Privacy Policy

Little Lighthouse Counselling

Last updated: 11 September 2026

Little Lighthouse Counselling respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit our website, contact us, enquire about our services, make a referral or use our counselling services.

We take particular care when handling information relating to children and young people. We aim to process personal information fairly, transparently and securely in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and other applicable data protection legislation.

1. Who we are

For the purposes of UK data protection law, the data controller responsible for your personal information is:

Little Lighthouse Counselling

Website: www.littlelighthousecounselling.co.uk
Email: letstalk@littlelighthousecounselling.co.uk
Telephone: 01922 663644 / 07867 011630

If you have any questions about how we use your personal information, please contact us using the details above.

Where appropriate, Little Lighthouse Counselling may work with other organisations, such as schools, professionals or service providers. Where another organisation determines how and why personal information is processed, that organisation may have its own responsibilities as a separate data controller.

2. What information we collect

Depending on how you interact with Little Lighthouse Counselling, we may collect some or all of the following information:

Contact information

Name
Address
Email address
Telephone/mobile number
Preferred method of contact

Information about parents, carers and families

Parent/carer details
Relationship to the child or young person
Relevant family or household information
Emergency contact information
Information necessary to arrange and manage appointments

Information about children and young people

Where counselling or therapeutic services are requested, we may collect information such as:

Name and date of birth
Age
School or educational setting
Relevant developmental information
Presenting difficulties or concerns
Emotional and psychological wellbeing information
Relevant health information
Information about behaviour and relationships
Information relating to family circumstances
Information about safeguarding concerns
Information provided by parents, carers, schools or other professionals
Information arising during assessment or counselling sessions
Progress and outcome information
Records relating to appointments and attendance

Some of this information may constitute special category personal data, particularly information concerning health or mental health. Special category data receives additional protection under UK data protection law.

Website and technical information

When you visit our website, we may collect limited technical information, such as:

IP address
Browser type
Device type
Operating system
Pages visited
Date and time of visits
Referring website
Information collected through cookies or similar technologies

The information collected will depend on the website technology, analytics tools and cookies currently in use.

3. How we collect your information

We may collect personal information:

Directly from you
From a parent or legal guardian
From a child or young person
Through our website contact or enquiry forms
Through referral forms
By telephone
By email
During consultations or assessments
During counselling sessions
From schools or educational settings
From other professionals involved in supporting the child or young person
From organisations making referrals
Through questionnaires or outcome measures
Through information you provide voluntarily

Where information is provided by someone other than the individual it relates to, we will handle it in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

4. Why we use your personal information

We use personal information only where there is a lawful reason to do so.

Depending on the circumstances, we may use personal information to:

Respond to enquiries
Arrange consultations and appointments
Assess whether our services are appropriate
Provide counselling and therapeutic services
Develop and review therapeutic plans
Communicate with parents, carers and professionals where appropriate
Maintain counselling and client records
Monitor therapeutic progress and outcomes
Manage safeguarding responsibilities
Communicate with schools and other professionals where appropriate and authorised
Process payments and manage accounts
Provide information about our services
Manage our waiting lists
Respond to complaints or concerns
Meet professional, legal and regulatory obligations
Maintain appropriate insurance and business records
Protect the safety and wellbeing of children, young people, clients, staff and others
Improve the quality and effectiveness of our services
Maintain the security and functionality of our website and systems

We will not use your personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the purposes explained in this Privacy Policy unless we are legally permitted or required to do so.

5. Our lawful bases for processing information

The UK GDPR requires organisations to have a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, Little Lighthouse Counselling may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Consent

We may rely on consent where you have freely given permission for us to process your personal information for a specific purpose.

Where consent is relied upon, you may normally withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.

Contract

We may process information where this is necessary to provide services that you have requested or to take steps at your request before entering into an agreement.

Legitimate interests

We may process information where this is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

Examples may include managing our business, responding to enquiries, maintaining appropriate records and protecting the security of our systems.

Legal obligation

We may process personal information where this is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation.

Vital interests

In limited circumstances, information may be processed where this is necessary to protect someone's vital interests.

