schoolfriend - terms & conditions

New Registration Agreement

Schoolfriend Terms and Conditions of Use
Please read the following carefully before using or subscribing to our website.

By entering and using this Site, you agree to these Terms and Conditions of Use ("these Terms and Conditions")

If you do not agree with these Terms and Conditions, you may not use this site or any information contained on it. Schoolfriend ("Schoolfriend") reserves the right, at any time, to modify alter or update these Terms and Conditions and any changes will be deemed to have taken effect the day after posting and will be deemed to have been accepted by those who continue to access the Website. Subscribers who do not wish to accept changes may cancel their Subscription by notifying us in writing within [one week of the posting] and their Subscription will be cancelled and the unexpired portion of their paid subscription will be refunded on a pro rata basis with effect from the date we receive notice of cancellation.

Why these terms are important
These Terms and Conditions set out what obligations Schoolfriend has to those using the Site and deal with important matters such as the rights of a Subscriber to cancel his/her subscription, limitations of liability and the terms on which users are permitted to make use of the materials and rights which belong to Schoolfriend or to others associated with Schoolfriend. Schoolfriend also wishes to create and maintain a safe and moral environment by providing rules regulating the conduct of those using the Site.

Subscribers and Registered Users
The Schoolfriend website ("the Site") is open to visitors but certain areas can only be accessed by Subscribers and Registered Users using their log-in names and passwords. At the heart of the Site are the interactive learning exercises which are accessible only to Subscribers and Registered Users. Subscribers can be parents, legal guardians or Schools and Registered Users are children who are registered by Subscribers to have access to the interactive learning exercises. Other areas of the Site, which are open to all users, give information on educational topics and access to specialist advice.

How to Register
Registration must be completed by a child's parent, legal guardian or teacher. Each child must be separately registered and no registrations may be transferred from one Registered User to another. All information provided on the registration form must be complete and correct. If any false or misleading information is submitted by a Subscriber, this will be considered a serious matter and the Subscription may be cancelled by Schoolfriend without refund. Schoolfriend will endeavour to process all registrations within 24 hours from the time they are received and will notify Subscribers by e-mail as soon as an account has been activated.

Subscribers may delete or add to the subjects for which a Registered User is registered by notifying us of their wish to do so. We will confirm by e-mail when the change has been activated.

Subscription Costs and Payment
The subscription costs are set out on the registration page and must be paid for in advance in accordance with the payment instructions indicated. Schoolfriend may vary the subscription costs from time to time and any changes will be posted on the registration page. The subscription costs will be those in effect at the time the application is received by Schoolfriend. Subscriptions will be valid for the period subscribed for and subscriptions in effect at the time of any price changes will not be affected by those changes. The costs for new curriculum subjects which are added to an existing Subscriber's account will be the cost in effect at the time the registration for the new subject is received.

The Subscription Period
The subscription period will run from the date of registration and will be continually renewed on termination of your chosen payment period. We will notify you by e-mail before your subscription is due for renewal and, unless you contact us advising us not to do so, your credit card will be automatically debited on the renewal date. If you choose to pay by cheque we will notify you by e-mail when your subscription is due for renewal and at the time will give you details of how to do so.

Passwords/Log-in names
Certain areas of the Site are password restricted to Subscribers or to Registered Users. Passwords and log-in names may only be used by the user to whom they are allocated. Each Subscriber and Registered User accepts that they will have responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of their allocated password and log in names and agrees to notify Schoolfriend if their password is lost, stolen, disclosed to an unauthorised third party, or if it is compromised in any other way. Each Subscriber agrees that he/she will be responsible for any activities which occur on his/her account unless the activity in question is due to the action of any unauthorised third parties which is not caused or attributable to any fault or negligence on the part the Subscriber or the Registered User.

Child Supervision
Schoolfriend recommends that children's use of the Site should be supervised by adults or responsible family members.

Site Features
The main feature of the Site is the subscription based learning program, which also gives Registered Users access to special areas. Other areas of the Site contain features which are available to all users including advisory services and external links. The technology used on the Site enables Schoolfriend to develop and improve its learning programs and features offered on the Site. The content of learning programs and features of the Site may therefore be updated, modified or changed from time to time.

