Privacy Policy

Beacon Social Care Ltd (“we”, “us”) is a social work practice providing independent social work assessments, family support, immigration-focused reports, consultancy for children’s residential homes, and training. We are registered in England (company number 16110952) and based in Hitchin, United Kingdom.

For the purposes of data protection law, we are the data controller of the personal information described in this policy.

We only collect personal information that we need, and only for clear purposes:

• Enquiries. If you contact us through the enquiry form or by email or telephone, we receive your name, email address, telephone number, the service you are asking about and the content of your message.
• Job applications. If you send us a CV or apply for a role, we receive the information you choose to share, including your contact details, employment history and qualifications.
• Assessment and consultancy work. Where we are instructed by a local authority, solicitor, court or other commissioning body, the information we handle may include details about children, families and carers. This can include special category information (for example, information about health, ethnicity or family circumstances) where it is relevant to the assessment or service.
• Website use. This website does not use advertising or tracking cookies. Only essential technical information (such as server logs) is processed to keep the site secure and available.

We use personal information to respond to enquiries, provide the services you or a commissioning body have asked for, prepare high-quality assessments and reports, manage our business, and process job applications. We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for marketing without your consent.

Our lawful bases for processing depend on the situation. For most business and enquiry activity we rely on legitimate interests or a contract with you or the instructing party. Where we handle special category information as part of an assessment, we rely on the lawful bases and conditions that apply in that context — for example where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, or with the consent of the person concerned. Where we are required to process information to comply with a legal obligation, we do so under that obligation.

We share personal information only where it is necessary and appropriate. This may include the instructing party (for example, a local authority, solicitor or court) in connection with an assessment or report, professional advisers, and regulators or public authorities where the law requires or permits it. We do not otherwise share personal information with third parties for their own purposes.

We store information in the United Kingdom or in countries that provide an adequacy decision under UK data protection law. Where information is transferred elsewhere, we put appropriate safeguards in place.

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected for. Enquiries are retained while we respond to them and for a reasonable period afterwards. Assessment records, reports and case files are retained in line with our professional obligations and the periods expected for social work and court-related records. Job application details are kept only while a recruitment process is open, unless you ask us to keep them for future opportunities.

Under the UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you (access);
• Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• Ask us to delete information in certain circumstances (erasure);
• Ask us to restrict or object to certain processing;
• Ask us to transfer information you provided to another organisation (portability);
• Withdraw consent where we rely on consent, at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We aim to respond within one month, as required by the UK GDPR.

We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep personal information secure, including restricting access to those who need it for their work, securing our devices and accounts, and handling case materials confidentially in line with our professional standards as registered social workers.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk or by telephoning 0303 123 1113.

Questions, requests or complaints about this policy can be sent to admin@beaconsocialcare.com or by telephone on 07921 848244. We are based in Hitchin, United Kingdom.

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be published on this page.