Terms and conditions

Connect South West recognises the need for the website to be accessible to all users. The website aims to conform to Level A standard of the W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It also contains many features found in AA sites such as colour considerations and easily resizable fonts. We strive to continually make improvements and make sure this website conforms to these guidelines.

ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES

The following features improve navigation for text only browsers, screen reader users, and users of keyboard navigation.

FONT SIZES

You can change the font size of each page to your preference through the browser:

Internet Explorer – select VIEW, then TEXT SIZE, and then your preferred size.

Firefox – press CTRL + to increase font size, and CTRL – to decrease font size. CTRL 0 will reset sizes to default.

COLOURS

The Connect South West website has been designed to be easy to read through its colour combinations.

BROWSERS

This website will function and look as intended in browsers that support these standards. The most common of these are:

Firefox 3.6+ www.getfirefox.net/

Internet Explorer 8.0+ www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

STANDARDS COMPLIANCE

Our pages aim to conform to Level A compliance as specified by the W3C Web Accessibility Guidelines: W3C WAI-AAA WCAG 1.0. This standard is endorsed by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and the Disability Rights Commission.

We are striving to meet our obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 with respect to the provision of services online www.drc-gb.org

SITE AVAILABILITY

We make every effort to ensure that this website is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In spite of our efforts we cannot guarantee uninterrupted access to this website. We accept no responsibility for any damages arising from any interrupted access to this website.

DISCLAIMER

Connect South West Ltd makes every effort to ensure the information included on this website is up to date and accurate. However, we cannot guarantee the completeness, accuracy or suitability of this information for any particular purpose. Use of this website, and the information and materials within, is at the risk of the user, and Connect South West will not accept responsibility for any damages which may arise from use of the site.

Connect South West has a strict anti-virus policy in place, and makes every effort to check material. We shall not be liable for any loss or disruption of data which may occur while using materials from this website. We strongly recommend that users of this site run an up to date anti-virus program.

Connect South West provide links to other websites. We accept no responsibility for the content, availability or reliability of these sites, and do not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them.

If you have any problems or issues with the materials and information provided on this site, please contact us at info@connectsw.co.uk and we will endeavour to provide assistance.

EXTERNAL LINKING

CONNECT SOUTH WEST IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT OF EXTERNAL WEBSITES

OUR APPROACH TO EXTERNAL LINKING

We select links that are editorially relevant to the content they are linking from and are suitable for the likely audience.

These links are included for the following reasons:

For further relevant information or other key source material
For background information
For useful practical information
For further informed comment

We do not link to external sites in return for cash, services or any other consideration in kind.

We link to sites purely on editorial merit. These will most often be free access, but users may sometimes be asked to register or subscribe before viewing content.

LINKS TO EXTERNAL WEBSITES

External links are selected and reviewed when the page is published. However, Connect South West is not responsible for the content of external websites. This is because:

Connect South West does not produce them or maintain/update them
Connect South West cannot change them
They can be changed without Connect South West’s knowledge or agreement
Some of our external links may be to websites which also offer commercial services, such as online purchases

The inclusion of a link to an external website from Connect South West’s websites should not be understood as an endorsement of that website or the site’s owners (or their products or services). Connect South West does not necessarily agree with the views expressed within these linked websites and has no control over them.

PRIVACY POLICY

This privacy policy sets out how we use and protect any information that you give when you use this website. Note that 'we' as used in this policy refers to Connect South West Ltd. We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page and you should check this page regularly to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

With the exception of communication channels – feedback forms, pop-up surveys, Adviser Online and email – the website does not store or capture personal information, but merely log the user’s IP address (Internet Protocol: standard allowing data to be transmitted between two devices) which is automatically recognised by the web server.

Occasionally, additional research is carried out, a pop-up window will appear offering you the chance to take part in an online survey. If you complete the survey or choose to opt out and close the pop-up window the survey will not appear again. If you do want the survey to appear again you will need to clear the cache of cookies on your machine.

DATA PROTECTION

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, we have a legal obligation towards you in the way that we deal with any data collected from you. The website uses leading technologies and when appropriate encryption software to safeguard your data and keep strict security standards to prevent any unauthorised access.

We do not pass on your details to any third party or government department unless you give us permission to do so, or we are obliged or permitted by law to disclose it.

DATA RELEASE POLICY

Our policy is to only release to a third party the data we collect in the following circumstances:

When required by law, such as in response to a valid request from a law enforcement body
When given permission by the user
To designated third parties to resolve or investigate abuse complaints
When the information is related to spiders or bots, usually when investigating technical issues
For abusive users, we may release information to assist in attempting to block the abusive user or to complain to that user's Internet Service Provider
If necessary to defend legal claims against us by third parties
When we deem it necessary to protect the property or rights of the user community, or this website.

We will not sell your information, such as your email address, to third parties.

ADVISER ONLINE - WEBCHAT

This site contains a webchat Adviser Online feature. You will be asked to provide your name, age, organisation (eg college or school), e-mail address and subject you require assistance with. These details allow us to deal with your enquiry effectively and send you a transcript of the chat by e-mail at the end of the session.

