Solution Focused Training Academy (SFTA)
Website: sfta.co.uk
Last updated: August 2026
Solution Focused Training Academy (SFTA) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly and securely.
This privacy notice explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and store it, who we may share it with and your rights under UK data protection legislation.
This notice has been updated to reflect changes introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, including provisions which came into force during 2026.
Who we are
Solution Focused Training Academy (SFTA) provides professional training in hypnotherapy, solution focused practice, coaching and related professional development.
For the purposes of UK data protection legislation, SFTA is responsible for the personal information it processes as a data controller.
Website: sfta.co.uk
If you have any questions about how we use your personal information, please contact us through the contact details provided on our website.
What information we collect
The information we collect depends upon your relationship with SFTA.
It may include:
- your name and contact details;
- email address and telephone number;
- course enquiries and correspondence;
- course registrations and enrolment information;
- payment and transaction information;
- student identification and course records;
- attendance records;
- assessment submissions and feedback;
- qualification and certification records;
- information relating to supervision, tutorials or student support;
- communications between you and SFTA;
- feedback, evaluations and testimonials;
- information submitted through our website;
- technical information such as IP address, browser information and website usage data;
- information necessary to meet accreditation, professional, safeguarding or legal requirements.
We aim to collect only information that is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it is being processed.
Why we use your information
We may process personal information in order to:
- respond to enquiries;
- provide information about our courses;
- register and enrol students;
- provide training and educational services;
- administer online and in-person courses;
- provide access to our learning platforms;
- manage assessments and student progress;
- provide feedback and student support;
- arrange tutorials, workshops, supervision and training sessions;
- issue certificates and maintain qualification records;
- administer payments and financial records;
- communicate important information about courses;
- maintain appropriate educational and administrative records;
- meet accreditation and professional requirements;
- improve our courses and services;
- maintain the security of our website and learning systems;
- meet legal, regulatory and safeguarding obligations;
- establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
- send marketing information where permitted.
Our lawful basis for processing your information
UK data protection legislation requires us to have an appropriate lawful basis for processing personal information.
Depending upon the circumstances, SFTA may rely upon:
Contract – where processing is necessary to provide a course, training service or other service you have requested.
Legal obligation – where we are required to process or retain information to comply with the law.
Legitimate interests – where processing is reasonably necessary for the operation, administration, security and development of SFTA and our services, provided those interests do not override your rights and interests.
Consent – where we specifically ask you to consent to a particular use of your information.
Where we process special category information, we will ensure that an appropriate additional condition for processing applies.
Student and assessment information
Students undertaking SFTA courses may provide personal information through applications, assignments, assessments, case studies, reflective work, tutorials and other course activities.
Students should take particular care when submitting case studies or other work involving clients.
Client information should be anonymised in accordance with SFTA course requirements and students should avoid including unnecessary information that could identify a client or other individual.
Assessment records and qualification information may be retained where necessary for educational, accreditation, verification, professional or legal purposes.
Learning platforms and online training
SFTA uses online systems to deliver and administer training.
These may include learning management systems such as Moodle, video-conferencing services and other online educational platforms.
When using these systems, information such as your name, email address, course activity, assessment submissions, attendance and progress may be processed.
We take reasonable steps to ensure that third-party services used by SFTA provide appropriate safeguards for personal information.
Zoom and online teaching
SFTA may use video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom to provide teaching, tutorials, workshops, supervision and meetings.
Participants should respect the privacy and confidentiality of other participants.
Sessions will not normally be recorded without an appropriate reason and without participants being informed.
Where a session is recorded, participants will be told about the recording and its intended purpose.
Payments
Where you purchase a course or service, payment information may be processed by an external payment provider.
SFTA does not normally need to retain complete debit or credit card details.
We retain appropriate transaction and accounting information where required for financial administration and legal obligations.
Email and other communications
If you contact SFTA by email, telephone, website form or another communication method, we may retain the communication where reasonably necessary to respond to your enquiry, administer your course or maintain an appropriate record of our correspondence.
Please avoid sending unnecessary sensitive personal information by email.
Marketing
We may send information about SFTA courses, events, professional development opportunities or other relevant services where we have an appropriate lawful basis to do so.
Where marketing communications are based on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time.
Marketing emails will provide an appropriate method of unsubscribing.
Withdrawing from marketing will not affect essential communications relating to a course or service you have purchased.
Sharing your information
We do not sell personal information.
We may share information where reasonably necessary with organisations that help us provide our services.
These may include:
- website and hosting providers;
- learning management systems;
- email and communication providers;
- video-conferencing providers;
- payment processors;
- accounting and professional advisers;
- IT and technical support providers;
- accreditation, professional or awarding organisations where appropriate;
- regulators, authorities or other organisations where disclosure is legally required.
Where another organisation processes personal information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate data protection arrangements are in place.
Accreditation and qualification information
Where appropriate to the course or qualification being undertaken, certain information may need to be shared with an accrediting, professional or awarding organisation.
