What we store
Who is who
- Your school is the controller. You decide which pupils use The Learning Forest and why.
- The Tree Fella NE Ltd (trading as The Tree Fella®) is the processor. We hold the data only to run the app for you. ICO registration number ZA845692.
- Lawful basis is for the school to decide. Schools usually rely on public task for teaching tools.
What the app stores
Only Grow your times tables has logins and stores pupil data. How does a tree work? needs no login and stores nothing. It has no analytics and loads nothing from other websites.
| Data | Why | Kept until |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher account: email address, password (stored as a salted hash, never readable), date created. | To log the teacher in. | The account is deleted. |
| Class: class name, date created. | To group pupils. | The teacher deletes the class. |
| Pupil: first name, nickname or initials as typed by the teacher; generated username; password, recovery code and QR code key (all stored as hashes); class. | To log the pupil in and show the teacher who is who. | The teacher deletes the pupil or the class. |
| Picture password: the three pictures the pupil taps, stored readable. | So the teacher can look up a pupil's pictures when they forget them. Picture logins only work on devices the teacher has set up for the class. | The teacher deletes the pupil or the class. |
| Progress: for each of the 66 facts, its stage and when it is next due. Tables known at the start, date of the starting check, run of days played, last day played. | To choose each day's questions. | The pupil is deleted. |
| Answers: every answer given: the question, the answer typed, right or wrong, how long it took, the question type and the time. | To schedule facts, find tricky facts and show progress. | The pupil is deleted. |
| Settings and extras: forest season, forest friends earned, table introductions seen, rest day used, practice check scores. | To run those features. | The pupil is deleted. |
| Daily reminder (only if turned on at home): the device's push notification address and keys, chosen time and time zone. | To send the reminder. | Turned off, or the pupil is deleted. |
| Logins: a hash of each login token, with its role and expiry. | To keep people logged in. | Logout or expiry: teacher 30 days, pupil at home 180 days, pupil on a class device 8 hours. |
| Class devices: a hash of each device's token, when it was set up and last used. | To let pupils use picture logins on that device. | The teacher signs out all class devices, or deletes the class. |
| Failed logins: the email, username or pupil number that was tried, the IP address, and the time. | To stop password guessing. | 24 hours. |
On the pupil's device
The browser keeps a copy of the pupil's forest so it opens without a connection, any answers waiting to be sent, and a few display flags (install prompt seen, reminder on). A class device also keeps a cookie that marks it as a class device for up to a year. Logging out clears the forest copy.
What we don't collect
- No surnames, dates of birth, photos, addresses or pupil numbers are asked for.
- No analytics, advertising or tracking. No third-party scripts or fonts.
- Pupils can't message anyone or see other pupils' data.
Where it is stored
| Sub-processor | What for | Data it handles |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare, Inc. (Pages, Workers, D1 database) | Hosting the app and the database. | Everything listed above. Database location: Western Europe. |
| Apple, Google or Mozilla push services | Delivering daily reminders, only when turned on. | An empty message to the device's push address. The reminder text is written on the device. |
Security
- All traffic is encrypted (HTTPS).
- Passwords, recovery codes, QR keys, login tokens and device tokens are stored only as hashes.
- Logins are limited: 10 failed tries per account and 50 per network address in 15 minutes; 5 wrong picture tries per pupil.
- Picture logins work only on class devices the teacher has set up.
- Login cookies can't be read by scripts. Requests from other websites are refused.
- A teacher can only see and change their own classes and pupils.
Deleting data
- A pupil: the teacher removes them in the app. Their progress, answers, reminders and logins are deleted straight away.
- A whole class at the end of the year: "Delete this class and all its pupils" deletes every pupil's data straight away and signs out the class devices.
- A teacher account: "Delete my account" in the app deletes the account and everything on it straight away, after the teacher types their password. Or email learn@thetreefella.co.uk and we will do it within 30 days and confirm by email.
- Automatically: a pupil who hasn't played for 12 months is deleted, with their progress, answers and logins. Their teacher sees a warning in the app from 11 months. A teacher account that hasn't been used for 12 months is deleted once it has no pupils left.
- Cloudflare database backups (Time Travel) are kept for up to 30 days and then overwritten.
The Children's Code
The ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code applies to online services children are likely to use. How the app lines up with it:
- Data minimisation: first names, nicknames or initials only. No surnames, dates of birth, photos, addresses, location or contact details.
- High privacy by default: nothing is shared or public. Pupils can't message anyone or see other pupils. Daily reminders are off and can't be turned on by pupils.
- No profiling for other purposes: answers are used only to choose a pupil's next questions and to show progress to their teacher or parent. No advertising, analytics or tracking.
- No geolocation: the app never asks for or records location.
- No data sharing: only the sub-processors above, to run the service.
- No nudges to stay on: rounds are about 20 questions. A run of days isn't broken by missing one day a week.
- Grown-ups' view: a pupil's teacher or parent can see their progress and tricky facts. The app shows nothing about what a pupil does outside it.
Your school's data protection impact assessment can use this page.
Contact
The Tree Fella NE Ltd, 16 Prince of Wales Close, South Shields, NE34 6QT. Company number 11632007. ICO registration number ZA845692. Email learn@thetreefella.co.uk.