Corporate & Privacy Policies

SECTION 1: Global Safeguarding & Candidate Protection Policy

1.1 Introduction & Purpose

Study First Academy is fully committed to providing a safe, secure and supportive environment for all learners, candidates, staff and visitors. The primary purpose of this policy is to protect all individuals — with an explicit focus on young people under the age of 18 and vulnerable adults — from any form of abuse, neglect, exploitation or harm during their academic journey, physical examinations or while participating in our digital/online services.

1.2 Scope

This policy applies universally to all students, registered candidates across all international qualification pathways, academic staff, administrative personnel, invigilators, examiners and anyone operating on behalf of Study First Academy.

1.3 Core Principles

• The Welfare of the Individual: The safety and well-being of the candidate are paramount, regardless of age, gender, ability, race, religion or background.
• Proactive Prevention: Maintaining a transparent, respectful and safe institutional culture that deters misconduct.
• Rapid Response: Ensuring clear, confidential and structured channels to report and address safeguarding concerns immediately without delay.

1.4 Institutional Roles & Responsibilities

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): The centre appoints a DSL responsible for receiving reports of safeguarding concerns, maintaining confidential records and coordinating with external educational boards and legal authorities. To ensure institutional continuity, the DSL is referred to by title in all public-facing policy documentation rather than personal names.

Staff Duty of Care: All staff members and examination invigilators undergo mandatory basic training to recognise signs of physical, emotional or digital distress and are obligated to report any suspicions to the DSL within 24 hours.

1.5 Reporting & Action Procedure

1. Identification / Disclosure: A staff member notices signs of distress, or a candidate explicitly discloses a protection issue.
2. Recording: The staff member fills out a secure Incident Report Form objectively, using factual language without bias.
3. Escalation: The form is submitted directly to the DSL Office.
4. Action: The DSL reviews the case and determines the necessary path, which may include internal support, contacting parents/guardians or notifying the respective international awarding body and local educational/law-enforcement authorities.

SECTION 2: Disability, Accessibility & Inclusion Policy

2.1 Commitment to Equity

Study First Academy operates on the principle of equal opportunity, equity and inclusion. We recognise that disability can take many forms — including physical, sensory, cognitive, developmental, learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia), mental health or temporary medical conditions. This policy ensures that no candidate is disadvantaged, marginalised or treated less favourably during their education or examination processes.

2.2 Regulatory Compliance

This policy is written in strict compliance with local accessibility legislation (T.C. Engelliler Hakkında Kanun ve MEB mevzuatları) and is thoroughly aligned with international frameworks, including the UK Equality Act framework, Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) regulations and the specific Access Arrangements guidelines set forth by global examination boards.

2.3 Physical & Digital Infrastructure

The Centre Premises: Our physical infrastructure is structured to allow safe and independent entry, exit and movement for candidates with mobility impairments, including wheelchair accessibility, accessible facilities and clear emergency signage.

Digital Infrastructure: Our official portal (www.studyfirstacademy.com) and internal digital testing systems are optimised to support assistive technologies, screen readers and flexible user interfaces.

2.4 Access Arrangements for Examinations

Candidates requiring specific accommodations must notify the centre during registration or at least 6 weeks prior to the scheduled exam window. Upon receiving valid supporting medical documentation, the Head of Centre may grant the following Reasonable Adjustments:

• Extra Time: Depending on the candidate's diagnosed and documented needs, additional time of between 25% and 50% may be granted.
• Auxiliary Support: Assignment of an approved Reader, Scribe, Sign Language Interpreter or Prompter.
• Environmental Adjustments: Access to separate/quiet examination rooms, ergonomic seating, adjustable lighting or supervised rest breaks that do not count toward exam time.
• Alternative Formats: Provision of large print, coloured overlays or modified digital exam papers.

SECTION 3: Document Protection, Confidentiality & Third-Party Sharing

3.1 Absolute Confidentiality

Study First Academy enforces a strict non-disclosure and maximum data privacy standard. Every document, academic record, psychological assessment and financial invoice handled by the academy is deemed highly confidential and is protected against unauthorised internal and external access.

3.2 Third-Party Sharing Framework

The academy operates under a strict "Need-to-Know" data isolation protocol. Information and candidate documentation shall strictly NOT be shared with any third party, except under the following legally defined circumstances:

• International Awarding Bodies: Minimum required personal data is transmitted securely to global examination boards solely for exam registration, scheduling and official certification purposes.
• Legal and Regulatory Mandates: Data will only be disclosed to judicial courts, government ministries or local educational directorates if accompanied by an official, lawful mandate.
• Corporate Safeguards (NDAs): Any IT infrastructure vendor, proctoring technology partner or auxiliary service provider must sign a legally binding Non-Disclosure Agreement ensuring data safety before interacting with system segments.
• Explicit Written Consent: Any sharing outside of operational necessity requires the explicit, written and verified consent of the candidate or their legal guardian.

SECTION 4: Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) Policy

4.1 Safe Working & Testing Environment

Study First Academy establishes and maintains safe, healthy and compliant working and learning environments across all properties. This policy operates in strict alignment with the Turkish Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 and international risk management benchmarks.

