Privacy Policy

Last reviewed: April 2026. This policy reflects the requirements of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. If you have any questions, contact us at info@teflheaven.com.

Who we are

TEFL Heaven is a teacher placement company founded in 2007. We are operated by Mike Maitland and are based in Bangkok, Thailand. We serve customers primarily in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and South Africa, and are subject to UK GDPR as we offer services to individuals in the UK.

When this policy refers to "TEFL Heaven", "we", "us" or "our", it means the TEFL Heaven business operated by Mike Maitland.

For data protection purposes, we are the data controller — meaning we decide how and why your personal data is processed.

What data we collect

We collect personal data in the following ways:

Data you give us directly

Your name, email address, phone number, and country when you submit an enquiry via our contact form
Information about your background, qualifications, and teaching interests that you include in your enquiry
Any correspondence you send us by email

Data collected automatically

IP address and browser type when you visit our website
Pages you view, time spent on pages, and how you arrived at our site (via cookies and analytics tools — see our Cookie Policy for details)

How we use your data

We use your personal data for the following purposes and on the following legal bases:

To respond to your enquiry — lawful basis: contract (you contacted us to potentially enter into a service agreement)
To provide our teacher placement service — lawful basis: contract (performance of our placement program agreement)
To send you information about our programs and destinations — lawful basis: legitimate interests (where you have expressed interest in our services) or consent (where required)
To improve our website and content — lawful basis: legitimate interests (analytics and website performance)
To comply with legal obligations — lawful basis: legal obligation

Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your data with:

Partner schools and employers — when you are enrolled in a placement program and with your knowledge, we share relevant details (name, qualifications, CV) with vetted partner schools in your destination country
Wufoo (SurveyMonkey Inc.) — our enquiry forms are processed by Wufoo, which stores form responses on servers operated by SurveyMonkey. Their privacy policy is available at surveymonkey.com
Google Analytics — we use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. Google may process data about your visit. You can opt out via Google's opt-out tool
Email service providers — if we send you email communications, these are processed by our email platform
Legal and regulatory authorities — where required by law

International data transfers

TEFL Heaven is based in Bangkok, Thailand. When you submit an enquiry, your data may be processed and stored outside the UK. We take reasonable steps to ensure that any data transferred internationally is protected to a standard equivalent to UK GDPR requirements.

Where we use third-party processors (such as Wufoo/SurveyMonkey) that may process data in the United States or other countries, we rely on appropriate transfer mechanisms including standard contractual clauses.

How long we keep your data

Enquiry data — we retain enquiry submissions for up to 3 years to allow us to follow up appropriately and maintain records of our correspondence
Program participant data — we retain data relating to completed placements for up to 7 years for business record-keeping purposes
Analytics data — Google Analytics data is retained for 26 months by default
We review and delete data that is no longer necessary on a regular basis

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right to access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances
Right to restrict processing — you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances
Right to data portability — you can ask for your data in a portable format where technically feasible
Right to object — you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing
Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@teflheaven.com. We will respond within one month.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies. For full details of what cookies we use and how to manage them, please see our Cookie Policy.

Children

Our services are intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a minor, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. Our website uses HTTPS encryption. However, no method of internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first at info@teflheaven.com and we will do our best to resolve your concern.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will update the "last reviewed" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to check this page periodically.