Privacy Policy

Steps for Talking is an independent speech and language therapy service provided to children in their home and/or educational setting.  It is delivered by Abigail Bearn, Speech and Language Therapist who is registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Abigail Bearn is committed to protecting the privacy of information provided by clients. 

Collection of Personal Information 

Steps for Talking will collect personal information about you when you contact via website, email or telephone. The lawful basis for processing personal information is based on explicit consent given by clients requesting the service. 

Steps for Talking will only collect and hold personal information that is relevant for purposes of providing speech and language therapy services requested by clients. Where the client is under 18 years old, consent is obtained from the parent/legal guardian and information relating to them will also be collected. 

Information about your child may be collected via spoken or written information from parents/legal guardian. 

Initial and ongoing assessment is integral to provide an effective service to the client. With parental/legal guardian consent, information may also be collected from other professionals working with your child (such as teachers, nursery staff, child minders, NHS Speech and Language Therapists). Information may also be collected about your family members where this relates to your child e.g. contact details for parents and relevant medical or developmental history. 

The list below provides some examples of personal information that may be collected: 

  • The child’s name, age, date of birth, home address, medical history, education details, speech and language history, developmental history and ethnicity.

  • Parent or carer names, phone number, email address, home address, details of any speech, language or learning difficulties.

  • Family structure details (for example, details about who lives at home with the child).

Personal information will be used to:

  • Communicate with parent/legal guardian via post, email, telephone, mobile messages and SMS in relation to: confirming appointments, sending reports and programmes (password protected), sending resources as needed

  • Plan and deliver Speech and Language Therapy services (such as assessment and therapy sessions). 

  • Communicate with professionals and other people known to the child (if parents/legal guardian have given permission – a copy will be kept in the child’s case notes).

  • To create and send invoices. The child’s name will not be provided but their initials may be used if this is necessary. 

  • To complete audits.

  • To communicate with others if this is required by the law (this is the only time personal information will be shared with others without permission from parents).

What is the lawful basis for processing personal information? 

All information will be held and processed in line with the principles of the Data Protection Act. Abigail Bearn is registered as a Data Controller on behalf of Steps for Talking with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). 

How Is personal information stored?

Personal information in paper and electronic formats.

Paper format: Information is stored in a locked filing box. If information is taken out it will be kept with Abigail Bearn or in a locked location (whichever is deemed to be the most secure at the time). 

Electronic format: Documents which contain confidential information such as reports and programmes are password protected and stored on an external encrypted hard drive.  Video recordings may be made during a session and deleted at the end of the therapy session. Steps for 

Talking will create an electronic record for each client once a signed referral consent has been received. The record will be held on an external encrypted hard drive.  All information will be processed in line with the principles of the Data Protection Act. 

How is personal information kept confidential and secure?

  • Use of password protected documents and hard-drives.

  • Use of virus software.

  • Keeping up to date with information from the ICO and other relevant organisations.

  • Locking up information when it is not in use. 

  • By completing audits.

  • Reviewing and updating policies.

Retention of notes

Client records will be help for a period of eight years after the care provided by Steps for 

Talking has ended. In the case of clients under the age of 18 years, records will be held for a period of eight years following the date at which the client gains legal capacity which is usually from the age of 18.  At the end of the eight-year period the client record will be permanently deleted unless otherwise requested by the client/carer. 

Sharing of Personal Information

Steps for Talking will not share your personal data with third parties without consent unless there is a legal duty or requirement to do so. In such exceptional cases, for example, in cases of safeguarding and child protection, the client will be informed by Steps for Talking that their data has been shared, and the data sharing may have to take place without the prior consent of the client/carer. 

Consent to share data with third parties is requested explicitly via the Steps for Talking referral consent form.  Where consent has been given to share personal data with third parties, this will only take place where this is deemed beneficial to the care of the client. 

Consent to share personal data with third parties can be withdrawn at any time by contacting Steps for Talking via email stepsfortalking.com or by telephoning 07791013982

Other websites

Steps for Talking website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to Steps for 

Talking website. Therefore, when you link to other websites, please read their privacy policies. 

What are my rights?

  • You have the right to withdraw permission at any time.

  • You have the right to change your preferred methods of communication (for example you may prefer emails to phone calls). 

  • You have the right to request a copy of the personal information that is held about you and your child. This is called a Subject Access Request and it is free of charge. All requests will be processed and completed within 30 days of receipt.

Can I request personal information to be erased?

Because information is processed on a legally obliged basis, is not possible to request erasure of personal information. However, you can request that incorrect information is changed. For example, you can request to change your previous home address to your new home address.

Who can I contact if I have further questions?

You can contact Abigail Bearn Stepsfortalking@gmail.com Mobile 07791036982

Changes to our privacy policy 

The privacy policy will be kept under review, the privacy policy was last updated 27th February 2024.