Students will be informed where this is relevant to their course.
Only information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose will be shared.
International data transfers
Some of the technology and online services used by SFTA may process or store information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take reasonable steps to ensure that an appropriate level of protection or recognised safeguard is in place in accordance with UK data protection legislation.
Artificial intelligence and automated systems
SFTA may use digital and artificial intelligence tools to assist with appropriate administrative, educational, research or content-development activities.
We recognise that AI systems can create additional data protection considerations.
We do not routinely enter identifiable sensitive student, client or clinical information into general-purpose AI systems.
Where AI or automated technology is used to process personal information, SFTA will consider the purpose, necessity, security and data protection implications of that processing.
Students should not upload identifiable client information, confidential clinical material or other people’s personal information into AI systems unless specifically authorised and there is an appropriate lawful and professional basis for doing so.
How long we retain your information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet appropriate educational, professional, accreditation, financial, insurance and legal requirements.
Different categories of information may therefore have different retention periods.
For example, certain financial records must be retained to meet accounting and tax requirements, while qualification and certification records may need to be retained for longer so that qualifications can subsequently be verified.
Information that is no longer required will be securely deleted, anonymised or destroyed where appropriate.
Our retention arrangements are reviewed periodically.
Security
SFTA takes reasonable and proportionate measures to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction.
These measures may include:
- password protection;
- access controls;
- secure learning platforms;
- appropriate software and security updates;
- secure backups;
- limiting access to information to those who reasonably require it;
- appropriate procedures for dealing with data protection incidents.
Data breaches
A personal data breach may include loss, unauthorised disclosure, accidental sharing or inappropriate access to personal information.
Where a breach occurs, SFTA will assess the circumstances and potential risk to individuals.
Where required by law, we will notify the Information Commissioner’s Office and/or affected individuals within the applicable timescales.
We will maintain appropriate records of data protection incidents and the actions taken.
Your data protection rights
Depending upon the circumstances, you may have rights relating to your personal information, including:
- the right to be informed about how your information is used;
- the right to access personal information we hold about you;
- the right to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
- the right to request erasure in certain circumstances;
- the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
- the right to object to certain processing;
- the right to data portability where applicable;
- rights relating to certain forms of automated decision-making.
These rights do not apply in exactly the same way in every circumstance and some are subject to legal exemptions.
To exercise a data protection right, please contact SFTA.
Subject Access Requests
You have the right to request access to personal information SFTA holds about you.
In accordance with current UK data protection legislation, we will undertake a reasonable and proportionate search for information covered by your request.
Where reasonably necessary, we may ask you to clarify the information you are requesting.
We may also need to verify your identity before releasing personal information.
Requests will be handled within the timescales required by law.
Data protection complaints – updated June 2026
UK data protection legislation now includes specific requirements for organisations when dealing with data protection complaints.
If you are unhappy with the way SFTA has collected, used, stored, shared or otherwise handled your personal information, please contact us.
Please provide sufficient information for us to understand your concern and investigate what has happened.
SFTA will:
- provide an appropriate way for you to make a complaint;
- acknowledge receipt of a data protection complaint within 30 days;
- take appropriate steps to investigate the complaint;
- keep you informed about the progress of the complaint where appropriate;
- provide an outcome without undue delay.
You also have the right to raise concerns about the handling of your personal information with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Comments
When visitors leave comments on our website, we may collect the information shown in the comments form together with the visitor’s IP address and browser information to assist with spam detection and website security.
Where services such as Gravatar are enabled, an anonymised string created from your email address may be provided to that service to determine whether you use it.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images containing embedded location information such as EXIF GPS data.
Depending upon how an image is published, other visitors may be able to download the image and extract embedded information.
Cookies
Our website may use cookies necessary for its operation and may also use other cookies for functionality, preferences, security or analytics.
For example, cookies may be used to:
- maintain login sessions;
- remember user preferences;
- support website security;
- provide website functionality;
- understand how visitors use our website.
Some cookies may be set by third-party services used within the website.
Where consent is required for cookies or similar technologies, we will provide an appropriate mechanism for you to make your choices.
UK rules concerning cookies and similar technologies have been amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. Certain limited uses may no longer require consent, but SFTA will continue to provide appropriate information about the technologies used on our website.
Embedded content from other websites
Pages on the SFTA website may include embedded content such as videos, images or other resources.
Embedded content from another website may behave in the same way as if you had visited that website directly.
Those organisations may collect information about you, use cookies or other technologies and monitor your interaction with their content.
Their processing of your information will be governed by their own privacy policies.
Website security and spam detection
Information such as IP addresses and browser information may be processed where reasonably necessary to protect our website, detect spam, prevent misuse and maintain security.
Automated spam-detection services may process information submitted through the website.
Changes to this privacy notice
We may update this privacy notice periodically to reflect changes in legislation, technology or the way SFTA operates.
The current version will be published on our website.
Last updated: August 2026