Privacy Policy

Introduction

HAYWARD LITERACY PLUS COUNCIL respects the privacy of every learner, tutor, volunteer, partner and visitor who contacts the reading room or uses this website. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it and the choices available to each person. The reading room is operated by Hayward Literacy, the developer and operating name used by the organisation for its digital services and website work, and references to the Council in this policy include that operating name.

We have written this policy in plain language on purpose. Adult learners come to this room after being let down by services that hide behind long contracts, and we do not want to repeat that habit. If any part of this policy is unclear, a learner may call +19364008891 or write to info@haywardliteracyplus.com and a member of staff will explain it in person, on the telephone or by email.

This policy applies to the website at haywardliteracyplus.com, to paper forms completed in the reading room, to notes written during tutoring sessions, to messages sent by email or telephone, and to short surveys or event sign-ups run at 888 C St, Hayward - 94541-5101, United States (US). It does not apply to third party websites, partner agencies or platforms that we do not control, even where we link to them.

Scope of This Policy

This policy covers all personal information handled by the Council in the course of running a reading room and tutoring service. It covers the website, the paper files kept behind the desk, the small case management system used by staff, and the messages exchanged with learners and volunteers. It applies whether a person interacts with us in person, by telephone, by email or through a partner agency that refers them.

The Council is a teaching organisation, not a commercial data business. We do not sell personal information, we do not rent contact lists, and we do not build advertising profiles from the reading habits of the people who sit at our desks. Information collected in this room exists to teach well and to keep a trustworthy record of what was taught.

Where a partner agency refers a learner, that agency may have its own privacy notice and its own obligations. This policy describes what the Council does with the information it holds. It does not speak for the partner, and we encourage learners to read the notices of any agency that also holds their details.

Information We Collect

We collect information in the smallest amount that lets us teach, schedule, report and stay accountable. The list below describes the categories we may hold.

Contact details

Name, postal address, telephone number, email address and, where a learner chooses to give one, a preferred name and the best times to reach them. For volunteers we also hold availability, emergency contact details and any references provided.

Enrolment information

The reason a learner is seeking tutoring, the general goals they describe, the languages they use, and the practical scheduling constraints that affect attendance. We ask only what is relevant to arranging teaching.

Learning information

Placement notes, lesson slips, session logs, learner notes and book club reviews. These records describe what was read, what was difficult, what strategy was used and what the learner asked to try next. They are professional teaching records and are kept with care.

Volunteer information

Training records, attendance at preparation sessions, notes from tutor sittings and the general feedback exchanged between tutors and staff about method.

Website information

Standard technical information sent by a browser when a page is requested, such as the requested page, the date and time of the request and general browser type. If a person uses the contact form, the name, email address, subject and message they enter are used to prepare an email in their own email program.

Correspondence

Emails, telephone notes and letters. We keep a short record of enquiries so that a learner who calls twice is not asked the same questions again.

Where Information Comes From

Most information comes directly from the person concerned. A learner gives their name and contact details at the desk or over the telephone. A volunteer completes a preparation form. A learner writes their own notes at the learner note desk and those notes become part of the teaching record.

Some information arrives from partner agencies that refer learners, from public libraries that share a reading programme, and from family members or case workers who help a person arrange tutoring with that person present or with that person consent. We accept referrals only where the learner knows the referral is being made.

A small amount of information is generated by the website itself as part of normal operation, as described in the website information section above. We do not purchase contact lists and we do not receive marketing data from brokers.

Why We Use Information

We use personal information for the following purposes, each of which relates directly to running the reading room.

• To answer enquiries about tutoring, volunteering, partnerships and visits.
• To arrange a placement window and match a learner with a suitable tutor.
• To plan and deliver weekly sessions, and to record what happened in each one.
• To keep session logs and lesson slips continuous across a term so a tutor can pick up where the last one stopped.
• To run book club rounds, including choosing texts and keeping short reviews.
• To train tutors, arrange tutor sittings and improve teaching method.
• To report in aggregate to funders, partners and oversight bodies, without identifying individual learners unless consent has been given.
• To keep the reading room safe, manage attendance and follow up when a learner who usually attends stops attending.
• To meet legal, accounting and insurance obligations that apply to a nonprofit teaching organisation.
• To protect the website from misuse and to keep it available to the public.

We do not use information for automated decision making, we do not profile learners for advertising, and we do not sell data to any party.

Our Legal Grounds

Where the law requires a specific ground for handling personal information, we rely on the following. First, consent, where a learner or volunteer has agreed to a specific use such as a photograph or a named testimonial. Consent may be withdrawn at any time by contacting the desk.

