Privacy policy
Last updated: 1 August 2026
1. Who we are
This website is operated by GUIDED STEPS LTD (“Guided Steps”, “we”, “us”, “our”). We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy, which means we decide how and why it is used.
Controller
GUIDED STEPS LTD
Registered company number
16357987
Registered office
15a Marsh Mill, Thornton-Cleveleys, England, FY5 4JZ
ICO registration number
[ICO REGISTRATION NUMBER]
Contact
We process personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
2. What this policy covers
This policy explains how we handle personal information in connection with this website — when you browse it, and when you contact us using the details published on it.
It does not cover the information we hold about young people we accommodate and support. That information is handled under a separate privacy notice, which is provided directly to young people, to their placing local authority and to the professionals working with them, and is available on request from referrals@guidedsteps.co.uk.
Employees and job applicants receive separate privacy information as part of those processes.
3. When you browse this website
This website has no contact form, referral form, account area, comment facility or payment facility. If you simply read the site and do not contact us, we do not collect any information that identifies you personally.
Our website is hosted by Framer. As with almost all websites, the hosting platform automatically records limited technical information each time a page is requested. This may include your IP address, browser type and version, device type, approximate location, the pages you viewed, and the date and time of your visit.
We use this to keep the site secure and available and to understand in general terms how it is used. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR) in operating a secure and effective website.
4. Cookies
Cookies are small files placed on your device when you visit a website. We use two kinds.
Strictly necessary cookies. These are essential for the website to function and to keep it secure. They cannot be switched off and do not require your consent.
Analytics cookies. We use analytics to measure how the website is used — for example, which pages are visited and how people find us — so that we can improve it. This helps us make sure the information commissioners, social workers and young people need is easy to find.
We ask for your consent before setting analytics cookies. When you first visit the site you will see a cookie banner, and no analytics cookies are set unless you accept. You can decline, and you can change your mind at any time. Declining does not affect your ability to use any part of the site.
Our lawful basis for analytics cookies is your consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR), as required by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.
We do not use advertising or tracking cookies, and we do not sell or share information about your browsing with advertisers or data brokers.
You can also block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Some parts of the site may not work correctly if you block strictly necessary cookies.
5. When you contact us
If you email us, call us, or make a referral using the contact details on this website, we will hold the information you give us. Depending on why you are contacting us, this may include:
your name, job title, organisation and contact details
the content of your message or a note of your call
any information you choose to send us about a young person you are referring
We use this information to respond to you, to consider referrals, and to keep an accurate record of enquiries and the decisions we make about them.
Our lawful bases are:
legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) — responding to enquiries and running our service
taking steps to enter into a contract (Article 6(1)(b)) — where you are discussing a placement with us
legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) — where we are required to record and retain information as a provider registered with Ofsted
Referrals
Referrals are made by email to referrals@guidedsteps.co.uk.
Standard email is not a secure channel. Please send only the minimum information needed at first contact — initials, age and a summary of need are normally enough for us to say whether we have suitable capacity — and use a secure route for detailed records. Section 4.4 of our Terms and Conditions explains this in full.
Where we accept a referral and a placement goes ahead, the information becomes part of that young person’s records and is then handled under our separate privacy notice, not this one.
Where we decline a referral, we keep only a limited record of the enquiry and our decision, and securely delete the rest.
Special category information
Referrals often contain sensitive information, including health information. Where that happens we rely on the conditions in Article 9 UK GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 relating to the provision of social care and the safeguarding of children and of individuals at risk. We do not rely on your consent for information we are required to hold in order to keep a young person safe.
6. Who we share information with
We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for marketing purposes.
In connection with this website and the enquiries we receive, information may be handled by:
Framer, who host this website
Microsoft, whose Microsoft 365 service we use for email and file storage
These providers act as our processors under written contracts and may only use information on our instructions.
our professional advisers, including legal advisers and insurers, where necessary
regulators and law enforcement, including Ofsted, the police and local authority children’s services, where there is a safeguarding concern or a legal duty
7. Where information is held
We aim to hold information in the UK or the European Economic Area. Some of our suppliers — including our website host and email provider — may store or process information outside the UK.
Where that happens, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or the International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum approved by the UK government.
8. How we keep information secure
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including access controls, encrypted devices, secure storage and disposal, and staff training in data protection and confidentiality.
If a personal data breach is likely to result in a risk to people’s rights and freedoms, we report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours and tell those affected where required.
9. How long we keep information
Information
Retained for
Website server logs and analytics
12 months
General enquiries and correspondence
2 years
Referrals we decline
12 months
Referrals we accept
Handled under our separate privacy notice. Records relating to a young person we accommodate must be kept for 75 years from their date of birth under regulation 24 of the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023
10. Your rights
You have the right to be informed about how we use your information, and to ask us to:
give you access to the information we hold about you
correct anything that is wrong or incomplete
delete information, in some circumstances
restrict or object to how we use it, in some circumstances
provide it in a portable format, in some circumstances
Where we rely on consent — for example, analytics cookies — you can withdraw it at any time.
These rights are not absolute. Where we are required by law to keep information, or where deleting it would prevent us meeting our safeguarding or regulatory duties, we may not be able to act on a request. We will always explain why.
To exercise any of these rights, contact referrals@guidedsteps.co.uk or 07572 948658. We will respond within one month, and there is normally no charge.
We do not use automated decision-making or profiling. Decisions about referrals and placements are always made by people.
11. Links to other websites
This website may link to other sites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, and this policy does not apply to them. Please read the privacy policy of any site you visit.
12. Changes to this policy
We keep this policy under review and will update it when our practices or the law change. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.
13. How to complain
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first at referrals@guidedsteps.co.uk so we can put it right. You can also use our complaints procedure.
You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at any time:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113
ico.org.uk
14. Contact us
GUIDED STEPS LTD
15a Marsh Mill, Thornton-Cleveleys, England, FY5 4JZ
07572 948658 · referrals@guidedsteps.co.uk