Privacy Policy

Lancashire Dyslexia Specialists is committed to protecting personal information and handling data lawfully, fairly and transparently. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information when individuals use our services, including dyslexia assessments, specialist study skills support, Disabled Students’ Allowance funded Non-Medical Help support, screening services, workplace support, school and college services, and general website enquiries.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Lancashire Dyslexia Specialists is the data controller for the personal information we collect and use, unless otherwise stated.

Contact:
info@lancashire-dyslexia-specialists.co.uk
ICO ZA537942

1. Services covered by this policy

This policy applies to personal information collected in relation to:

dyslexia and Specific Learning Difficulty diagnostic assessments;
specialist study skills tuition and mentoring-style educational support;
Disabled Students’ Allowance funded Non-Medical Help support;
school, college and workplace services;
visual stress, ADHD and dyspraxia/DCD screening or extended exploration processes;
Access to Work-related study skills or workplace strategy support;
enquiries made through the website, email, telephone, Microsoft Forms, booking systems or other communication routes;
safeguarding, complaints, invoicing, audit and professional compliance.

DSA-funded NMH support involves human support provided to enable disabled students to access their studies. DSA/NMH providers are expected to work within DfE/SFE requirements, including professional boundaries, confidentiality, audit expectations and appropriate data-sharing arrangements.

2. What personal information we collect

Depending on the service requested, we may collect and use the following information:

name, date of birth, contact details and preferred method of communication;
parent/carer details where the learner is under 18 or where an adult has asked for support from another person;
school, college, university, employer or course information;
disability, health, neurodiversity, mental health, developmental, educational and support history;
assessment results, screening responses, background questionnaires and observations;
evidence supplied by the individual, parent/carer, school, college, university, employer, GP, assessor, needs assessor or other professional;
DSA entitlement letters, Needs Assessment Reports, support authorisations, session records, timesheets and invoicing information;
attendance, engagement, session notes and agreed support plans;
information relevant to reasonable adjustments, access arrangements, Access to Work or other support recommendations;
safeguarding or welfare information where a concern arises;
payment, invoice and accounting records;
correspondence, feedback, complaints and quality assurance information.

Some of this information is special category data under UK GDPR because it may relate to health, disability, neurodivergence or educational support needs. Special category data requires additional protection, and organisations must identify both a lawful basis under Article 6 UK GDPR and a separate Article 9 condition for processing it.

3. Why we use personal information

We use personal information to:

respond to enquiries and provide information about services;
decide whether a service is suitable;
book appointments and manage communication;
complete assessments, screenings, support plans and reports;
provide specialist study skills tuition or NMH support;
tailor support to the learner’s needs;
liaise with schools, colleges, universities, needs assessors, employers, parents/carers or other professionals where appropriate;
comply with DSA/NMH provider requirements, including session records, timesheets, invoicing, audit and quality assurance;
maintain professional standards, supervision, CPD, insurance and complaints records;
meet safeguarding duties and protect children, young people or adults at risk;
comply with legal, regulatory, tax and accounting obligations.

For DSA-funded NMH provision, DfE guidance states that providers may need to share information with SFE, a student’s Needs Assessor, or DfE during audit, and must have appropriate arrangements in place to allow this data sharing.

4. Lawful basis for using information

We rely on one or more lawful bases depending on the purpose.

For general enquiries, bookings, assessments, tuition and support, we usually rely on:

contract — where processing is necessary to provide a requested service;
legitimate interests — for running the service, managing records, quality assurance, responding to enquiries and maintaining professional standards;
legal obligation — where we must keep records for tax, safeguarding, audit or regulatory purposes;
consent — where we ask for permission to contact a third party, share a report, use optional information, or process information for a clearly optional purpose.

For special category data, such as disability, health, mental health, neurodiversity or educational support information, we may rely on:

explicit consent where appropriate;
provision of health, social care or related support services, where applicable;
substantial public interest, where safeguarding, equality, disability support, or protection of vulnerable individuals is relevant;
legal claims or legal obligations, where necessary.

Consent is not always the only lawful basis. Where we rely on consent, individuals can withdraw it, although this will not affect processing already completed before withdrawal.

