Privacy Policy
Dr Daniel Cumber (‘the educational psychologist’) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Policy explains how the educational psychologist uses your personal data: how it is collected, how it is held, and how it is processed. It also explains your rights under the law relating to your personal data. Personal data is defined by the GDPR as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier’. This includes contact information that is used to communicate with individuals and organisations, as well as client confidential data collected or generated by the educational psychologist. Further information about data protection law can be found by contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk/
Why is personal information collected by the educational psychologist?
Personal information is collected to deliver an educational psychology service that has been commissioned by a parent, school or other education setting. The specific work carried out will vary according to the child/young person’s individual needs and the concerns being explored.
The educational psychologist has a legitimate interest in collecting personal information about a child/young person and where appropriate parents/carers. This information is gathered for the purpose of forming a professional opinion or psychological formulation. In so doing, the educational psychologist only collects information that is relevant to the purpose of undertaking that work and the associated reporting and advising.
What Personal Identifiable Information is collected?
Personal information is only obtained with written consent from parents/carers/legal guardians.
The educational psychologist will collect Personal Identifiable Information, Sensitive and/or Special Category data which, where relevant, may include health data including the name of the child/young person, date of birth, gender, contact address and telephone number. Educational psychology assessments often involve the processing of special category data, including information about health and wellbeing, educational achievements, cognitive functioning, sociality, personality, interests, and family history.
Personal information about a child/young person may be obtained from a third party including their school/education setting and other professionals/agencies (e.g. health services). This might include school reports and assessment data.
How is the information that has been collected then used and processed?
The information collected is used to form a professional opinion or psychological formulation of the child/young person’s strengths and needs, and advice on appropriate support. This is recorded in an educational psychologist report or other summary of involvement.
Reports, records and/or letters are predominantly shared with the child/young person’s parent/carer and the school/education setting through password-protected and TLS-encrypted email (e.g. Gmail). The report or summary may also be shared with other professionals/agencies who are involved with the child/young person with the parent/carer’s consent.
How and where is personal information stored and kept safe?
Referral information and consent forms are stored securely in an electronic folder on a password-protected laptop. Paper copies are then destroyed.
Paper records (e.g. handwritten notes) are stored in a locked filing cabinet and are destroyed when no longer needed (e.g. when psychological formulation and reports/records have been completed).
Reports/summaries are stored on an encrypted password-protected laptop.
Electronic information is backed up and stored securely on an external hard drive and USB memory stick.
If transported, the laptop will remain either in a locked environment or in the personal possession of the educational psychologist.
For how long will personal information be stored?
All personal and sensitive data will be stored securely until the child/young person turns 25 years of age. In their 25th year, the electronic folder and any remaining paper records will be deleted/destroyed.
Personal data on clients is retained for 7 years, following guidelines from the British Psychological Society, Practice Guidelines, Third Edition, August 2017.
This data is retained for the purposes of information if the client/data subject were re-referred to our service.
Your rights to access personal information
You have the right to access information and/or records that the educational psychologist holds about you. You can make a ‘subject access request’ (SAR) by contacting the Data Protection Officer (Dr Daniel Cumber) in writing.
Client access to records will be restricted to information about themselves, or a child where they are the parent/legal guardian. Restrictions will apply when disclosure would violate the child/young person’s vital interests.
There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover administrative costs in responding.
The educational psychologist will respond to your subject access request within one month of receipt. Normally, the educational psychologist will provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal information within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date received.
Under Article 17 of the GDPR individuals have the right to have personal information erased. This is known as the ‘right to be forgotten’. The right is not absolute and only applies in certain circumstances. In each situation, the educational psychologist will have to decide what information should be deleted. This will be based on the protection of the child/young person’s vital interests.
Data Breach Procedure
Any data breaches will be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the data subject(s) within 72 hours of the educational psychologist becoming aware of the breach.
Contact Details
To contact the educational psychologist about anything to do with your personal information and data protection, including making a subject access request, please use the following details (for the attention of Dr Daniel Cumber, Educational Psychologist / Data Controller):
Email address:
Changes to this Policy
This Data Protection Policy is regularly reviewed. It may be necessary to update or amend this Policy from time to time, for example if the law changes or if the educational psychology service delivery changes in a way that affects personal data protection.
Last updated: September 2023