Privacy Notice
Last updated: 19 September 2026
1. Who we are
Step by Step Counselling Training is the trading name of Step by Step Counselling College LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under company number OC438520.
Our registered and training address is:
Step by Step Counselling Training
First Floor
7 Union Street
Newton Abbot
Devon
TQ12 2JX
United Kingdom
Email: getintouch@stepbystepcounsellingtraining.co.uk
We provide counselling training, professional qualifications and continuing professional development courses.
For the purposes of UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018 and other applicable privacy legislation, Step by Step Counselling College LLP is the Data Controller for the personal information described in this notice.
This means we are responsible for deciding how and why your personal information is used and for protecting it appropriately.
2. Who this Privacy Notice applies to
This Privacy Notice applies to personal information we process about people who interact with Step by Step Counselling Training, including prospective, current and former students, applicants, CPD participants, people making enquiries, website visitors and people who communicate with us.
We may provide additional privacy information where a particular activity requires it. For example, employees, tutors, contractors or other people working with us may receive separate privacy information relevant to that relationship.
3. The personal information we collect
The information we collect depends on how you interact with us and which course or service is involved.
We may process information such as your name, contact details, address, date of birth, emergency contact information, educational and employment history, previous training and qualifications, application information, interview notes, correspondence and information connected with your enrolment.
For students, this may also include attendance information, assessment work and results, feedback, progression information, tutorial records, reasonable-adjustment information, placement and supervision information where relevant, records relating to professional development, safeguarding, complaints, appeals or Fitness to Practise, and information needed to issue or verify qualifications and certificates.
We may also hold billing information, transaction records and payment status. Where card payments are handled through an external payment provider, the provider may process card information directly and we do not necessarily receive or retain full card details ourselves.
When you communicate with us, we may retain emails, messages, telephone notes, form submissions and other correspondence where it is appropriate to do so.
4. Special category information
Counselling training is personal and reflective, and students may sometimes provide information that is particularly sensitive.
We may therefore process special category personal data where it is relevant and necessary. This may include information about:
health, disability, mental health or neurodivergence;
racial or ethnic origin;
religious or philosophical beliefs;
sexual orientation or sex life; or
other sensitive information that you choose to disclose as part of an application, support conversation, safeguarding matter, reflective process or professional concern.
We do not ask students to provide sensitive personal information simply for the sake of disclosure.
Where personal information is required to consider a reasonable adjustment, provide appropriate support, address a safeguarding concern or meet a professional or legal requirement, we will only collect and use information that is reasonably necessary for that purpose.
Special category information receives additional protection under data protection law.
In addition to identifying an ordinary lawful basis under Article 6 of the UK GDPR, we identify an appropriate condition under Article 9 before processing special category information.
Depending on the circumstances, this may include:
explicit consent, where consent is appropriate and genuinely optional;
processing that is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, where a specific condition in the Data Protection Act 2018 applies, such as safeguarding children or individuals at risk, supporting individuals with particular disabilities or medical conditions, or promoting equality of opportunity or treatment;
processing that is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; or
another condition specifically permitted by data protection law where appropriate to the circumstances.
Where the law requires additional safeguards or an Appropriate Policy Document, we will apply those requirements.
5. Criminal offence information
Information relating to criminal convictions, allegations or offences is not classed as special category data, but it has its own additional legal protections.
We may occasionally need to process limited criminal offence information, for example where a disclosure, DBS-related matter, safeguarding issue, Fitness to Practise concern or placement requirement makes this relevant.
We only process this information where it is necessary and where we have both an appropriate lawful basis under Article 6 UK GDPR and lawful authority under the Data Protection Act 2018.
We do not maintain a general register of students' criminal convictions.
6. How we use personal information
We use personal information where necessary to operate Step by Step Counselling Training and provide our training services.
This includes responding to enquiries, processing applications and interviews, deciding whether an applicant meets course entry requirements, confirming and administering enrolment, delivering teaching, supporting students, recording attendance and progression, assessing work, administering placements or supervision requirements where applicable, issuing certificates and verifying qualifications.
We may also use information to manage reasonable adjustments and accessibility, safeguarding, Fitness to Practise processes, complaints and appeals, student conduct, course quality and academic administration.
Personal information may be used to meet the requirements of awarding, accrediting or professional bodies where these apply to a particular course.
We also process information to administer payments and financial records, manage our organisation, maintain the security of our systems, meet legal obligations, establish or defend legal rights and communicate with students and applicants.
Where permitted, we may use information to understand interest in our courses, improve our services and communicate about future training and CPD.
We do not sell personal information.
7. Our lawful bases for using personal information
Data protection law requires us to have a lawful reason for processing personal information.
Contract and steps before entering into a contract
We use this basis where information is needed to deal with a course enquiry or application at your request, assess an application, enrol you, provide training you have purchased, administer payments or otherwise fulfil our agreement with you.
Legal obligation
We use personal information where processing is necessary for us to meet a legal obligation. This can include accounting and tax requirements, equality obligations and other legal or regulatory duties.
Legitimate interests
We may process information where this is necessary for the legitimate operation of our training organisation and those interests are not overridden by your rights.
Our legitimate interests may include responding to enquiries, managing student relationships, maintaining appropriate records, improving our services, protecting our organisation and systems, dealing with complaints or disputes and maintaining the quality and integrity of our training.
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether the processing is necessary and proportionate and the likely effect on the person concerned.
Consent
We rely on consent where this is the most appropriate basis, including certain marketing communications, optional photographs or testimonials, and some uses of sensitive information.
Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
Withdrawing consent does not make any processing carried out before withdrawal unlawful.
Vital interests
In a genuine emergency, we may process or disclose personal information where this is necessary to protect someone's life or physical safety.
8. Information we receive from other people or organisations
Most personal information we use comes directly from you.
However, depending on the circumstances, we may receive information from other sources. These may include referees, previous education or training providers, placement organisations, supervisors, awarding or professional bodies, employers or sponsors paying for training, payment or booking providers, safeguarding organisations or other people or organisations where there is a legitimate and lawful reason for information to be shared with us.
Where appropriate, we will tell you that we have received information from another source.
9. When you are required to provide information
Some information is optional, while other information is needed in order for us to provide a service or meet a course requirement.
For example, we may be unable to process an application without sufficient information to assess it, enrol you without appropriate contact and payment information, provide a reasonable adjustment without understanding the relevant need, or confirm successful completion without the information required by an awarding or professional body.
We will not ask you to provide more personal information than we reasonably need.
10. Sharing personal information
We only share personal information where there is an appropriate reason to do so.
Depending on the circumstances, information may be shared with people within Step by Step who need it for their role, including relevant tutors and administrative staff.
We may also share information with awarding, accrediting or profess