5. DSA-funded Non-Medical Help support

Where support is funded through Disabled Students’ Allowance, we may process information needed to deliver, evidence and invoice for the agreed support. This may include:

the student’s DSA2 entitlement letter;
Needs Assessment Report information relevant to the support role;
university or needs assessor contact details;
support start dates, session dates and times;
session confirmations, attendance and timesheets;
brief notes showing that support was delivered in line with the agreed role;
invoicing information required by Student Finance England or relevant funding bodies;
information required for DfE/SFE audit or quality assurance.

We will only use DSA-related information for legitimate service delivery, compliance, audit, invoicing and support purposes.

Where contact with a university disability adviser, needs assessor or other third party would be helpful, we will normally seek the student’s permission first. DfE NMH guidance states that where providers contact a student’s HEP disability adviser or team to support integration of provision, the student’s permission should be sought and a record kept.

6. Confidentiality and professional boundaries

We treat all learner and client information as confidential. Information is only accessed by those who need it for service delivery, administration, compliance, safeguarding, supervision, audit or legal purposes.

Confidentiality may need to be broken where:

there is a safeguarding concern;
there is a risk of serious harm to the individual or another person;
we are required to share information by law, court order, professional duty, funding body audit or regulatory process;
information is needed to investigate a complaint or protect legal rights;
a child, young person or adult at risk may be experiencing abuse, neglect or exploitation.

DSA/NMH guidance expects students receiving NMH support to be treated with dignity and respect, with confidentiality maintained and professional boundaries upheld.

7. Safeguarding and vulnerable people

Lancashire Dyslexia Specialists works with children, young people, disabled learners and adults who may be vulnerable due to age, disability, health, mental health, communication needs, educational needs or other circumstances.

Where a safeguarding concern arises, we may record and share relevant information with appropriate safeguarding professionals, such as a school or college Designated Safeguarding Lead, local authority safeguarding team, emergency services, GP, social care, university wellbeing team, employer safeguarding lead, parent/carer, or another appropriate agency.

We will share only what is necessary, proportionate and relevant to the concern. The ICO makes clear that data protection law does not prevent necessary and proportionate information-sharing for safeguarding children and young people at risk of harm.

Where possible, we will be transparent about safeguarding information-sharing. However, we may not seek consent or may share information without consent where doing so is necessary to protect someone from harm, prevent a crime, meet a legal obligation, or where seeking consent could increase risk.

8. Children and young people

When working with children or young people, we may collect information from:

the child or young person;
parents or carers;
schools, colleges or alternative education providers;
local authorities;
previous assessment reports or professional documentation.

We aim to explain privacy information in a clear and accessible way. Where appropriate, we will involve the child or young person in understanding what information is being collected, why it is needed, and who it may be shared with.

For younger learners, parents or carers will usually provide consent for assessment or support. For older young people, particularly those with sufficient understanding, their own views and consent will also be considered.

Lancashire Dyslexia Specialists works with children, young people, disabled learners and adults who may be vulnerable. Confidentiality is respected, but information may need to be shared with appropriate professionals or agencies if there is a safeguarding concern, risk of harm, legal obligation, audit requirement or serious welfare concern.

9. Who we may share information with

We may share relevant information with:

the individual receiving the service;
parents or carers, where appropriate and lawful;
schools, colleges, universities or education providers;
Student Finance England, Student Loans Company, DfE or DSA audit bodies where required for NMH provision;
DSA Needs Assessors or assessment centres;
Access to Work advisers, employers or workplace contacts, with consent where appropriate;
other professionals involved in support, assessment or safeguarding;
local authority safeguarding teams, social care, police or emergency services where there is a welfare or safeguarding concern;
professional supervisors, insurers, legal advisers or regulatory bodies where necessary;
secure IT, booking, cloud storage, email, form, accounting or website providers acting as data processors.

For DSA-funded Non-Medical Help support, information may need to be processed and shared with Student Finance England, the Student Loans Company, the Department for Education, needs assessors, assessment centres or higher education providers where this is necessary for support delivery, invoicing, audit, quality assurance or compliance. Where contact with a university or other third party is not required by the funding process, permission will normally be sought first.

