Privacy Policy

Universal Taekwon-Do / UTKD Shrewsbury
Website: www.utkd.co.uk
Last updated: 3 May 2026

Universal Taekwon-Do, also known as UTKD Shrewsbury, is committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal information responsibly, lawfully and transparently.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we may share it with, how long we keep it, and your rights under UK data protection law.

This policy applies to visitors to our website, parents and guardians who make enquiries, trial class applicants, members, students, and anyone who communicates with us.

1. Who we are

Universal Taekwon-Do / UTKD Shrewsbury provides Taekwon-Do classes and martial arts tuition in Shrewsbury.

Contact details:
Universal Taekwon-Do / UTKD Shrewsbury
London Road Sports Centre
Shrewsbury
SY2 6PR

Email: info@utkd.co.uk

For any privacy or data protection enquiries, please contact us using the email address above.

2. The personal information we collect

We may collect and process the following information:

Parent/guardian information

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Telephone number
  • Address
  • Relationship to the child
  • Emergency contact details
  • Communication preferences
  • Enquiry details
  • Booking and trial class information

Student/member information

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Age
  • Address
  • Attendance records
  • Class/group information
  • Grading and belt records
  • Licence and membership information
  • Medical information relevant to participation
  • Emergency contact details
  • Accident, incident, safeguarding or welfare records
  • Photographs and videos, where permission has been given

Payment and financial information

We may process information relating to:

  • Membership payments
  • Tuition fees
  • Enrolment payments
  • Direct Debit details through GoCardless
  • Payment history
  • Outstanding balances
  • Invoices or receipts

We do not normally store full bank card or bank account details ourselves. Payments are processed through our payment provider, currently GoCardless.

Website and marketing information

When you visit our website or respond to our adverts, we may collect:

  • Contact form submissions
  • Website usage information
  • IP address
  • Browser and device information
  • Cookie and tracking information
  • Advertising interaction data
  • Meta/Facebook lead form or advertising data
  • Information submitted through Go High Level forms, emails, SMS or automations

3. How we collect personal information

We may collect personal information when:

  • You complete a form on www.utkd.co.uk
  • You enquire about classes
  • You book a free trial
  • You enrol yourself or your child as a member
  • You communicate with us by email, phone, SMS, WhatsApp, social media or in person
  • You complete membership, licence, grading, medical or consent forms
  • You make payments to us
  • You interact with our Facebook or Meta adverts
  • You visit our website and accept cookies or tracking technologies

For children, we collect information from parents or guardians, not directly from the child.

4. Why we use your personal information

We use personal information for the following purposes:

To respond to enquiries and trial bookings

We use your contact details to respond to enquiries, arrange free trials, provide information about classes, and follow up with you after you contact us.

To provide Taekwon-Do classes and membership services

We use student and member information to manage classes, attendance, grading records, licences, instructor records, safety requirements, and general membership administration.

To keep students safe

We may use medical, emergency contact, accident, incident, safeguarding and welfare information to help protect students and provide a safe training environment.

To manage payments

We use payment information to process membership fees, tuition payments, enrolment fees, Direct Debits, receipts, invoices and any outstanding balances.

To communicate with members and parents

We may contact parents, guardians and adult members about class updates, events, gradings, licence renewals, timetable changes, payment matters, safeguarding updates or other important information relating to training.

To send marketing communications

Where appropriate, we may use your contact details to send information about classes, trial offers, events, promotions or updates. This may be done through email, SMS, phone, WhatsApp, social media or Go High Level.

You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time by contacting info@utkd.co.uk or by using any unsubscribe option provided.

To promote UTKD

We may use photographs or videos of classes, events, gradings and competitions on our website, social media pages, printed materials or adverts, where permission has been given.

As children are involved, we aim to use photos and videos responsibly and respectfully.

To improve our website and advertising

We may use cookies, analytics and advertising tools, including Meta Pixel, to understand website performance, measure adverts, improve marketing and show relevant adverts to people who may be interested in our classes.

5. Our lawful bases for using personal information

Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for using personal information. The ICO states that organisations should decide and explain their lawful bases clearly in their privacy information. 

We may rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We use personal information where it is necessary to provide classes, membership services, enrolment, licence administration, payment processing and related services.

Legitimate interests

We may use personal information where we have a legitimate interest in running and promoting UTKD, responding to enquiries, improving our services, managing members, keeping records, preventing misuse of our services, and communicating with parents and members.

Consent

We rely on consent for certain activities, such as some marketing communications, non-essential cookies and the use of photos or videos where permission is required.

You can withdraw consent at any time by contacting info@utkd.co.uk.

Legal obligation

We may use or keep personal information where required by law, including financial records, safeguarding records, health and safety records, insurance matters, or legal claims.

Vital interests

In an emergency, we may use medical or contact information to protect someone’s life or wellbeing.

6. Children’s personal information

Many of our students are children, so we take extra care when handling children’s personal information. The ICO explains that children’s personal data needs particular protection and that organisations should be transparent and accountable when using it. 

We collect children’s information from parents or guardians, not directly from children.

We use children’s information only for appropriate purposes, including:

  • Managing class attendance
  • Supporting safe participation
  • Recording progress and gradings
  • Managing licences and memberships
  • Responding to accidents, incidents or safeguarding concerns
  • Communicating with parents or guardians
  • Promoting UTKD where photo/video permission has been given

We do not knowingly collect unnecessary information from children.

