Privacy Policy

1. Who we are (Controller)

School of Pianists is a music education provider operating under Dutch law. For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) and the Dutch implementation law (Uitvoeringswet AVG), we are the data controller responsible for your personal data.

• Name: School of Pianists
• Address: Naarderstraat 29E, 1211 AH Hilversum, the Netherlands
• Email: info@schoolofpianists.com
• Website: schoolofpianists.com

If you have any questions about how we handle your personal data, please contact us at the email address above.

2. What personal data we collect

2.1 Student and parent/guardian data

• Full name of student and, where applicable, parent or guardian
• Date of birth (to determine applicable lesson format and VAT rate)
• Email address and telephone number
• Postal address (for invoicing purposes)
• Payment information (processed via MoneyMonk; we do not store card details)
• Lesson attendance records and scheduling preferences
• Teacher notes on musical progress (stored in MyMusicStaff)

2.2 Website visitors

• IP address and browser type (via standard server logs)
• Contact form submissions (name, email, message)
• Cookies as set out in our Cookie Policy

2.3 Special categories

We do not intentionally collect special category data (e.g. health, ethnicity, religion). If a student or parent voluntarily discloses health information relevant to lesson planning (e.g. a learning difference or physical limitation), we treat this with heightened care and process it only with explicit consent.

3. Legal basis for processing

We rely on the following legal bases under GDPR Article 6:

• Contract: Necessary to perform the lesson agreement between us (Art. 6(1)(b)).
• Legal obligation: For invoicing, VAT administration, and record-keeping as required by Dutch law (Belastingdienst requirements, Burgerlijk Wetboek) (Art. 6(1)(c)).
• Consent: Where we send newsletters or promotional content, or use photos/videos, we rely on your freely given, specific, and informed consent (Art. 6(1)(a)). You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting prior processing.
• Legitimate interest: For certain administrative communications with existing students (e.g. term reminders, schedule changes) (Art. 6(1)(f)).

4. How we use your personal data

We use personal data only for the following purposes:

• To schedule, confirm, and administer piano lessons
• To issue invoices and process payments via MoneyMonk
• To maintain attendance and progress records in MyMusicStaff
• To communicate about lessons, schedules, or studio policy changes
• To send newsletters or promotional content (with consent only)
• To publish photos or videos of lessons, events, or recitals (with consent only)
• To comply with Dutch tax and financial record-keeping obligations
• To respond to enquiries submitted via our website contact form

5. Third-party tools and data processors

We use the following third-party services to operate our studio. Each acts as a data processor under a processing agreement with us:

• MyMusicStaff: Used for student scheduling, attendance, lesson notes, and internal communication. Data is stored on servers within the United States. MyMusicStaff LLC operates under Standard Contractual Clauses for international transfers.
• MoneyMonk: Used for invoicing and financial administration. MoneyMonk is a Dutch platform (Snelstart B.V.), storing data within the EEA.
• WordPress.com: Our website is hosted on WordPress.com (Automattic Inc.). Standard server logs and cookies apply. Automattic operates under SCCs for US-based data transfers.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party. We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling.

6. Retention periods

We retain personal data only as long as necessary:

• Student records and lesson notes: for the duration of enrolment plus 2 years
• Invoices and financial records: 7 years, as required by Dutch tax law (Belastingdienst bewaarplicht)
• Contact form enquiries: 12 months from last contact
• Marketing consent records: until consent is withdrawn, plus 1 year
• Photos and videos: until consent is withdrawn or the subject requests deletion

After these periods, data is securely deleted or anonymised.

7. Your rights under the GDPR (AVG)

As a data subject, you have the following rights. To exercise any of them, contact us at info@schoolofpianists.com. We will respond within one month.

• Right of access (Art. 15): To obtain a copy of your personal data that we hold.
• Right to rectification (Art. 16): To correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure (Art. 17): To request deletion of your data, subject to legal retention obligations.
• Right to restriction (Art. 18): To request that we restrict processing in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability (Art. 20): To receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object (Art. 21): To object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Right to withdraw consent (Art. 7(3)): To withdraw consent for marketing or photo/video use at any time, without affecting past processing.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority: Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, Postbus 93374, 2509 AJ Den Haag. Website: autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl

8. Data security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. These include password-protected systems, encrypted data transmission (HTTPS), access limited to authorised staff, and regular reviews of our data handling practices.

9. Children’s data

Many of our students are under the age of 16. In such cases, we require consent from a parent or legal guardian for data collection, enrolment, and any use of photos or videos. If you believe we have collected data about a child without appropriate consent, please contact us immediately.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version is always available on our website. For significant changes, we will notify enrolled students and parents directly by email. The date at the top of this document indicates when it was last revised.

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School of Pianists · Naarderstraat 29E, 1211 AH Hilversum · info@schoolofpianists.com
This document was prepared in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and the Dutch Uitvoeringswet AVG.