We do not sell personal information.

10. Reports and assessment information

Assessment and screening reports may contain sensitive information about learning, development, disability, health, educational history, family history and support needs.

Reports will usually be shared with the individual or parent/carer who commissioned the service unless another arrangement has been agreed. Reports will only be sent to schools, colleges, universities, employers or third parties with appropriate consent, unless there is a safeguarding, legal or regulatory reason to share information.

Individuals are responsible for deciding who they share their own report with after it has been issued.

11. Website forms, screening tools and Microsoft Forms

If you complete a website enquiry form, screener, Microsoft Form or booking form, the information you provide will be used to respond to your enquiry, consider service suitability, provide feedback or arrange services.

Screeners are not diagnostic assessments. Information submitted through a screener may be used to provide an indication of possible areas of need and suggest next steps. It should not be used as a substitute for a formal diagnostic assessment, medical assessment or specialist professional advice.

Form data is stored securely and access is restricted. Where automated scoring or templated feedback is used, this will support initial guidance only and will not replace professional judgement.

12. Remote sessions and online communication

Some services may be delivered remotely using secure online platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom or similar services.

Remote support will be delivered in a way that aims to protect confidentiality. Individuals are also asked to attend sessions from a private, appropriate space wherever possible.

We do not normally record sessions. If recording is ever proposed, this will only take place with prior agreement and for a specific stated purpose.

13. How long we keep information

We keep information only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, including professional, legal, insurance, tax, safeguarding, audit and complaints purposes. Where a different retention period is required by law, professional body requirements, insurer requirements, funding body audit, safeguarding need or contractual arrangement, that period will apply.

Type of record	Retention period
Complaints records	Usually 6 years after closure
Financial/accounting records	6 years, in line with tax/accounting requirements
Safeguarding records	Retained securely for as long as necessary, depending on the nature of the concern
DSA/NMH support, session, invoicing and audit records	At least 6 years, or longer if required by DSA/SFE/DfE audit or contractual requirements
Child assessment/support records	Usually until the young person reaches age 25, where appropriate
Assessment reports and supporting assessment records	Usually up to 6 years after last contact, or longer where professional guidance requires
Booking and administrative records	Up to 6 years
General enquiries where no service is taken up	Up to 12 months

14. How we protect information

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including:

password-protected devices and accounts;
restricted access to records;
secure cloud storage where appropriate;
secure email and document handling procedures;
antivirus and device security measures;
professional confidentiality procedures;
staff/contractor expectations around data protection, safeguarding, disability awareness and professional boundaries;
careful handling of paper records, if used;
secure disposal or deletion of records when no longer required.

For DSA-funded NMH work, DfE guidance identifies confidentiality, data protection, safeguarding, lone working, health and safety and disability awareness as areas where support workers should have appropriate training or awareness.

15. International transfers

Where we use digital service providers, data may be stored or processed outside the UK. Where this happens, we will take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK GDPR-compliant contractual terms, adequacy arrangements or equivalent protections.

16. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, individuals may have the right to:

access a copy of their personal information;
ask for inaccurate information to be corrected;
ask for information to be deleted in some circumstances;
ask us to restrict processing in some circumstances;
object to processing in some circumstances;
withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis;
complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

These rights are not absolute and may depend on the lawful basis for processing and any legal, safeguarding, audit or professional requirements that apply.

Requests can be made by contacting:
info@lancashire-dyslexia-specialists.co.uk

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk.

17. Data breaches

If a personal data breach occurs, we will assess the risk and take appropriate action. Where required, we will report the breach to the ICO and/or inform affected individuals.

18. Complaints

If you are concerned about how your personal information has been handled, please contact:

info@lancashire-dyslexia-specialists.co.uk

We will investigate concerns and respond within a reasonable timeframe. If you remain dissatisfied, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.

19. Changes to this policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in services, legal requirements, DSA/NMH guidance, safeguarding practice or data protection expectations.

Last updated: 05.06.2026