7. Photos and videos

We may take photos or videos during classes, events, gradings, demonstrations or competitions.

These may be used for:

  • UTKD social media pages
  • The UTKD website
  • Printed promotional materials
  • Facebook/Meta adverts
  • Internal records or celebration of student achievements

We currently seek parent or guardian permission before using identifiable images of children.

Important recommendation: because photos and videos of children can be sensitive, we recommend using written photo/video consent forms rather than relying only on verbal permission. This gives both UTKD and parents a clearer record of what has been agreed.

Parents or guardians can withdraw permission for future use of images by contacting info@utkd.co.uk. Please note that it may not always be possible to remove images already printed, published, shared by others, or used in historic posts, but we will take reasonable steps where possible.

8. Who we share personal information with

We may share personal information with trusted third parties where necessary, including:

  • UTKD instructors and authorised staff
  • Alliance Taekwon-Do United Kingdom / A.T.U.K.
  • International Taekwon-Do Federation / ITF, where relevant
  • British Taekwondo Council / BTC, where relevant
  • Licence and insurance providers
  • Grading examiners and event organisers
  • Payment providers, including GoCardless
  • Go High Level, for customer relationship management, communications and marketing
  • Website hosting and IT service providers
  • Email, SMS or communication providers
  • Accountants, bookkeepers or professional advisers
  • Insurers
  • Safeguarding bodies, legal authorities or regulators where required
  • Debt recovery or legal advisers where necessary to recover unpaid fees or enforce our terms

We only share information where there is a valid reason and we expect third parties to handle information securely.

9. International transfers

Some of the third-party services we use, such as Meta/Facebook, Google, Go High Level or other technology providers, may process or store personal information outside the UK.

Where this happens, we aim to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as approved contractual protections or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

10. How long we keep personal information

The ICO says privacy information should explain retention periods or the criteria used to decide how long information is kept. 

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary.

As a general guide:

  • Enquiry and trial information: usually kept for up to 12 months after the last contact, unless you become a member or ask us to delete it sooner.
  • Active member records: kept while the student or member is enrolled.
  • Former member records: usually kept for up to 6 years after membership ends, where needed for legal, financial, insurance or legitimate business reasons.
  • Financial and payment records: usually kept for 6 years for accounting and tax purposes.
  • Grading, licence and achievement records: may be kept for longer as part of martial arts training history and progression records.
  • Accident and incident records: kept for as long as reasonably necessary for insurance, legal and safeguarding reasons.
  • Safeguarding or welfare records: may be kept for longer where necessary to protect individuals, comply with safeguarding expectations, or deal with legal or regulatory issues.
  • Marketing contact information: kept until you unsubscribe, withdraw consent, object, or we decide the information is no longer useful.
  • Photo/video consent records: kept while images or videos are used and for a reasonable period afterwards.

11. Cookies and tracking technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files placed on your device when you visit a website. They can help the website work properly, remember preferences, analyse website traffic, and support advertising.

We may use:

Essential cookies

These are needed for the website to function properly.

Analytics cookies

These help us understand how visitors use our website and how we can improve it.

Marketing and advertising cookies

These may be used for Meta/Facebook advertising, retargeting, campaign measurement and showing relevant adverts.

Third-party cookies

Some cookies may be set by third-party services, such as Meta/Facebook, Google, Go High Level, embedded media or other website tools.

Non-essential cookies, including analytics and advertising cookies, should only be used where valid consent has been obtained. ICO guidance says cookie consent must be freely given, specific, informed and involve a clear positive action. 

You can manage or block cookies through your browser settings. You may also be able to change your cookie preferences through our website cookie banner or consent tool, where available.

12. Marketing communications

We may contact you with information about UTKD classes, free trials, special offers, events, gradings, news or updates.

We may use:

  • Email
  • SMS
  • Phone
  • WhatsApp
  • Facebook/Meta advertising
  • Go High Level communications

You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by:

  • Clicking an unsubscribe link, where available
  • Replying STOP, where applicable
  • Contacting info@utkd.co.uk

We may still contact current members or parents about important service-related information, such as class changes, payments, safety notices, grading information or membership administration.

13. How we protect personal information

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure or alteration.

These steps may include:

  • Restricting access to authorised people only
  • Using password-protected systems
  • Using reputable third-party providers
  • Keeping records secure
  • Limiting the personal information we collect
  • Reviewing the information we hold
  • Taking care when sharing information by email or online platforms

No system can be guaranteed completely secure, but we aim to protect personal information appropriately.

14. Your data protection rights

Under UK data protection law, you have rights over your personal information. Depending on the circumstances, these may include:

  • The right to be informed about how your information is used
  • The right of access to your personal information
  • The right to correct inaccurate information
  • The right to ask for information to be deleted
  • The right to restrict how information is used
  • The right to object to certain uses of information
  • The right to data portability
  • The right to withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis
  • Rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling, where applicable

To exercise your rights, contact info@utkd.co.uk.

We may need to confirm your identity before responding to a request.

15. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal information, please contact us first using:

info@utkd.co.uk

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, which is the UK regulator for data protection.

Website: www.ico.org.uk

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, website, legal requirements or how we use personal information.

The latest version will be made available on www.utkd.co.uk.