4.2 Risk Mitigation & Emergency Readiness

• Infrastructure Audits: Regular preventive maintenance and safety audits are executed across all physical examination rooms, administrative cubicles and IT hardware server infrastructures.
• Emergency Systems: Physical locations are equipped with clearly marked emergency exits, illuminated signage, automated fire suppression tools and fully provisioned first-aid kits. Periodic centre-wide emergency evacuation simulations are mandatory.
• Incident Recording: Any minor or major physical injury, sudden illness or "near-miss" operational event occurring on academy grounds must be logged instantly via the OHS Incident Registry for systematic review.

SECTION 5: Fees, Payment & Refund Policy

5.1 Financial Governance

Approved Payment Pathways: All consulting retainers, registration fees and course tuitions must be executed via corporate bank wire transfers or credit cards utilising our secure online merchant payment gateway. Cash payments are not processed.

Fiscal Transparency: Invoices are generated in the designated contract currency (TRY, USD or EUR) inclusive of all regional statutory value-added taxes, except where explicitly exempted by international board frameworks.

5.2 Cancellation & Refund Matrix

• Consultancy & Local Training: Candidates retain the legal right to cancel localised training or consultancy retainers up to 14 business days prior to start dates, receiving a full refund minus minor transactional processing fees.
• International Exam Bookings: Slots booked with international examination boards are immediate, irrevocable and final. Because fees are instantly dispatched to foreign awarding bodies, Study First Academy cannot issue local refunds or cancellations once a seat is locked, unless under specific, documented emergency medical parameters accepted by the external board.

SECTION 6: Educational Consultancy & Academic Integrity Policy

6.1 Objective Counseling Standards

Merit-Based Guidance: Advisory frameworks are executed with total objectivity, tailoring paths based strictly on the candidate's documented academic performance, personal goals and official global institutional parameters.

The No-Guarantee Clause: The academy explicitly states that while it provides elite placement counseling, the final authority over admissions and student visas rests exclusively with the target universities and national immigration offices. No consultant is authorised to guarantee admission outcomes.

6.2 Preventing Malpractice & Falsification

Zero Tolerance for Fabrication: The academy enforces an absolute zero-tolerance policy against document plagiarism, grade modification, reference falsification or data misrepresentation during any application phase.

Examination Violations: Any candidate caught using unapproved digital devices, hiding materials or communicating during an international exam window will be instantly disqualified by the lead invigilator and reported formally to the respective global awarding body for permanent blacklisting.

SECTION 7: Force Majeure & Crisis Management Policy

7.1 Emergency Activation

This policy controls operational continuities during major external shocks, including severe natural disasters, state-declared emergencies, public health lock-downs, critical utility failures or grid cyber-attacks.

7.2 The Crisis Management Committee

During crisis triggers, an immediate Crisis Management Committee is convened automatically. The committee is formed by title: Head of Centre, Lead IT Administrator, OHS Officer and the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Decisions are driven by local state directives and international board contingency protocols.

7.3 Action & System Safeguards

• Physical Disruption Protocols: If a crisis occurs mid-examination, testing is halted, candidate safety protocols take instantaneous precedence and orderly building evacuations are managed.
• Rescheduling Integrity: If a force majeure event forces building closures, the academy coordinates directly with global boards to secure alternative test windows.
• Data Redundancy & Disaster Recovery (DRC): In the event of network failures or cyber attacks, candidate tracking data, centre registration logs and academic scores are instantly isolated and backed up within secure Cloud Disaster Recovery Centres utilising state-of-the-art encryption protocols.

SECTION 8: Appeals & Complaints Policy

8.1 Principles of Fairness

Study First Academy provides structured, highly accessible and transparent mechanisms allowing candidates, parents and partners to formally challenge administrative decisions, service shortfalls or assessment evaluations.

8.2 Formal Submission Framework

Written Filing Mandate: To maintain absolute legal validity, all grievances, complaints and appeals must be filed via email to info@studyfirstacademy.com. Verbal, telephone or social media complaints are not legally recognised or tracked.

• Operational/Service Complaints: Must be submitted within 14 calendar days of the incident.
• Academic & Exam Marking Appeals: Must be registered within the specific timeline dictated by the external exam board (typically between 7 to 21 days following official score publications).

8.3 Investigation & Resolution Track

1. Receipt & Allocation: Upon arrival, the complaint is assigned a distinct tracking number and a formal acknowledgment email is dispatched to the appellant within 48 hours.
2. Neutral Panel Review: The case is reviewed objectively by an evaluation panel consisting of a senior administrative manager and the Head of Centre.
3. External Escalation: For marking disputes or exam disqualification appeals related to international testing, the academy acts as the official intermediary, escalating the formal case file to the global awarding body (Pearson, Cambridge, etc.). The final, unappealable decision remains with that external board.
4. Final Closure Notification: For localised internal disputes, a definitive, reasoned decision will be issued in writing to the appellant within 10 business days of initial filing.

SECTION 9: Data Retention, Archiving & Disposal Schedule

9.1 Retention Framework

All received, generated and compiled documentation is catalogued and preserved in accordance with the Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK) under the following retention matrix:

9.2 Secure Information Erasure

Upon reaching the exact expiration date of the mandatory retention cycle, data records undergo immediate, secure destruction. Digital assets are permanently overwritten and purged from cloud architectures utilising secure data erasure protocols, while physical paperwork is processed via high-security industrial cross-cut shredders, preventing any potential data recovery.

SECTION 10: Official Contact & Institutional Compliance Gateway

For all inquiries regarding institutional policies, formal safeguarding disclosures, accessibility accommodations or the lodging of official appeals, please utilise our centralised corporate compliance gateway:

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