Privacy Policy Statement for The Speech Network

Last updated: September 2026

When you use The Speech Network, you trust us with your personal information. We take your privacy seriously and want you to understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it and how we keep it safe.

We have tried to keep this policy as clear and straightforward as possible. If you have any questions about how we use your information, please contact us at:

Email: thespeechnetwork@hotmail.com

1. Who we are

The Speech Network provides speech and language therapy services.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, The Speech Network is responsible for the personal information it processes in connection with the services it provides.

Where an associate clinician is responsible for providing services to a client, that clinician is responsible for creating, maintaining, securely storing and retaining the clinical records relating to that client, in accordance with their professional, legal, confidentiality and data-protection responsibilities and the terms of their contract with The Speech Network.

All clinicians working with The Speech Network are expected to follow relevant professional standards and requirements relating to confidentiality, record keeping and data protection.

2. What information we collect

The information we collect depends on whether you are making an enquiry, booking an appointment or receiving therapy.

We may collect the following types of information:

2.1 Contact and administrative information

This may include:

  • name;

  • telephone number;

  • email address;

  • address, where required;

  • date of birth;

  • information about a parent, carer or other person acting on behalf of a client;

  • appointment and booking information; and

  • information needed to communicate with you about our services.

2.2 Clinical information

When you receive speech and language therapy, we may need to collect information relevant to your assessment and treatment.

This may include:

  • information about speech, language, communication and/or swallowing difficulties where relevant;

  • relevant medical or developmental history;

  • information provided by parents, carers or other professionals;

  • assessment results;

  • clinical observations;

  • therapy plans;

  • clinical notes;

  • reports and correspondence;

  • information about progress and outcomes; and

  • other information that is necessary to provide safe and appropriate clinical care.

Health information is treated as special category personal data under UK data protection law and is given additional protection.

We only collect information that is relevant and necessary for the purposes for which it is being used.

2.3 Financial information

We may process information relating to payments, invoices and financial transactions, including:

  • the name of the person responsible for payment;

  • client name;

  • invoices;

  • receipts;

  • payment information; and

  • records of payments made or outstanding.

Payments are processed using Stripe.

3. Information collected through our website

Our website is operated usingSquarespace.

If you contact us through our website enquiry form, we ask for basic contact information such as:

  • your name;

  • email address; and

  • telephone number.

Please do not submit medical information, clinical information or other sensitive health information through the website enquiry form.

The website enquiry form is intended for initial contact only.

Information submitted through the form is received by the Clinical Coordinator through our email services.

Following an initial consultation, relevant information may be passed to the clinician who will provide the therapy. The relevant information from the consultation may then be entered into our clinical booking and management system, Acuity, as a handover for the treating clinician.

Squarespace may also retain information submitted through its form and associated contact functionality.

4. Booking and client information

We use Acuity as our online booking and client management system.

Acuity may contain information such as:

  • client name and contact details;

  • appointment information;

  • information required to arrange and manage appointments; and

  • relevant information provided as part of the clinical handover.

Access to information within Acuity is restricted according to the person's role.

The treating clinician can access information relating to clients they treat. The Clinical Coordinator may have access to the client information necessary to coordinate and manage the service.

5. How we receive information

Most information is provided directly by the client or by a parent, carer or person acting on behalf of the client.

We may also receive relevant information from third parties where this is necessary and appropriate for the provision of therapy. This may include:

  • GPs and other healthcare professionals;

  • other allied health professionals;

  • schools or educational settings;

  • parents or carers; and

  • other professionals involved in the client's care.

Where information is obtained from another source, we will handle it in accordance with applicable data protection and confidentiality requirements.

6. Why we use your information

We use personal information where it is necessary to:

  • respond to enquiries;

  • arrange and manage appointments;

  • provide assessment and speech and language therapy;

  • maintain appropriate clinical records;

  • communicate with clients, parents, carers and relevant professionals;

  • coordinate care between the Clinical Coordinator and treating clinician;

  • provide information to professionals involved in a client's care where appropriate;

  • manage payments, invoices and accounts;

  • maintain the safe and effective operation of the service;

  • meet professional, legal and regulatory requirements;

  • deal with complaints or concerns;

  • protect the safety and wellbeing of clients and others; and

  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims where necessary.

We aim to collect and use only information that is relevant and necessary for these purposes.

7. Our lawful basis for using personal information

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, the lawful basis may include:

  • providing services requested by you and taking steps necessary to arrange those services;

  • complying with legal or professional obligations;

  • our legitimate interests in running and managing the service, where those interests are appropriate and do not override your rights; and

  • consent, where consent is the appropriate basis for a particular activity.

Where we process health information or other special category data, additional legal requirements apply. We will only process this information where we have both an appropriate lawful basis and an applicable condition for processing special category data under UK data protection law.

8. Confidentiality

We understand that the information shared during speech and language therapy can be personal and sensitive.

We treat information about clients as confidential and take appropriate steps to protect it.

Information will normally only be shared with people who need it for the provision and coordination of care, or where there is another appropriate legal or professional reason to share it.

Where information is shared, we aim to share only the information that is necessary for the particular purpose.

This may include sharing relevant information with:

  • the treating clinician;

  • other clinicians involved in the client's care;

  • GPs or other healthcare professionals;

  • schools or educational professionals where appropriate;

  • parents or carers where appropriate; and

  • other relevant professionals involved in supporting the client.

We may also disclose information where we are required or permitted to do so by law, for example where necessary to protect someone from serious harm or to comply with a legal requirement.

9. Associates and clinical records

The Speech Network works with associate clinicians.