Second, the performance of a service arrangement, where information is needed to provide tutoring a learner has asked for. Third, compliance with legal obligations, such as record keeping required for a nonprofit organisation. Fourth, our legitimate interest in running a small teaching charity responsibly, which we balance carefully against the rights of every person whose information we hold.

Where a learner provides sensitive information, such as a health condition that affects attendance or a learning difference that shapes teaching, we use it only to teach safely and we do not share it beyond the staff and tutor who need it. We do not ask for sensitive information unless it changes what we would do in the room.

Learning Records and Notes

Lesson slips, session logs and learner notes are at the heart of the service. They are also personal information, and we treat them carefully. A learner is told at the placement window what is recorded, where it is kept and who can read it.

Slips and logs are kept in a locked cabinet in the staff office and in a restricted area of the case management system. Only the assigned tutor, the reading room staff and the director of teaching may read the full record. Summary counts of hours and attendance may be shared with funders in aggregate, with names removed.

The learner note desk belongs to the learner. At the end of a term the learner may take their notebook home. If a learner leaves the programme and asks for their notes to be deleted, we remove everything except the minimum attendance record needed for our legal obligations, and we confirm in writing what was removed.

Cookies and Local Storage

This website is a simple set of pages and does not set advertising cookies. It uses a small amount of local storage to remember nothing more than basic interface state, such as whether the mobile menu is open during a visit. That information stays in the browser and is not sent to a server.

If we later add a tool that requires a cookie, we will describe it in this policy and offer a way to refuse it. The reading room itself does not require a visitor to accept cookies to read the pages or to use the contact form.

A browser can block cookies and local storage at any time. Blocking them will not prevent anyone from reading the content of this website or from calling or writing to the desk.

Website Measurement

We may keep simple counts of page visits in order to know which pages are useful and which need rewriting. Where such counts exist, they are aggregated and do not identify individuals. We do not use cross site trackers, device fingerprinting or advertising pixels.

If the Council adopts a measurement service in future, the service will be chosen for its privacy record, the data will be configured to minimise identification, and this section will be updated before the change takes effect.

When We Share Information

We share personal information only when there is a clear need and a lawful basis. The main circumstances are described below.

With funding and oversight bodies

Funders sometimes ask for proof that the reading room delivered the sessions it promised. We provide aggregate numbers, such as hours taught and learners served, and we remove names and other identifiers unless a learner has agreed in writing to be named.

With partner agencies

Where a learner was referred by a partner, we share attendance and broad progress information only with that learner consent. The learner may withdraw consent at any time, and the desk will explain how.

With emergency services

We may share information with emergency services where there is an immediate risk to a person health or safety. This is rare, and it is always recorded so that the decision can be reviewed.

With professional advisers

Our accountant, lawyer and insurer may see information where it is necessary for a matter they are handling. They are bound by professional confidentiality.

As required by law

We disclose information where a court order, subpoena or other lawful requirement compels us to do so, and we will tell the person concerned where the law permits.

We never sell personal information and we never share it for advertising.

Service Providers

The Council uses a small number of service providers for email, website hosting and case management. Each provider is chosen for reliability and for a privacy posture compatible with a teaching organisation. Providers are required to use information only to deliver the service we have asked for, and they are not permitted to use it for their own marketing.

Where a provider processes information outside the United States, we review the safeguards the provider offers. If the safeguards are not adequate for the information in question, we do not send that information to the provider.

How Long We Keep Information

We keep information only as long as it serves a purpose. Enquiries that do not become enrolments are deleted after twelve months. Active learner records are kept for the duration of teaching and for three years afterward, so that a learner who returns can be met with continuity and so that we can meet reporting obligations.

Session logs and lesson slips are kept for three years after the last session and are then destroyed. Volunteer records are kept for the duration of volunteering and for two years afterward. Financial records are kept for the period required by accounting rules.

Where a learner asks for deletion earlier, we delete everything except the minimum record required by law and confirm what was removed. Paper records are shredded; electronic records are deleted from the live system and from backups on the normal backup cycle.

How We Protect Information

The reading room is small, and its security practices are practical. Paper files are kept in a locked cabinet in an office that is locked overnight. Electronic records sit behind individual accounts with strong passwords and two factor authentication for staff. Access to the case management system is limited by role, and the list of people with access is reviewed each term.

The website is served over an encrypted connection and does not store contact form messages on the server; the form prepares an email in the visitor own email program. We keep software updated and we do not install unnecessary browser extensions on the staff machines.

If a security incident occurs, we contain it, assess the risk, inform affected people where the risk is meaningful, and report to the relevant authority where the law requires. A short review follows each incident so that the same weakness is not left in place.

