Privacy Policy

PACE Project UK

Last updated: 07/08/2026

PACE Project UK is a parent-led project creating practical information, resources, directories and insight to help families of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities feel more informed, prepared and supported.

This Privacy Policy explains how PACE Project UK collects, uses, stores and protects information shared through:

• the PACE Project UK website;
• parent questionnaires and surveys;
• optional deeper reflection forms;
• optional contact forms;
• newsletter or update sign-ups;
• provider enquiries or listing forms;
• email or online contact with PACE Project UK.

PACE Project UK does not provide legal, medical, therapeutic or individual SEND case advice.

1. Who we are

PACE Project UK is responsible for deciding how personal information is collected and used.

Project name: PACE Project UK
Website: www.paceprojectuk.org
Contact email: paceprojectuk1@gmail.com

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is used, please contact:

paceprojectuk1@gmail.com

2. What information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you use PACE Project UK.

Parent questionnaires and surveys

The main parent questionnaires are designed not to ask for your name, email address, home address, child’s name, school name, staff names, professional names or local authority officer names.

Questionnaires may ask for broad information such as:

• your role, for example parent, carer, grandparent, foster carer or kinship carer;
• your child or young person’s age range;
• your child or young person’s current stage of education;
• broad county or local authority area;
• type of education setting;
• SEND support status, such as SEN Support or EHCP;
• areas of need or difficulty;
• experiences of secondary school transition, support, reasonable adjustments, attendance, behaviour, EHCPs, meetings, evidence and record keeping;
• what helped, what was missing and what parents wish they had known earlier.

Some answers may include information about SEND, disability, health, mental health, anxiety, attendance, behaviour, education, family life, work impact or emotional wellbeing. This may be sensitive information. You only need to answer what you feel comfortable sharing.

Optional contact forms

If you choose to contact PACE Project UK, sign up for updates, complete a separate contact form, or take part in possible follow-up, we may collect:

• your first name;
• your email address;
• your broad area or county;
• what you are contacting us about;
• whether you would like updates, follow-up or further information.

Contact details are kept separately from anonymous questionnaire responses wherever possible.

Newsletter or update sign-ups

If you sign up to receive updates, we may collect:

• your name or first name;
• your email address;
• your preferences, if you choose to give them;
• basic email engagement information, such as whether an email was opened or a link was clicked, depending on the email provider used.

You can unsubscribe at any time.

Provider enquiries or listings

If an organisation, professional, service or provider contacts PACE Project UK or submits listing information, we may collect:

• contact name;
• organisation or service name;
• email address;
• phone number, if provided;
• website or social media links;
• service location;
• service description;
• accessibility and provision information;
• funding/access details;
• any information submitted for a listing, enquiry or update.

Public listing information may be displayed on the PACE Project UK website if agreed or submitted for that purpose.

Website use

When you visit the PACE Project UK website, limited technical information may be collected automatically, depending on the website setup and tools used. This may include:

• IP address;
• browser type;
• device type;
• pages visited;
• approximate location;
• website analytics information;
• cookies or similar technologies.

A separate cookie notice may be provided where required.

3. What we ask you not to include

For parent questionnaires and survey responses, please do not include:

• your child’s name;
• school names;
• teacher names;
• SENCO names;
• local authority staff names;
• professional names;
• names of other children or families;
• full addresses;
• full postcodes;
• information that could clearly identify another person.

If identifying details are accidentally included in a questionnaire response, PACE Project UK will remove them before using any quotes, examples, summaries or themes publicly.

4. Why we collect information

PACE Project UK collects information to:

• understand common themes in parent experiences of SEND and education;
• create parent-led guides, resources, summaries and reports;
• identify what parents wish they had known earlier;
• understand what helped families and what made things harder;
• create anonymous parent reflections and practical learning points;
• improve PACE Project UK resources and website content;
• respond to enquiries;
• manage newsletter or update sign-ups;
• communicate with parents, carers, providers or organisations who choose to contact us;
• manage provider listings, directory content or service information;
• keep the website safe and functioning properly.

5. How we use questionnaire responses

Questionnaire responses may be used to create:

• anonymous parent guides;
• summary reports;
• website resources;
• blog posts or articles;
• social media posts;
• presentations;
• awareness materials;
• future PACE Project UK parent-led insight work.

PACE Project UK may use anonymous quotes or examples from responses. Before using quotes publicly, names and identifying details will be removed.

PACE Project UK will not use questionnaire responses to publicly name, rate, review or criticise individual schools, councils, staff members, professionals, children or families.

6. Lawful basis for using your information

PACE Project UK will only use personal information where there is a lawful reason to do so.

Depending on how you interact with PACE Project UK, the lawful basis may include:

Consent

We rely on consent where you voluntarily complete a questionnaire, sign up for updates, or choose to share information with us for a specific purpose.

For parent questionnaires, you are asked to confirm that you consent before continuing.

Explicit consent for sensitive information

Some questionnaire answers may include sensitive information about SEND, disability, health, mental health, education, attendance, behaviour, family impact or emotional wellbeing.

Where you choose to share this information, PACE Project UK relies on your explicit consent to use it for the purposes explained in this Privacy Policy.

Legitimate interests

PACE Project UK may rely on legitimate interests for some basic website administration, responding to enquiries, managing provider information, protecting the website, and improving resources, where this does not override your rights and freedoms.

Legal obligation

In rare cases, PACE Project UK may need to keep or share information if required by law.

