Mastering STEM

Policies & Safeguarding

Last updated: 4 October 2026

Everything a parent or carer needs to know about how we keep students safe, how our online sessions run, and how we look after your information — in one place. If anything is unclear, email admin@mstem.co.uk.

On this page: Safeguarding · Online sessions on Zoom · Privacy and your data · Bookings and refunds

1. Safeguarding

We work with young people, most of them under 18. Their safety and wellbeing come before anything else we do.

Who teaches your child

How we communicate

  • We arrange sessions with a parent or carer, and all booking emails, joining links and updates go to them.
  • Tutors do not contact students through personal social media or private messaging apps.
  • If we need to share something with a student outside a session, we copy in their parent or carer.

If you have a concern

If you are worried about anything that happens in or around a session, contact our safeguarding lead using the details above. We will take it seriously and respond promptly.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. You can also get advice from the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or contact your local council’s children’s services.

2. Online sessions on Zoom

Before the session

  • The Zoom joining link is emailed to the parent or carer the day before. Please don’t share it.
  • Install the Zoom app and test your camera, microphone and connection in advance.
  • A tablet with a stylus is ideal, so students can write their working on screen. If that isn’t possible, please let us know in advance and we’ll plan around it.
  • Students also need paper, a pen and a calculator, and a quiet place to work.

How we keep sessions safe

  • Every session uses a waiting room and passcode, and only students booked on that session are admitted.
  • Sessions are not recorded.
  • Students join using their first name.
  • Cameras on is encouraged so the tutor can see students’ working; microphones stay muted unless a student is speaking.
  • The tutor manages the chat and screen sharing. A student who disrupts the session may be removed from it.
  • It is highly recommended that a tablet with a stylus pen for writing is used in online sessions

If something goes wrong

If a student drops out, they can rejoin with the same link, and we will send them the take-home sheet so nothing is missed. If a problem on our side stops the session or cuts more than 15 minutes from it, we will offer a free place on another date of the same masterclass or a full refund — your choice.

3. Privacy and your data

Mastering STEM is the data controller for the personal information described here. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), registration number ZB850432 (view our entry on the ICO register).

What we collect

  • From parents and carers: name, email address, phone number and billing address.
  • About the student: name, school year, exam board, which sessions they attend, and whether they will use a tablet and stylus.
  • During sessions: the work students share and brief notes on their progress, used only to support their learning.
  • When you pay: payment is handled by our payment providers. We never see or store full card details.

Why we use it

  • To arrange and deliver the sessions you book, and to contact you about them (to perform our contract with you).
  • To improve our teaching and materials (our legitimate interests).
  • To send you news about future sessions, only if you have agreed — you can opt out at any time.
  • To keep financial records we are required to keep by law.

We collect information about students only through their parent or carer, and we never send marketing to students.

Who we share it with

Only with the services we need to run the business, each of which protects your data: our website and email host (IONOS), WooCommerce and our payment providers, Zoom for sessions and Calendly for consultations. We never sell your information.

How long we keep it

We keep booking and payment records for 6 years for tax and legal purposes. Other personal information (contact details, student notes) is deleted within 12 months of a student’s last session. If a safeguarding concern is ever recorded, that record is kept for longer, in line with safeguarding guidance.

Cookies

Our website uses essential cookies to make the basket and checkout work, and our payment provider may use cookies to help prevent fraud. We use Jetpack Stats to count visits and see which pages are read; it does not tell us who you are.

Your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete the information we hold about you or your child, or object to how we use it. Email admin@mstem.co.uk and we will respond within one month. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.

4. Bookings and refunds

  • More than 48 hours before your session: full refund.
  • Less than 48 hours before: no refund, but we’ll move your place to another date, subject to availability.
  • Booked within the last 14 days? You can still cancel for a full refund as long as the session hasn’t taken place, even within 48 hours. This is your right under UK consumer law.
  • If we cancel or move a session (for example, fewer than 4 students have booked): you choose a full refund or a free move to another date.

Read the full Masterclass Booking & Refund Policy.