Legal
Privacy Policy
How SEND Guidance collects, uses and protects your personal information.
Last updated: 11 September 2026
Who I am and how to contact me
SEND Guidance is a special educational needs and disabilities consultancy run by Claire Andrews, supporting parents, carers and schools across England. Claire Andrews is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration reference ZC189290.
If you have any questions about this policy or about your information, you can contact me by email at claire@sendguidance.co.uk or by post at 30, L34 2RG.
The information I collect
Information you give me directly. When you send an enquiry through the contact form or by email, I collect your name, email address and anything else you choose to include, such as your phone number, whether you are a parent, carer or school, the type of support you are interested in, and the content of your message. When you arrange a Clarity Call or another service, I collect the details needed to set it up and run it, including your contact details, your availability and, for schools, the school name and your role.
Information about your child. If you contact me about a child, you will usually need to share information about them so that I can give you the right guidance. This may include their name, age, school, their needs, any diagnoses, and documents such as an EHCP, reports or school correspondence. This is sensitive information and I explain how I handle it in the next section.
Information collected automatically. When you visit the website, the hosting provider records technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device type and the pages you request. This is standard for any website and is used to keep the site secure and running. See the cookies section below.
I do not run a mailing list. The free resources on the downloads page are open to everyone and you do not need to give me any details to use them.
Information about your child
Information about a child’s needs, disabilities, diagnoses and health is special category data under UK data protection law and needs extra protection. I only collect it when you choose to share it, and I only use it to provide the guidance or service you have asked for.
My lawful basis for using this information is your explicit consent, given by you as the child’s parent or carer on their behalf. By sharing this information with me, and by confirming this when we begin working together, you are giving that consent. You can withdraw it at any time by emailing me. If you do, I will stop using the information and delete it, unless I need to keep it for one of the reasons described under how long I keep your information. Withdrawing consent may mean I can no longer provide the service.
I will never share information about your child for marketing or any purpose beyond the support you have asked for.
How I use your information and my lawful basis
Data protection law requires a lawful basis for every use of personal information. This is what I do and why.
| What I use your information for | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Responding to your enquiry and discussing whether I can help | Legitimate interests (running the consultancy and helping people who get in touch) |
| Arranging and delivering a Clarity Call or another service | Performance of a contract with you |
| Using information about your child to give guidance | Your explicit consent |
| Sending invoices, taking payment by bank transfer and keeping financial records | Contract and legal obligation |
| Keeping records of the work I have done for you | Legitimate interests and, where relevant, legal obligation |
| Keeping the website secure and understanding how it is used | Legitimate interests |
| Sharing information where I am legally required to, or where there is a safeguarding concern | Legal obligation, and where necessary the vital interests of a child |
Where I rely on legitimate interests, I have considered whether those interests are outweighed by your rights and I only use your information in ways you would reasonably expect. You can object to any use based on legitimate interests at any time.
I do not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling.
Who I share your information with
I do not sell your personal information. I only share it with the providers I need in order to run the website and deliver my services, and with anyone the law requires me to tell.
| Provider | What they do | Where they are based |
|---|---|---|
| Resend | Delivers contact form enquiries to my inbox | United States |
| Vercel | Hosts the website and keeps it secure | United States, with servers in the UK and EU |
| Microsoft 365 | Email, calendar and secure storage of documents | United Kingdom |
| Microsoft Teams | Video calls, where we choose to meet online | United Kingdom |
| Local Web Studio | Builds and maintains the website on my behalf and may see enquiry data in the course of that work | United Kingdom |
Each provider works under my instructions and is required by contract to keep your information secure and to use it only for the purpose I have set out.
Safeguarding. If, in the course of my work, I become concerned that a child or vulnerable person is at risk of harm, I may have to share information with the appropriate authorities, such as a local authority or the police. I will tell you if I do this, unless doing so would put someone at risk.
Legal requirements. I may also share information where I am required to by law, by a court, or by a regulator.
Where your information is stored
Some of the providers listed above are based outside the United Kingdom, so your information may be transferred to and stored in the United States. Where this happens, the transfer is protected either by the provider’s certification under the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or by the UK Addendum to the standard contractual clauses approved by the ICO. Both are recognised safeguards under UK data protection law.
How I keep your information safe
Your information is stored in password-protected accounts with two-factor authentication turned on. Documents about you or your child are kept in secure cloud storage and are not shared with anyone else. The website uses HTTPS so that anything you send through the contact form is encrypted in transit. I review who has access to your information and remove access when it is no longer needed.
No system is completely secure, and I cannot guarantee that information sent over the internet is entirely safe, but I take reasonable steps to protect it.
Cookies and analytics
The website uses one essential cookie that is needed for the site to work. It does not need your consent. I use Vercel Web Analytics to understand how many people visit the site and which pages they read. It does not use cookies and does not identify individual visitors.
How long I keep your information
| Type of information | How long I keep it |
|---|---|
| Enquiries that do not lead to us working together | Up to 12 months from your last message |
| Client records, including notes and documents about your child | Up to 6 years after the work ends, reflecting my legal, tax and professional obligations |
| Invoices and financial records | 6 years from the end of the tax year they relate to, as required by HMRC |
| Website server logs | Up to 30 days |
When the retention period ends, I securely delete the information or anonymise it. If you ask me to delete your information sooner, I will do so unless I have a legal reason to keep it.
Your rights
You have the following rights over your personal information.
- Access. You can ask for a copy of the information I hold about you and your child.
- Correction. You can ask me to correct anything that is wrong or incomplete.
- Deletion. You can ask me to delete your information in certain circumstances.
- Restriction. You can ask me to stop using your information while a query is resolved.
- Portability. You can ask for the information you gave me in a format you can pass to someone else.
- Objection. You can object to any use of your information based on legitimate interests.
- Withdrawing consent. Where I rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, email claire@sendguidance.co.uk. I will respond within one month. There is no charge, although I may need to confirm your identity first.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how I have handled your information, please contact me first so that I can put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this policy
I may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a new date at the top.
Return to home