Last updated: 4 September 2026
Version: 1.0
These Terms apply where a school buys Tête-à-Tête for a class, department or year group. They are incorporated by reference into a signed Order Form, and the two together form the agreement. They do not apply to individuals who subscribe on their own account — those are covered by the Terms of Service.
1. Parties
These Terms are between Nicolas Stephen Atkins, trading as Tête-à-Tête, of 35 Ballards Lane, London N3 1XW, United Kingdom ("we", "us", "Tête-à-Tête"), and the school, academy, multi-academy trust or other educational institution named on the Order Form (the "School").
We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under registration number ZC135288.
2. Definitions
- Order Form — the document signed by the School setting out the Seats, Fees, Licence Period and named contacts.
- Licence Period — the period stated on the Order Form during which the Licence runs.
- Seat — one named Pupil enrolled in a Class carrying the Licence at any one time.
- Pupil — a student the School enrols on the Service.
- Class — a class created by a Teacher in the Service, which Pupils join using its join code.
- Teacher — a member of the School's staff whom the School authorises to use the Service's teacher features.
- Service — the Tête-à-Tête speaking-practice platform on the web and on the iOS and Android apps.
3. Licence
We grant the School a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Service during the Licence Period, for the number of Seats stated on the Order Form, for the School's own educational purposes.
The School shall not:
- Resell, sublicence or otherwise make the Service available to any third party, including another school within a trust that is not named on the Order Form.
- Share Teacher or Pupil credentials between individuals, or allow more concurrent Pupils than the number of Seats purchased.
- Use the Service to build a competing product, or extract its content in bulk for that purpose.
Seats are counted by concurrent enrolment, not by named individual over time. The School may remove a Pupil and enrol another in their place within the same Seat.
4. Fees and payment
- Fees, Seats and the Licence Period are as stated on the Order Form. No other charges apply during the Licence Period.
- We invoice on signature of the Order Form unless it states otherwise. Payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date.
- We accept bank transfer and card. A purchase-order number supplied by the School will be shown on the invoice.
- We are not registered for VAT. No VAT is charged, and the Fees stated on the Order Form are the whole amount payable. If we become registered for VAT during the Licence Period, VAT will be added at the prevailing rate to invoices issued on or after the date registration takes effect, and we will tell the School before that happens.
- Additional Seats may be added during the Licence Period by written agreement, charged pro rata to the remainder of the Licence Period.
5. Licence Period, renewal and expiry
The Licence runs for the period stated on the Order Form and then stops. It does not renew automatically. Renewal requires a new Order Form signed by both parties. We will contact the School before the Licence Period ends, but the School is never charged for a period it has not agreed in writing.
When the Licence Period ends, Pupil accounts remain in existence and revert to the free plan available to any individual user. Pupils keep access to their own history. Teacher access to Class data continues unless the School asks us to remove it or requests deletion under section 8.
6. The School's responsibilities
- Deciding which Pupils use the Service, and obtaining any parental consent or notification its own policies or the law require before doing so.
- Keeping join codes within the intended Class, and telling us promptly if a code is shared beyond it.
- Ensuring Teachers it authorises use the Service in line with these Terms and the School's own safeguarding and acceptable-use policies.
- Providing a named contact for the Licence and a designated safeguarding lead contact, both on the Order Form.
- Supervising Pupils' use where the School's own policies require supervision. The Service is designed to be used unsupervised, but that is the School's decision, not ours.
7. Our responsibilities
- Providing the Service, and the teacher features described on our website at the time the Order Form is signed, for the Licence Period.
- Enabling the Licence on the School's Classes, and telling the named contact when it is active.
- Responding to support enquiries from the School's named contact by email within two working days.
- Giving the School reasonable notice of any change that materially reduces the functionality it has paid for, and, if the School objects, refunding the unused portion of the Fees.
8. Data protection
For Pupil data the School instructs us to process, the School is the controller and we are the processor. That relationship is governed by our Data Processing Agreement and the School Data Processing Addendum, both of which form part of this agreement. The Addendum takes precedence over these Terms on any question of data protection.
Those documents cover, among other things: that Pupil data is not used for marketing, advertising, profiling or behavioural targeting; that no voice prints or biometric identifiers are created; deletion within 90 days of a request; and segregation of each School's data from every other School's. See also the Privacy Notice for Schools and the Child-Friendly Privacy Summary, which the School may share with parents.
9. Scores, feedback and results
Marks, scores, grades and feedback produced by the Service are generated automatically and are indicative practice feedback, not formal assessment. They are not moderated by a human examiner and carry no standing with any awarding body.
The School is responsible for any educational decision it takes on the basis of them. We make no representation that use of the Service will produce any particular outcome in any examination.
10. Availability and changes
We aim to keep the Service available during the school day in term time, but we do not commit to a guaranteed level of availability, and the Service may be unavailable for maintenance, third-party outages or reasons outside our control. Where the Service is unavailable for a prolonged period, section 7 applies.
We develop the Service continuously and may add, change or remove features. Section 7 governs any change that materially reduces what the School has paid for.
11. Intellectual property
We own the Service and all content within it, including practice materials, cards and rubrics. The School owns the content its Teachers and Pupils create. Nothing in this agreement transfers ownership of either.
We may use anonymised and aggregated data that cannot identify the School, a Teacher or a Pupil to operate and improve the Service. We will not identify the School as a customer in public marketing without its written permission.
12. Suspension and termination
- Either party may terminate for material breach that the other has not put right within 30 days of written notice.
- We may suspend access immediately where continued use presents a security risk or a risk to a child, and will tell the School why as soon as we can.
- The School may terminate at any time on written notice. Fees already paid are not refundable except under section 7.
- On termination the Licence ends and section 5 governs what happens to accounts and data.
13. Liability
Neither party excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded.
Subject to that, and to the maximum extent permitted by law: we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for loss of profits, revenue, goodwill or anticipated savings; and our total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to this agreement shall not exceed the total Fees paid by the School in the twelve months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
Nothing in this section limits either party's obligations under data protection law, which are dealt with in the documents referenced in section 8.
14. General
- Whole agreement. The Order Form, these Terms, the DPA and the School Addendum are the whole agreement between the parties on this subject, and replace anything said or written beforehand.
- Order of precedence. Where they conflict: the School Addendum, then the DPA, then the Order Form, then these Terms.
- Changes. We may update these Terms, but the version in force when the Order Form was signed governs that Licence Period.
- Assignment. Neither party may assign this agreement without the other's written consent, except that we may assign it to a successor to our business, in which case we will tell the School.
- Signing. The Order Form may be signed electronically and in any number of counterparts. A signed PDF, or a signature applied through an electronic signature service, has the same effect as a signature on paper. Neither party need send a paper original.
- Notices. Notices must be given by email — to us at the address in section 15, and to the School at its named contact on the Order Form — and take effect on the next working day. Our postal address in section 1 identifies us as the contracting party; it is a care-of address and is not a reliable route for notice, so please do not use it for anything time-sensitive.
- Third parties. No one other than the parties has any right to enforce this agreement.
- Governing law. This agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.