Site Availability
Schoolfriend will use its reasonable endeavours to ensure that the facilities paid for by Subscribers are available but factors outside of Schoolfriend's control, such as the performance of the ISP (the Internet Service Provider) and the telecommunications systems may affect the provision of the services on the Site. Additionally, the Site may also be unavailable if unavoidable maintenance or urgrades need to be carried out although Schoolfriend will use its reasonable endeavours to arrange for maintenance and upgrades to be carried out between midnight and 6am. Having regard to these matters, Schoolfriend cannot therefore guarantee an uninterrupted service and only commits itself to providing the service for 98% of the time in any given month. If the Site is not available for this percentage in any given month during the period of a Subscriber's subscription, the Subscriber can opt either to cancel his/her Subscription or to extend his/her Subscription for an additional period of one month. If the Subscriber decides to cancel his/her subscription, Schoolfriend will refund to the Subscriber on a pro rata basis the unexpired portion of his/her paid subscription together with an amount equal to the payment made by the Subscriber in respect of the month in which the Site was not available for 98% of the time.

The Subscriber's Right to Cancel the Subscription
A Subscriber has the right to cancel his/her subscription before the end of the Subscription period in the following circumstances:

(1) At any time before Schoolfriend has sent the notification informing the Subscriber that his/her registration has been processed.

(2) As described under the heading "Site Availability", where we have failed to keep our promise to keep the Site available for 98% of the time.

(3) Without affecting any other rights a Subscriber may have in respect of damages or to obtain a court order, a Subscriber has the right to cancel on 14 days written notice if Schoolfriend shall fail to put right any important failure of its obligations within that notice period.

Schoolfriend's Right to Cancel/Terminate the Service
Schoolfriend has the right immediately to cancel a Subscription if we learn that a Subscriber has provided us with false or misleading registration information. Schoolfriend also has the right to cancel any users right to use the Site if that user breaks any of his/her important obligations and which in the case of a matter that is capable of being corrected has failed to do so within 14 days of being notified by Schoolfriend in writing to do so.

Schoolfriend reserves the right to terminate the provision of the services on the Site on 14 days notice if it is unable to provide any part of the service to a reasonable standard for any reason.

Consequences of Cancellation
Where cancellation occurs other than due to a Subscriber's breach of his/her obligations, the Subscriber shall be entitled to a refund of his/her paid subscription in relation to unexpired period of the subscription.

If Schoolfriend cancels a subscription in breach of its obligations, this refund is without prejudice to the Subscriber's statutory rights to claim damages for any losses or costs he/she suffers because of the cancellation.

If Schoolfriend cancels a user's right to use the Site because of the user's breach of his/her obligations, Schoolfriend shall be entitled to retain any subscription and reserves the right to claim damages for any losses and expenses which it incurs or suffers arising out of the user's breach.

Immediately on cancellation of a user's right to use the Site, the user shall cease to have the right to use any Licensed Materials (as this term is defined in the paragraph below titled "Right to use Materials").

Links to Other Sites
Schoolfriend may have links to other web sites which are run by other people. Whilst links are selected carefully and Schoolfriend hopes that these linked sites may prove to be of interest to users, the user acknowledges that Schoolfriend is not in a position continuously to review the content of those other websites and cannot be responsible for the content as unauthorised changes may be made to websites. Schoolfriend recommends that all machines used to access the Site have programmes enabled to monitor the suitability of web content for children.

Advice Given on the Website
The service area of the Site offers advice on a range of subjects. Whilst Schoolfriend counsellors have been selected for their knowledge and experience, their ability to respond meaningfully to questions by e-mail will depend upon the nature and quality of the information they receive about the issues in question. Due to the limited nature of the information which can be exchanged, users acknowledge that any advice given can be no more than a preliminary and that due to the general nature of the response to issues he/she will not rely solely on those responses in making any decisions. Schoolfriend cannot be held responsible for any advice or suggestions relating to issues made by counsellors which is misinterpreted or which is based on incomplete or inaccurate information given by the person raising the question.