Your Choices and Rights

Every person whose information we hold has the following choices, subject to the limits of the law that applies.

• To ask what information we hold and to receive a copy.
• To correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• To ask for deletion of information that is no longer needed.
• To restrict how information is used, such as asking that it not be shared with a partner agency.
• To object to a particular use and to receive an explanation of what will change.
• To withdraw consent where consent was the ground for a use.
• To receive a copy of information in a portable form where that is practical.
• To complain to the desk and to receive a written response.

To exercise any of these choices, call +19364008891 or write to info@haywardliteracyplus.com. We will confirm identity in a proportionate way, usually by a telephone call to the number we already hold, and we will respond within thirty days. If a request is complex we will tell the person why and when they can expect an answer.

Privacy for Children

The Council teaches adults and older learners. We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of thirteen through this website. Where a young person attends a family literacy activity, the information is collected from a parent or guardian, and the parent or guardian may review it, correct it or ask for it to be deleted.

If we learn that information about a child under thirteen has been collected without the appropriate consent, we will delete it promptly. A parent or guardian who is concerned may call the desk at +19364008891 at any time.

Email and Telephone Contact

The contact form on this website prepares an email in the visitor own email program. Nothing is transmitted to our server until the visitor sends that email from their own account. Once an email reaches us, it is stored in the staff mailbox and handled according to this policy.

We use email to answer enquiries, confirm placement windows, share session summaries and send occasional updates about book club rounds. Every update includes a way to ask us to stop sending it. We do not add anyone to a marketing list by default simply because they contacted the desk.

Telephone calls may be noted briefly in the enquiry log so that a second call does not require a person to repeat their situation. We do not record calls.

Photographs and Media

Occasionally a partner or a funder asks for a photograph of the reading room. We take photographs of the room, the shelves and the desk rather than of learners unless a learner has given written consent for a named photograph. Consent for a photograph is separate from consent for tutoring and may be withdrawn at any time, after which the photograph is removed from our website and printed materials at the next production run.

Volunteers may also be photographed for internal training materials, and the same consent rule applies. No photograph of any person is used in advertising without a signed release.

Donations and Payments

Where a donation is made to support the reading room, we collect the name, contact details and amount needed to acknowledge the gift and to satisfy accounting rules. Payment card details are handled by a payment processor and are not stored by the Council.

Donors may ask to remain anonymous, and we will honour that request in public acknowledgements. Financial records are kept for the period required by accounting rules and are accessible only to the treasurer and the accountant.

Information Across Borders

The Council operates in Hayward, California, and most information stays in the United States. Some service providers may process information in another country. Where that happens, we confirm that the provider offers safeguards appropriate to the information, and we limit the information sent to the minimum needed for the service.

A person with a concern about cross border processing may contact the desk and ask that their information be handled only inside the United States. Where such a request can be met without preventing the teaching, we will meet it.

Third Party Links and Partner Sites

This website links to a small number of partner agencies, public libraries and reading resources. Those sites have their own privacy notices, and the Council is not responsible for what they do. We choose links carefully and review them from time to time, but a link is not an endorsement of every practice on the linked site.

If a person reaches the Council through a partner site, the information they gave to the partner is governed by the partner notice. We receive only what the learner agrees to share at referral.

Changes to This Policy

We review this policy at least once a year and whenever the reading room changes a practice in a way that affects personal information. The effective date at the top of the page shows when the current version took effect.

If a change is significant, we will post a short note at the top of this page and mention the change in the next book club round and the next volunteer briefing. Learners who have asked to be kept informed will receive a plain language summary by email.

Continuing to use the website or to attend sessions after a change means the updated policy applies. A person who does not agree with a change may ask the desk to explain the alternatives and may exercise the rights described above.

Questions and Complaints

The first route for any question or complaint about privacy is the reading room desk. Call +19364008891 or write to info@haywardliteracyplus.com with enough detail for us to understand what went wrong. We will acknowledge within five working days and give a full answer within thirty days.

If the answer does not resolve the matter, the complaint may be raised with the director of teaching at the same address, 888 C St, Hayward - 94541-5101, United States (US). A record of the complaint and the response is kept for two years so that patterns can be reviewed.

A person may also complain to the privacy regulator that applies to them. We will not treat a complaint as a reason to withdraw tutoring or to end a volunteer arrangement.

How to Reach the Desk

Questions about this policy, requests to see or correct information, and any concern about how the reading room handles personal details should go to the desk.

This policy forms part of the terms that govern the use of this website. Please read the Terms of Service alongside it. The reading room thanks every learner, tutor and partner who takes the time to read a page like this one, because careful reading is, after all, what this organisation is for.