Privacy Notice for Children

August 2026

Quick summary:

I use information about you to understand what is making school difficult and what support may help. This is not a confidential therapy service. I will usually need to share relevant information with your parent/carer and school staff so they can understand how to support you. I will try to be fair and respectful about what I share. If I am worried that you or someone else may be at risk of harm, I may need to share information even if you do not want me to.

How I use information about you

I work with young people, parents/carers and schools to understand what might be making school difficult and what could help.

To do this, I need to collect and use information about you. This notice explains what information I collect, why I use it, who I may share it with, and what rights you have.

Who am I?

I am Nicky Odgers, educational psychologist.

You can contact me at:

Email: nicky@odgerspsychology.com

I am responsible for looking after the information I collect about you.

What information do I collect?

I may collect information such as:

your name and age;
your contact details, if needed;
details of your parent/carer;
details about your school;
information about your attendance, learning, behaviour, friendships, worries or school experiences;
information about what you find difficult at school;
information about what helps you;
information from your parent/carer;
information from teachers or school staff;
information from other professionals who support you such as speech and language therapists;
information from meetings, forms, emails or reports;
information about your health, wellbeing, additional needs or special educational needs, if this is relevant;
information needed to help keep you or someone else safe.

Some of this information may be sensitive, for example information about your health, wellbeing, disabilities, additional needs or personal experiences. I take extra care with this type of information.

Why do I need this information?

I use your information to:

understand what is making school hard for you;
think about what support might help;
speak with your parent/carer and school about your needs;
help create suggestions, plans or recommendations;
write notes, summaries or reports where needed;
attend meetings about support for you;
help keep you or other people safe;
keep records of the work I do;
deal with any questions, concerns, complaints or legal issues if they arise.

I will only use information that is relevant to the work I am doing.

Is this confidential?

This is not a confidential therapy or counselling service.

Because my role is to help understand what is happening and what support may help, I will usually need to share information with your parent/carer and relevant people at school.

This means that if you tell me something that is important for understanding what is making school difficult, or what might help you, I may need to share it.

Where I can, I will try to talk with you about what information may be shared and why. I will try to share information in a fair and respectful way.

However, I cannot promise to keep everything you tell me private.

Who might I share information with?

Depending on the situation, I may share relevant information with:

your parent or carer;
teachers;
your form tutor, head of year, SENCO, pastoral staff or other relevant school staff;
other professionals involved in supporting you;
safeguarding staff;
local authority staff, if relevant;
emergency services, if needed;
my insurer or legal support team if there is a complaint, concern or legal issue;
trusted service providers who help me run my business, such as secure email, document storage, booking or record-keeping systems.

If your parents have asked me to write a report on you, then they are the owners of the report and can decide who to share it with. If your school has asked me to write a report on you, I will send a copy to both the school and your parents.

I will not share everything with everyone. I will share information where there is a proper reason and where it is relevant to the support being considered.

When might information be shared even if you do not want it to be?

Sometimes I may need to share information even if you would prefer me not to. This could happen if:

I am worried that you may be at risk of harm;
I am worried that someone else may be at risk of harm;
there is a safeguarding concern;
the law says I must share information;
the information is important for your parent/carer or school to understand what support you may need;
I need to respond to a serious concern, complaint or legal issue.

If this happens, I will usually try to explain what I am sharing and why, unless doing so would put you or someone else at risk.

What legal reasons allow me to use your information?

Data protection law says I must have a proper legal reason for using your personal information.

I may use your information because:

it is needed so I can provide advice and support;
it is needed to work with your parent/carer and school;
it helps identify what support may be needed;
it is needed to keep proper records;
it is needed to help keep you or someone else safe;
it is needed because of a legal, safeguarding, complaint or insurance reason.

Some information may be more sensitive, such as information about your health, wellbeing, disability or additional needs. I only use this type of information where there is a proper reason and where it is relevant to the support being provided.

How do I keep your information safe?

I take steps to keep your information safe, such as:

storing records securely;
using passwords and secure systems;
limiting access to information;
only sharing information where there is a proper reason;
keeping paper records locked away, if I use paper records;
deleting or destroying information securely when I no longer need it.

How long do I keep your information?

I do not keep your information forever.

If I write a report about you, I will keep electronic records until your 25th birthday, or until you are 26 if you were 17 when the work ended. This is because my professional body currently advises that this is how long reports about children and young people should be kept for.

When I am working with you, I may take paper notes to help me prepare my advice or report. Once the report is finished, I securely shred those paper notes. Information in paper format, such as paper assessment form and reports or paperwork provided by other professionals are stored for one year, at which point I will shred them.

I keep electronic reports securely and only for as long as I need to. After the retention period has ended, I will securely delete the report, unless there is a good reason why I need to keep it for longer, for example because of a safeguarding concern, complaint, legal issue or other professional requirement.

What rights do you have?

You have rights over your personal information.

Depending on the situation, you may be able to:

ask what information I hold about you;
ask for a copy of your information;
ask me to correct information if it is wrong;
ask me to delete information in some situations;
ask me to stop using your information in some situations;
object to how I use your information in some situations.

Sometimes I may not be able to do exactly what you ask. For example, I may need to keep or share information for safeguarding, legal, complaint or support-planning reasons. If that happens, I will explain why.

Can your parent or carer see information about you?

Your parent or carer will usually be involved in the work I do, and I will usually need to share relevant information with them.

However, this does not always mean they will automatically receive every single note or piece of information I hold.

If someone asks for information about you, I will think carefully about:

your age and understanding;
what is in your best interests;
what the information is about;
whether it includes information about other people;
safeguarding;
the law.

What if you are worried about how I use your information?

If you are worried about how I use your information, you can contact me and I will try to help.