13. How Long We Keep Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary.

We normally retain:

• general enquiries for up to two years after the last meaningful contact;
• enrolment, contractual and financial records for up to six years after the relevant relationship or transaction;
• assignments, quiz results and detailed assessment records for the course period and an appropriate quality-assurance or complaints period;
• essential completion and certificate records for as long as reasonably necessary to verify an award;
• marketing information until you unsubscribe or object, after which limited suppression information may be retained; and
• technical and security records for an appropriate operational period.

The precise period may depend on:

• the nature of the information;
• course or certificate requirements;
• tax and accounting obligations;
• legal limitation periods;
• complaints or disputes;
• fraud and security risks; and
• quality-assurance requirements.

When information is no longer required, we will delete it, anonymise it or securely restrict further use.

14. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration and disclosure.

Access is limited to people who need the information for legitimate business or educational purposes.

No online system is completely secure. You should keep your account credentials confidential and notify us promptly if you believe your account has been compromised.

15. Children and Young People

Our services are primarily intended for people aged 18 or over.

A learner under 18 may enrol only with the involvement and permission of a parent, guardian, school or other responsible organisation where required.

We do not knowingly use children’s personal information for behavioural advertising.

A parent or guardian who believes that a child has provided information without appropriate permission should contact us.

16. Automated Decision-Making

We do not make decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects based solely on automated processing.

17. Your Rights and How to Contact Us

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• request access to your personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion of your information;
• request restriction of processing;
• receive certain information in a portable format;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• object to direct marketing at any time; and
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not always absolute. We may need to retain or continue using information where required by law, contract, fraud prevention, certificate verification or legal claims.

To exercise a right or raise a privacy concern, contact:

Data Protection Enquiries
BOLC ACADEMY LIMITED
12 Hawkins Drive
Chafford Hundred
Grays
England
RM16 6GG

Email: info@cpdcourses.com

Please describe the request and include any relevant account, course or transaction details.

We may request reasonable information to verify your identity.

We normally respond without undue delay and within one month, subject to any extension permitted by law.

We do not ordinarily charge a fee. We may charge a reasonable fee or refuse a request where permitted by law because it is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

You also have the right to complain to:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Website: https://ico.org.uk/
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

If you live outside the United Kingdom, you may also have the right to complain to the data protection authority in your country.

18. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites and services.

Those organisations may process personal information independently under their own privacy notices.

We are not responsible for the content, security or privacy practices of websites that we do not control.

19. Changes to This Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice to reflect changes to:

• our services;
• our use of personal information;
• technology or service providers;
• legal requirements; or
• our privacy practices.

The latest version will be published on this page and identified by the “Last updated” date.

Where a change materially affects how we use personal information, we may provide an additional notice through the website, learner account or email.