Steady Standards
Privacy notice
Last updated: 6 October 2026
Who we are
Steady Standards provides governance, quality and AI readiness support for adult social care providers in England. The controller responsible for personal information described here is Natasha Ackerley, sole trader, trading as Steady Standards.
Contact: natasha.ackerley@gmail.com
What information we collect
- Enquiries: your name, business name, email, service type and message, plus our correspondence.
- Customers: business contact details, booking and billing information, assessment responses, reports and meeting or follow-up notes.
- Website visitors: technical information such as IP address, browser, device and activity collected through website services and any enabled analytics.
Information about enquiries and assessments is supplied directly by you or your business representative. Website technical information is collected automatically when you visit.
Please do not send client names, health information or confidential case details through our enquiry form or initial assessment. Any later review of personal information in evidence will have its scope, responsibilities and handling arrangements agreed separately.
Why we use information
- Replying to enquiries and communicating with business representatives: our legitimate interests in responding to requests and operating our service.
- Arranging and delivering a service to an individual customer: taking steps at their request before a contract and performing that contract. For representatives of business customers, our legitimate interests in managing that business relationship.
- Keeping records required by applicable tax or accounting law: legal obligation.
- Security and necessary service administration: our legitimate interests in protecting and managing our business.
- Optional cookie-based analytics: consent, to understand website use and improve the site. You can decline optional cookies. Essential website administration relies on our legitimate interests in providing a functioning, secure website.
Providing enquiry details is voluntary, but we need sufficient contact information to reply. Details necessary for booking and delivery are needed to provide the service.
Who receives information
Our website is hosted by Squarespace. Information may be handled by providers supporting our website, forms, email, assessment, meetings, records and payments, as required for those purposes.
Squarespace hosts our website, stores enquiries and provides visitor analytics. Microsoft Forms collects assessment responses. Gmail handles email correspondence. OpenAI ChatGPT Plus assists with assessment analysis and drafting reports.
Where necessary, information may also be shared with professional advisers or authorities for applicable legal obligations or claims.
AI and automated processing
We use OpenAI ChatGPT Plus to assist with assessment analysis and report preparation. Uploaded assessment information includes respondent names, business contact details and responses. Natasha checks every report before delivery. Assessment working files, including uploaded files and related chats, are scheduled for deletion 12 months after the service ends, unless ongoing support or a dispute requires longer retention. Provider backup and deletion periods may differ; see the provider terms.
We have switched off ChatGPT’s “Improve the model for everyone” setting. New conversations submitted through this account are therefore not used to train OpenAI’s models. This does not prevent processing needed to provide the service, security review or retention under OpenAI’s policies. We do not submit assessment conversations as feedback to OpenAI. Contact us before completing an assessment if you want to discuss how your information will be processed. Assessment scores and AI-generated drafts support the review; Natasha checks the report and its recommendations before it is sent to the customer.
Further information: OpenAI Europe privacy policy.
International processing
Some providers may process information outside the UK. OpenAI states that its consumer services process personal information outside the UK, including in the United States, and describes applicable adequacy arrangements and contractual safeguards in its Europe privacy policy. Squarespace describes transfers to the United States under the applicable Data Privacy Framework and, where required, standard contractual clauses with the UK Addendum. Microsoft and Google describe international processing and safeguards in their privacy statements. The mechanism depends on the provider and service. Contact us for more information about the safeguards relevant to your information.
Provider information: Squarespace data processing terms; Microsoft privacy statement; Google privacy policy.
How long we keep information
- Enquiries that do not lead to a booking: 12 months after the last contact.
- Customer assessments, reports and correspondence: 12 months after the service ends, unless ongoing support or a dispute requires longer retention.
- Invoices and accounting records: At least five years after the 31 January Self Assessment submission deadline for the relevant tax year; longer where required for an enquiry or other legal obligation.
- Technical logs, analytics and cookie information: Kept for the operational, security or statistical purpose for which they were collected, according to the provider’s retention settings and cookie lifetimes. Cookie lifetimes are described in the Squarespace cookie information linked below.
Where records are needed for ongoing support, a dispute or a legal obligation, we retain only what is necessary until that purpose ends. Deletion from active systems does not necessarily remove provider backups immediately; providers apply their own deletion and backup schedules.
Cookies and external content
Our website uses Squarespace. The homepage also loads a photograph from Unsplash's image service; loading external content can disclose your IP address and request information to that provider.
Squarespace visitor analytics is enabled to help us understand visits and improve the website. A cookie banner is enabled. Optional analytics cookies are blocked until you consent. Use the cookie banner to choose whether to accept optional cookies. You can also remove cookies through your browser settings, although this may reset preferences or affect functionality. For descriptions and lifetimes, see Squarespace’s visitor cookie information.
Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you can request access, correction, deletion, restriction or transfer of your personal information, and object to certain uses. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it without affecting earlier lawful processing. These rights have conditions and exceptions.
Contact us using the details above to make a request. We may need information to confirm your identity.
Questions and complaints
Please contact us with privacy concerns. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or call 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this notice
We will update this notice when our practices change and show the revision date above.