Where an associate clinician is responsible for a client, the associate is responsible for:

  • creating appropriate clinical records;

  • keeping those records accurate and up to date;

  • securely storing the records;

  • maintaining confidentiality;

  • retaining the records for the appropriate period; and

  • securely disposing of or transferring records when appropriate.

Information may be shared with associates where this is necessary for the provision and coordination of the client's care.

Information may also be shared with clinicians for appropriate professional supervision or training. Where practicable, information used for supervision or training will be anonymised or pseudonymised and limited to what is necessary.

10. Zoom consultations

The Speech Network may provide consultations and therapy remotely using Zoom.

Each clinician uses their own Zoom account and meeting room for consultations.

We use appropriate security settings for online consultations, including measures such as:

  • waiting rooms;

  • preventing participants from joining before the host where appropriate;

  • restricting screen sharing where appropriate; and

  • keeping recording switched off unless there is a specific reason for recording and the appropriate arrangements are in place.

Clinicians are expected to conduct consultations in a private environment and take reasonable steps to prevent other people from overhearing or accessing confidential information.

Recording and transcription

Client consultations are not routinely recorded.

Audio or video recording, transcription or other capture of a consultation must not be undertaken unless it has been specifically authorised and the appropriate arrangements are in place.

Short audio recordings of a client's voice may be made where clinically appropriate and with the appropriate consent. These recordings may form part of the client's clinical records and will be securely stored.

11. Artificial intelligence and Zoom

We recognise that online meeting platforms may offer artificial intelligence (AI) features, including meeting summaries, transcription and AI-generated notes.

The Speech Network does not use AI features during client Zoom consultations unless specifically authorised.

This includes AI features that may:

  • transcribe a consultation;

  • create an AI-generated meeting summary;

  • generate clinical notes;

  • analyse a consultation;

  • create meeting questions or other AI-generated content; or

  • otherwise process the content of a client consultation using AI.

This approach is intended to protect client confidentiality and minimise unnecessary processing of sensitive clinical information.

Clinical consultations may contain health information and other confidential information. AI features can result in additional processing, storage, access or transmission of information and may involve third-party technology providers.

12. Information shared with service providers

We use a small number of external technology and service providers to help us operate the service.

These may include providers used for:

  • website hosting and website enquiry forms;

  • email services;

  • appointment booking and client management;

  • payment processing; and

  • online video consultations.

Examples include Squarespace, Acuity, Stripe and Zoom.

These providers process information on our behalf or provide services that require information to be processed as part of the service.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that information is handled securely and that appropriate contractual and data-protection arrangements are in place where required.

Some service providers may process information outside the UK. Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will use an appropriate transfer mechanism and safeguards where required by UK data protection law.

13. Data retention

We do not keep personal information for longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it is being processed, unless we are required or permitted to retain it for longer.

Clinical records

Clinical records are retained for an appropriate period in accordance with applicable legal, professional and regulatory requirements.

Our current retention period for clinical records is at least 8 years following the end of treatment, subject to any circumstances requiring a longer retention period.

Records relating to children and young people may need to be retained for longer in accordance with applicable professional or legal requirements.

Financial records

Financial information will be retained for the period necessary to meet applicable accounting, tax and legal requirements.

Other information

Other information, including enquiries and administrative information, will be retained only for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, taking account of legal, professional, safeguarding and business requirements.

Where there is an ongoing complaint, investigation, legal claim or other reason why information needs to be preserved, it may be retained for longer than the usual period.

When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, destroyed or otherwise disposed of.

14. How we protect your information

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

  • unauthorised access;

  • accidental loss;

  • inappropriate disclosure;

  • alteration; and

  • destruction.

Depending on the circumstances, these measures may include:

  • restricting access to information according to role;

  • password protection and secure account management;

  • device security and automatic screen locking;

  • secure electronic storage;

  • secure handling of physical records;

  • keeping software and devices appropriately updated;

  • confidential disposal of physical records; and

  • training and guidance for people working with The Speech Network.

15. Physical and electronic records

Information may be held electronically and, where necessary, in physical form.

Electronic information may be held within our email services, secure devices and cloud-based systems used to operate the service, including Acuity.

Where physical records are held, they will be stored securely with access restricted appropriately.

We aim to ensure that information is accurate, relevant and up to date.

16. Information security incidents

If we become aware of a loss, accidental disclosure, unauthorised access or other suspected personal data breach, we will assess the incident and take appropriate action.

This may include:

  • containing the incident;

  • assessing the information involved and potential risk;

  • taking steps to prevent further disclosure;

  • documenting the incident;

  • notifying relevant individuals where required; and

  • notifying the Information Commissioner's Office where legally required.

Clinicians and associates are expected to report suspected data breaches promptly.

17. Your data protection rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have rights in relation to your personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:

  • ask for access to the personal information we hold about you;

  • ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;

  • ask us to delete information in certain circumstances;

  • ask us to restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances;

  • object to certain processing;

  • ask for your information to be provided in a portable format where the right applies; and

  • withdraw consent where we are relying on consent as the lawful basis for a particular activity.

These rights are not absolute and may not apply in every situation.

For example, we may need to retain certain clinical or financial information to comply with legal, professional or regulatory requirements.

18. How to exercise your rights

If you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, or would like to ask what information we hold about you, please contact us:

Email:thespeechnetwork@hotmail.com

Please provide enough information for us to identify you and understand what you are requesting.

We may need to verify your identity before providing personal information.

We will respond to requests within the timeframe required by applicable data protection law.

19. Complaints

If you have a concern about the way we have handled your personal information, please contact us first:

Email:thespeechnetwork@hotmail.com

We will consider your concern and respond appropriately.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with the way your personal information has been handled.

Information about making a complaint is available from the ICO.

20. Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, technology, legal requirements or the way we process personal information.

The latest version will be made available through our website.

Last updated: September 2026