You do not need to give your real name if you don't want to and items other than the subject of your enquiry are optional, however, bear in mind this may affect the quality of the information we provide.

If you are a client of Connect South West (eg a user of the services we provide) we will record details of the chat session on our Service Client Database. We will not retain information provided in chat sessions for longer than is necessary to satisfy your enquiry unless you are a client where we will have a continuing involvement with you.

Your information will not be shared outside of Connect South West without your consent unless we think that you or another young person is in danger or at risk.

We use a third party to provide this chat facility and information you provide will be transferred outside of the European Economic Area for processing. If you are concerned about this do not use this chat facility.

A cookie is a small, numeric text file that is stored by your browser on your computer’s hard drive. In order to benefit from the full functionality offered by this website, it is occasionally necessary for us to place a small amount of information (a cookie) on your computer. Cookies are used to store your viewing options for displaying thumbnail images and text. When you change these options, your new selections are recorded in a cookie for use next time you visit the site.

You may wish to clear these cookies and the browser cache if you wish to refrain from revealing any identifying information, especially if you are using a public or shared computer.

Connect South West uses cookies to help us to understand how people access and navigate around the website. Cookies do not collect any information about you except that required for system administration of the website. No information is stored on your computer and no personal data is obtained via this software.

If you would like to know more about cookies, or would like to disable cookies in your browser settings (ie refuse cookies) please visit: www.allaboutcookies.org

PUBLIC DATA AND PUBLISHING

Browsing this site doesn't reveal your identity publicly. If you contribute to this site, this is a public act and you will be identified as the author.

Where it is possible to make a contribution to this site, these contributions are published, and except in very limited circumstances, will be a permanent part of this site. If you decide to contribute, you must keep this in mind.

AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION

This is a public site and there is no requirement to log in to use it. However, actions will be identified by your IP address. These numbers could potentially be traceable to identifying information about you, whether it is your home ISP or the university, college or work account where the IP address is registered. Your IP address could potentially be used in conjunction with other data to identify you. If you are concerned about attempts to match your IP address to your identity, you may wish to use an anonymous browsing service or attempt some means to disguise your real IP address.

LOGGING

Any time you visit a page on the internet, you send information to the server. The servers that host this site maintain access logs with the information that you send. This information is used to provide site statistics and to get an idea of popular pages and what sites link here. In the normal course of events we do not intend to use these logs to identify legitimate users. This is an example of information that might be logged:

64.164.82.142 - - [21/Oct/2003:02:03:19 +0000]

"GET /wiki/draft_privacy_policy HTTP/1.1" 200 18084

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_projects:Village_pump”

"Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/85.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/85.5"

The data logged may be used by us to solve technical problems with the site and, in cases of abuse of this site, to investigate the abuse.

SITE HELP

SEARCHING THE SITE

You can search for content on the site by using the search box located in the top right corner of the page. Enter a keyword or phrase into the search box and click to search. Any matches to your search will be shown.

If no matches to your search are found, you will be told, and encouraged to search again using a different keyword or phrase.

DOWNLOADS

If any of the information on the site requires specific computer packages in order for you to view or download it, we will always provide you with access to these packages. This will be highlighted throughout the site where required.

EXTERNAL LINKS

All external links contained within the site will open in the same browser window, unless otherwise stated. To get back to the Connect South West or service website, simply click on the BACK arrow in the top left of the browser page.

It is important to stay safe whilst surfing the internet.

LINKING TO CONNECT SOUTH WEST

If you wish to link to any part of this website please contact us providing details of your website and organisation. We may also be able to offer a reciprocal link depending on the content of your website.

FEEDBACK AND COMPLAINTS

If you would link to contact us regarding any issues surrounding this site, you can contact us at info@connectsw.co.uk

You are advised to read ourPRIVACY POLICY and DISCLAIMER.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

By browsing this website you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern Connect South West’s relationship with you in relation to this website.

The term ‘Connect South West’ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner of the website, Connect South West Ltd whose registered office is Winchester House, Deane Gate Avenue, Taunton, TA1 2UH. Our company registration number is 03025114. The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website.

The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:

The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice
Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law
Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements
This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice below, which forms part of these terms and conditions
All trademarks reproduced in this website, which are not the property of, or licensed to the operator, are acknowledged on the website
Unauthorised use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offence
This website includes links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s)
Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of England, Scotland and Wales.

This website and its contents are under the copyright of Connect South West Ltd.

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any part of the website is prohibited other than the following:

You may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only
You may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material
You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content
You may not transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.

MEDIA CONTENT

Increasingly Connect South West is making more of video and audio content. Any material on the Connect South West website must be suitable for a general audience including children.

IMAGES (MOVING OR STILL)

The term images covers all moving or still images, photographs and logos.

Images on the website are either the property of Connect South West, or have been licensed from third parties.

Images taken from third parties may not be reproduced in any format.

Some images that are the property of Connect South West may be reproduced only with conditional prior approval.

If you wish to reproduce any images, including the Connect South West logo you must contact Connect South West first for further guidance and conditional authorisation.