Substantial public interest

Where applicable, we may process certain information where permitted under data protection law because it is necessary for a substantial public interest, including circumstances relating to safeguarding.

The exact lawful basis used will depend on the particular processing activity.

6. Special category information

Counselling and therapeutic work may involve information concerning a person's physical or mental health. Health information is classified as special category data under the UK GDPR and requires additional protection.

Where we process special category information, we will identify both:

an appropriate Article 6 lawful basis; and
an appropriate Article 9 condition for processing.

We will only collect and use special category information where it is necessary and appropriate for the relevant purpose.

We will take additional steps to protect this information, including appropriate technical and organisational security measures.

7. Children's information

Little Lighthouse Counselling provides services primarily for children and young people, and we recognise that children's personal information requires particular care.

We will:

Collect only information that is necessary and relevant
Explain, where appropriate, how information is used in an age-appropriate way
Consider the child's age, maturity and understanding
Take account of the child's best interests
Apply appropriate security measures
Avoid using children's information for unnecessary purposes
Respect children's data protection rights
Involve parents or carers where appropriate and lawful
Consider confidentiality carefully when providing counselling to children and young people

The ICO recommends that privacy information provided to children should be clear, accessible and appropriate to their age and understanding.

Where appropriate, Little Lighthouse Counselling may therefore provide additional or simplified privacy information directly to children and young people.

8. Confidentiality

Counselling relies on trust and confidentiality.

Information shared during counselling will normally be treated as confidential and will not routinely be shared with parents, carers, schools or other professionals without an appropriate reason or lawful basis.

However, confidentiality is not absolute.

There may be circumstances where information needs to be shared without consent, particularly where:

We believe a child or young person is at risk of significant harm
There is a serious concern about someone's safety
There is a safeguarding concern
We are legally required to disclose information
Disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm
Information is required by a court or other lawful authority

Where possible and appropriate, we will discuss significant disclosures with the child, young person and/or parent or carer before sharing information.

However, we may decide not to do so where doing this could increase risk or would otherwise be inappropriate.

Our confidentiality arrangements are explained further within our counselling and client information documentation.

9. Sharing information

We will not sell or rent your personal information.

We may share personal information where this is necessary, lawful and proportionate.

Depending on the circumstances, information may be shared with:

Parents or carers
Schools or educational settings
Other healthcare or therapeutic professionals
Safeguarding professionals
Social care services
Emergency services
Regulatory or professional bodies
Legal or statutory authorities
Professional advisers
Insurers
IT, email, booking, payment, record-management or other service providers who process information on our behalf

Where another organisation processes information on our behalf, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that suitable data protection arrangements are in place.

We will only share information that is necessary and appropriate for the relevant purpose.

10. Information obtained from schools and other professionals

Little Lighthouse Counselling may receive information about a child or young person from schools, SENCOs, pastoral staff, GPs, other professionals or organisations making a referral.

This information may be used to:

Understand the reason for referral
Assess the child's needs
Determine whether our service is appropriate
Plan therapeutic support
Safeguard the child or others
Monitor progress
Coordinate appropriate support

Where information is received from another organisation, we will process it in accordance with applicable data protection law.

11. Marketing communications

We may use contact information to send information about Little Lighthouse Counselling's services where this is lawful.

Marketing may include information about:

Counselling services
Children's therapeutic programmes
School services
Workshops
Professional services
Practice updates

We will not send direct marketing communications where doing so would breach applicable data protection or electronic communications legislation.

You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time by contacting:

letstalk@littlelighthousecounselling.co.uk

We will respect your request.

12. Website forms and enquiries

If you contact us through our website, we may collect information such as your name, email address, telephone number and details of your enquiry.

Please avoid providing detailed confidential or sensitive information through a general website contact form unless specifically requested.

Where you need to provide sensitive information relating to a child or young person, we may direct you to a more appropriate and secure method of communication.

Information submitted through website forms will be used to respond to your enquiry and, where appropriate, to arrange our services.

13. Cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device that can be used to make websites function correctly, remember preferences or understand how visitors use a website.

