This Privacy Policy explains how Playful Pathways ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information when you visit our website, contact us, purchase a course or training programme, subscribe to our mailing list, or otherwise interact with our services.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable UK privacy laws.

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For more details about how we use Cookies on this website, please see our Cookie Policy.

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1. Who We Are

Aideen McCartney - Playful Pathways
Email: aideen@playfulpathways.co.uk
Website: www.playfulpathways.co.uk

For the purposes of data protection law, Aideen McCartney is the data controller of the personal information described in this policy.

 

2. What Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal information:

Information you provide directly:

• Name

• Email address

• Telephone number

• Postal address

• Professional title and qualifications

• Organisation or practice name

• Billing and payment information (processed securely by our payment provider)

• Information submitted through contact forms, questionnaires, feedback forms or email correspondence

• Information provided when enrolling on a course or training programme

 

Information collected automatically:

When you use our website, we may collect:

• IP address

• Browser type and version

• Device type

• Operating system

• Pages visited

• Time spent on pages

• Referring website or search engine

• Cookies and similar tracking technologies

 

Sensitive information

As a therapy-related business, we ask that you do not submit sensitive personal information (such as health information relating to yourself or another person) through website contact forms unless specifically requested and appropriate safeguards are in place.

Where sensitive information is provided in connection with therapy, supervision, or safeguarding matters, it will be handled in accordance with our professional confidentiality obligations and applicable data protection law.

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3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following reasons:

• To respond to your enquiries, because it is in our legitimate interests to do so.

• To provide courses, training and CPD programmes, because this is necessary to perform our contract with you.

• To manage your account and give you access to the learning platform, because this is necessary to perform our contract with you.

• To process payments and refunds, because this is necessary to perform our contract with you and to meet our legal obligations.

• To send you course-related communications, because this is necessary to perform our contract with you.

• To issue CPD certificates, because this is necessary to perform our contract with you.

• To improve our website and services, because it is in our legitimate interests to do so.

• To send you marketing emails, but only if you have opted in to receive them, because we rely on your consent.

• To comply with legal, tax and regulatory obligations, because we are required to do so by law.

 

4. Online Courses and Training Programmes

When you enrol on one of our online courses or training programmes, including the Ready, Set up & Grow your Play Therapy Private Practice course, we may collect information necessary to:

• create your learner account;

• track your course progress;

• provide access to course materials and resources;

• communicate important course updates;

• administer any money-back guarantee or refund request;

• issue CPD certificates or certificates of completion.

 

We may also collect feedback, questionnaire responses and evaluation forms to improve future training provision.

We do not use course participation data for automated decision-making or profiling.

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5. Marketing Communications

If you subscribe to our mailing list, download a free resource, or opt in to receive updates, we may send you emails about:

• new courses and training opportunities;

• webinars and workshops;

• practice-building resources;

• news and updates from Playful Pathways.

 

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or by contacting us at aideen@playfulpathways.co.uk.

We will not send marketing emails unless we have your consent or another lawful basis for doing so.

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6. Payment Processing

Payments are processed securely by third-party payment providers such Stripe. We do not store your full card details on our systems.

Please review the privacy policies of those providers for information about how they process your payment data.

7. Learning Platform Providers

If we use a third-party learning platform, your name, email address, and course enrolment information may be shared with that provider for the purpose of delivering the course.

These providers act as our data processors and are required to process your information in accordance with data protection law and our instructions.

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8. Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• ensure the website functions correctly;

• remember your preferences;

• analyse website traffic and usage;

• improve performance and user experience.

 

Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device.

You can manage or withdraw your cookie preferences through our cookie banner or your browser settings.

 

9. Sharing Your Information

We may share your personal information with:

• payment processors;

• website hosting providers;

• email marketing providers;

• learning platform providers;

• accountants, insurers, or professional advisers;

• legal or regulatory authorities where required by law.

 

We will never sell your personal information to third parties.

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10. International Transfers

Some of our service providers may store or process data outside the United Kingdom. Where this occurs, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

• UK adequacy regulations;

• the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA); or

• other approved contractual safeguards.

 

11. How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

Where professional, legal or regulatory obligations require longer retention, we may keep records for the relevant statutory period.

 

12. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you;

• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;

• request deletion of your information in certain circumstances;

• restrict or object to processing in certain circumstances;

• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;

• request transfer of your data to another provider (data portability);

• complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

 

To make enquiries or exercise any of these rights, please contact Aideen McCartney at aideen@playfulpathways.co.uk.

I will respond within one month unless the request is particularly complex.

 

13. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please contact Aideen McCartney first so that we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Website: https://ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

 

14. Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure. These measures may include:

• secure website hosting;

• SSL encryption;

• password-protected systems;

• restricted access to personal data;

• secure backup procedures.

 

However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

 

15. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

 

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data processing practices. The updated version will be posted on our website with the revised "Last updated" date.

 

17. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact:

Aideen McCartney
Playful Pathways
Email: aideen@playfulpathways.co.uk
Website: www.playfulpathways.co.uk

 

Last Updated: 23.07.2026