Our counsellors will treat all communications regarding advice as confidential, but as Schoolfriend has no control over who may have access to the users e-mail address or computer, we recommend that users do not identify individuals by name on whom they are seeking advice. Users alone are responsible for the contents of the e-mail messages that they send to our counsellors as well as the consequences of any such messages.

Right to Use Materials
Subscribers and Registered Users are only permitted to use the materials and computer software ("the Licensed Materials") created by Schoolfriend as part of the learning program devised by Schoolfriend for the Registered User in question. The Subscriber shall ensure that these materials are not used by other children or for any other purpose and that the tests devised by Schoolfriend shall not be copied in any permanent form.

The Subscriber's and Registered Users right to use the Licensed Materials shall end immediately on cancellation or termination of the subscription.

All trademarks. service marks and trade names are owned by Schoolfriend or other respective owners that have granted Schoolfriend the right and license to use such trademarks, service marks and trade names.

Rewards Scheme
Subscribers and Registered Users acknowledge that the reward scheme is entirely within Schoolfriend's discretion. Schoolfriend may vary the rules or withdraw the reward scheme at any time as Schoolfriend may decide by posting the changes on the Site and Subscribers and Registered Users will be deemed to have notice of all such changes four hours after posting.

Schoolfriend and National Curricula
The Site's exercises and tutorials are designed as part of an interactive learning tool and have been developed by educational professionals to assist in developing a child's understanding of a subject. The Subscriber acknowledges that the Schoolfriend learning programme has been devised to complement the Curricula for Primary School children and understands that the content neither duplicates your National Curriculum nor is intended as a replacement for it.

The learning system offered on the Site should not be used as a substitute for any formal class room teaching methods.

Limitation on Schoolfriend's liability
As with any educational programme, the success of the course depends on the diligence of the child in completing course work and complying with the requirements of the programme.

Whilst Schoolfriend is an individual learning programme tailored to the individual needs of each child, a limitation of an internet based learning system is the fact that it depends on the answers submitted by the child as the main form of assessment and cannot take into account the full range and combination of factors which could be important in the case of any particular child's development. Nor, importantly, can an internet based learning system address the situation where a child has had assistance in completing the questions without actually understanding the principles involved.

Having regard to these considerations as well as the matters explained in the above section concerning National Curricula, Schoolfriend cannot give any warranties that every child's performance will improve through the use of the Site nor does Schoolfriend warrant that the use of the Site will remedy any special learning problems.

Schoolfriend does not give any warranties that the software or any related services or content are free from bugs, viruses, errors or other limitations.

Schoolfriend's total liability to users in connection with the use of the Site in respect of (a) any breach of its contractual obligations; and (b) any representation, statement or act giving rise to liability in tort including negligence shall be limited to 1.5 times the subscription paid.

Schoolfriend's total liability to users in respect of loss or damage (including damage to tangible property) suffered by the user resulting from the negligence of Schoolfriend, or its employees, agents or contractors shall be limited to 1.5 times the subscription paid.

Schoolfriend's total liability to users in all other cases shall be limited to 1.5 times the subscription paid.

Nothing in this paragraph or these Terms and Conditions
(a) shall affect or limit a user's statutory rights as a consumer under English law, or
(b) shall limit or exclude Schoolfriend's (or any of it's employees', agents' or contractors') liability for death or personal injury caused by Schoolfriend's (or its employees', agents' or contractor's) negligence or fraudulent misrepresentation.

Confidentiality
Schoolfriend shall keep all information which it receives relating to a Registered User and his/her test results confidential and shall use this confidential information only for the purposes of the learning program.

Data protection
Schoolfriend is a registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and all personal information that we receive on registration is held for the purpose of your Subscription only and subject to the data protection law.

Notices
Any notice or other communication shall be in writing and may be delivered:
by e-mail, or
by fax or registered post and all communications shall be deemed to be received upon receipt. Our contact details are indicated on our "Contact Us" page.

Governing Law and Disputes
These terms and conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.