We may use:

Strictly necessary cookies
Functional cookies
Analytics cookies
Other cookies where applicable

Where cookies are not strictly necessary, we will seek consent where required by law.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings and, where applicable, our website cookie settings.

The ICO advises that website visitors should be informed about cookies and that consent is generally required for non-essential cookies.

14. Third-party websites

Our website may contain links to external websites, including professional organisations, resources, social media platforms or other services.

Once you leave the Little Lighthouse Counselling website, we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those external websites.

We recommend reading the privacy policy of any external website before providing personal information.

15. How we protect your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

Unauthorised access
Unauthorised disclosure
Accidental loss
Destruction
Damage
Unauthorised alteration

Depending on the nature of the information, safeguards may include:

Password protection
Access controls
Secure electronic systems
Encryption where appropriate
Secure email or document transfer
Restricted access to client records
Staff confidentiality requirements
Secure physical storage
Appropriate disposal and deletion procedures
Regular review of data protection and security arrangements

Because counselling information can be highly sensitive, we recognise the importance of applying appropriate additional safeguards to special category information.

16. How long we keep information

We will retain personal information only for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including where necessary to meet legal, regulatory, professional, insurance or accounting requirements.

Different categories of information may therefore be retained for different periods.

Our retention arrangements may cover:

Enquiry records
Referral information
Client records
Counselling notes
Assessment information
Consent records
Financial records
Professional correspondence
Safeguarding records
Website and marketing information

When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised where appropriate.

Important: Little Lighthouse Counselling should maintain a separate Data Retention and Disposal Schedule setting out the specific retention period for each category of record.

17. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights under UK data protection law, including the right to:

Be informed about how your information is used
Access the personal information we hold about you
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
Request deletion of personal information in certain circumstances
Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
Object to certain processing
Request data portability where applicable
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
Raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office

These rights are subject to certain legal exceptions and restrictions.

If you would like to exercise a data protection right, please contact:

letstalk@littlelighthousecounselling.co.uk

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.

18. Access to children's information

Requests for access to a child's personal information can be complex.

Depending on the child's age, maturity and understanding, the child may have the right to make their own request.

A parent or carer may sometimes make a request on behalf of a child, but this does not automatically mean that they are entitled to access all of the child's information.

In counselling settings, particular care may be required because records can contain confidential therapeutic information.

We will consider each request individually and in accordance with applicable data protection law, safeguarding considerations and the child's rights and best interests.

19. Data breaches

If we become aware of a personal data breach, we will assess the incident and take appropriate action in accordance with UK data protection law.

Where required, we will notify the Information Commissioner's Office and/or affected individuals within the applicable legal timescales.

20. International transfers

Some of the technology or service providers we use may process personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place as required by applicable data protection legislation.

These safeguards may include an adequacy decision or appropriate contractual and organisational protections.

The specific international transfers applicable to Little Lighthouse Counselling will depend on the third-party services we use.

21. Automated decision-making and profiling

Little Lighthouse Counselling does not currently use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on individuals.

We do not use children's counselling information for automated profiling.

If this changes, we will update this Privacy Policy and ensure that any processing complies with applicable data protection law.

22. Complaints

We hope that you will contact us first if you have concerns about how we have handled your personal information so that we have an opportunity to resolve the issue.

You can contact us at:

Little Lighthouse Counselling
Email: letstalk@littlelighthousecounselling.co.uk
Telephone: 01922 663644 / 07867 011630

You also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

The ICO can be contacted through its website or telephone service.

We recommend contacting the ICO if you believe that your personal information has been handled in a way that breaches data protection law and you are not satisfied with our response.

23. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

Changes to our services
Changes to how we process information
Changes to technology
Changes to legislation
Changes to regulatory guidance

The latest version will be published on our website with the date of the most recent update.

24. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how Little Lighthouse Counselling handles personal information, please contact:

Little Lighthouse Counselling

Email: letstalk@littlelighthousecounselling.co.uk
Telephone: 01922 663644 / 07867 011630
Website: www.littlelighthousecounselling.co.uk