7. Voluntary participation

Completing a PACE Project UK questionnaire is voluntary.

You can stop completing a questionnaire at any time before submitting it.

You do not have to answer optional questions.

Because the main questionnaire does not ask for your name or email address, once an anonymous response has been submitted, PACE Project UK may not be able to identify which response is yours.

8. Anonymous and anonymised information

PACE Project UK aims to use questionnaire responses anonymously in public guides, reports and resources.

This means public materials will not include names or details intended to identify a child, parent, school, professional, local authority worker or family.

Some responses may still contain details that could identify someone if a parent accidentally includes them. Where this happens, PACE Project UK will remove identifying details before using the information publicly.

Once information has been fully anonymised so that individuals are no longer identifiable, it may be used for parent-led learning, reports, guides, summaries and resources.

9. Who we share information with

PACE Project UK will not sell your personal information.

PACE Project UK may share anonymous findings, themes, statistics or quotes through:

• PACE Project UK website pages;
• guides and downloadable resources;
• reports and summaries;
• social media posts;
• presentations;
• community or partner discussions;
• awareness materials.

PACE Project UK will not knowingly publish information that identifies a child, parent, school, staff member, local authority worker, professional or family.

Personal information may be processed using third-party services, such as:

• website hosting providers;
• Google Forms, Google Sheets or Google Drive;
• email or newsletter providers, such as MailerLite;
• contact form plugins or website tools;
• website analytics tools;
• security or backup services.

These providers may process information in line with their own privacy and security arrangements.

10. International transfers

Some third-party tools used by PACE Project UK may store or process information outside the UK.

Where this happens, PACE Project UK will aim to use reputable providers that have appropriate safeguards in place for data protection.

11. How long we keep information

PACE Project UK will only keep personal information for as long as needed for the purpose it was collected.

As a guide:

• questionnaire responses may be kept for up to 3 years after the questionnaire closes, unless fully anonymised and still needed for parent-led resources, summaries or reports;
• optional contact details will be kept until you unsubscribe, ask for them to be deleted, or they are no longer needed;
• newsletter details will be kept until you unsubscribe or ask to be removed;
• provider listing information may be kept while the listing is live or while communication about the listing is ongoing;
• enquiry emails may be kept for a reasonable period so we can respond and keep a record of communication.

You can ask for your contact details to be removed at any time by emailing:

paceprojectuk1@gmail.com

12. How we protect information

PACE Project UK takes reasonable steps to protect information, including:

• asking questionnaire respondents not to include names or identifying details;
• keeping optional contact details separate from main questionnaire responses where possible;
• removing identifying details before using quotes or examples publicly;
• limiting access to questionnaire responses and contact details;
• using password-protected systems;
• using reputable third-party tools;
• reviewing responses before publication;
• deleting information when it is no longer needed.

No online system is completely risk-free, but PACE Project UK aims to handle information carefully and responsibly.

13. Children’s information

PACE Project UK’s questionnaires are for parents, carers and family members to complete.

The questionnaires ask parents and carers not to include children’s names or identifying details.

Where parents share broad information about a child or young person’s SEND, education or support needs, this will be used only for the purposes explained in this Privacy Policy and will be anonymised before public use.

14. Contact forms and email

If you contact PACE Project UK by email or through a contact form, we will use the information you provide to respond to your enquiry.

Please do not send confidential documents, legal papers, medical records or detailed case files unless PACE Project UK has specifically asked for them and explained how they will be handled.

PACE Project UK does not provide individual legal, medical or SEND case advice by email.

15. Newsletter and updates

If you sign up for newsletters or updates, PACE Project UK will use your email address to send you information about PACE Project UK resources, questionnaires, guides, updates or related parent-led work.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link in emails or by contacting:

paceprojectuk1@gmail.com

16. Provider listings and directory information

PACE Project UK may include information about services, providers, organisations or opportunities for SEND families.

If you submit information for a provider listing or directory entry, PACE Project UK may use that information to:

• assess whether the listing is suitable for the directory;
• create or update a listing;
• contact you about the listing;
• check or clarify information;
• improve directory content.

Information submitted for public listings may be displayed publicly on the PACE Project UK website.

PACE Project UK does not guarantee, endorse or formally verify every provider listed unless clearly stated.

17. Your data protection rights

Depending on the information held and the lawful basis used, you may have rights under data protection law, including the right to:

• be informed about how your information is used;
• ask for access to personal information held about you;
• ask for inaccurate information to be corrected;
• ask for personal information to be deleted;
• ask for processing to be restricted;
• object to certain uses of your information;
• withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis;
• ask for your data to be transferred in certain circumstances.

If your questionnaire response is anonymous and does not contain your name or contact details, PACE Project UK may not be able to identify your individual response after submission.

To exercise your rights, email:

paceprojectuk1@gmail.com

18. Withdrawing consent

Where PACE Project UK relies on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time for future use of your personal information.

This will not affect anything already done before consent was withdrawn.

For anonymous questionnaire responses, it may not be possible to remove your individual response after submission if PACE Project UK cannot identify which response is yours.

19. Complaints

Please contact PACE Project UK first if you have concerns about how your information is being used:

paceprojectuk1@gmail.com

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection.

ICO website: ico.org.uk

20. Changes to this Privacy Policy

PACE Project UK may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

The latest version will be available on the PACE Project UK website.

Privacy Policy page: Privacy Policy for the questionnaire for – What parents wish they knew sooner – Secondary School – paceprojectuk.org