Privacy Policy

Last updated: 1 October 2026

1. Who We Are

Jen Elkeles is an accredited Alexander Technique teacher (MSTAT) based in West Hampstead, North West London, offering individual Alexander Technique sessions to help people address pain, posture, and movement. Jen operates at www.alexander-nw6.com.

Jen Elkeles is the data controller for the personal data collected through this website, meaning she decides how and why your data is used. This is in line with her obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA).

If you have any questions about this policy or how your data is handled, please get in touch:

Email: jenelkeles@gmail.com
Phone: 07961 344862

2. What Personal Data We Collect

Email and phone enquiries

When you get in touch by email or phone to enquire about sessions, your name, contact details, and any information you choose to share about your health, symptoms, or reasons for seeking sessions are collected. This information is used to respond to your enquiry and arrange sessions.

Health information

Because the Alexander Technique is used to address physical conditions including pain, posture problems, and health-related issues, you may choose to share information about your health, medical history, or physical symptoms when making an enquiry or booking a session. This is treated as special category data under UK GDPR and handled with particular care. It is collected only to enable appropriate and safe sessions, and is never shared with third parties without your explicit consent.

Analytics

Squarespace's built-in analytics are used to understand how visitors use this website. This includes information such as which pages you visit, how long you spend on the site, and general details about your device and browser. This data is collected in an aggregated form and does not directly identify you.

Cookies

Cookies are used on this website. Please see Section 5 for full details.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

Personal data collected through this website and by email or phone is used for the following purposes:

  • Responding to enquiries about Alexander Technique sessions

  • Arranging and confirming session bookings

  • Providing Alexander Technique teaching, including keeping relevant notes to support your progress over time

  • Communicating with you about your sessions

  • Keeping records for legal and accounting purposes

  • Analysing how people use this website in order to improve it

4. Our Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR and the DUAA, there must be a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Here's what applies:

  • Contract — Once you book sessions, personal data is processed to fulfil the agreed services, including delivering sessions and managing session communications.

  • Legitimate interests — This basis is used for responding to general enquiries and using website analytics. The interest in doing so has been assessed as not overriding your rights and freedoms.

  • Legal obligation — Certain financial and business records may be retained to comply with UK law, including HMRC requirements.

  • Consent — Consent is relied on for any non-essential cookies. You can withdraw your consent at any time by clearing your browser cookies and declining them on your next visit.

  • Vital interests — In the rare event of a medical emergency during a session, relevant health information may be shared with emergency services to protect your wellbeing.

Where health information is collected (for example, details about pain, physical conditions, or medical history), this is treated as special category data. The legal basis for processing this data is explicit consent — by sharing this information, you are consenting to it being used to support your sessions. You may withdraw this consent at any time by contacting Jen at jenelkeles@gmail.com.

The DUAA introduced a new category of "recognised legitimate interests" which provides a clearer legal basis for certain types of processing. Where any processing falls within these recognised categories, this is documented appropriately.

5. Cookies

We use the following types of cookies on this website:

Under the DUAA, certain low-risk analytics cookies used only to collect statistical data to improve website performance no longer require prior consent, provided users are given clear information and a prominent opt-out. The option to decline analytics cookies is still available via the cookie banner.

You can update your cookie preferences at any time by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting the site.

6. Third Parties We Share Data With

Your personal data is not sold to third parties. The only third party involved in running this website is:

Squarespace — This website is hosted and built on Squarespace. They process data related to your visit and analytics in line with their own privacy policy: squarespace.com/privacy

Your data may also be shared if required to do so by law, or — in an emergency — to protect your health and safety. It will not be shared with any other third parties without your explicit consent.

7. How Long We Keep Your Data

Data is only held for as long as necessary:

  • Enquiries that don't proceed to sessions: Contact details and messages are kept for up to 2 years, in case you get back in touch.

  • Client and session records: Records of sessions, including any health notes, are kept for 7 years after the last session, in line with standard practice for health-related services and UK legal obligations. After this period, records are securely deleted.

  • Squarespace analytics data: Retained in line with Squarespace's default data retention settings.

  • Cookies: Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser. Persistent cookies expire in line with the timescales set by each provider.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR and the DUAA, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

  • Right of access — You can request a copy of the personal data held about you, including any session notes.

  • Right to rectification — You can ask for any inaccurate or incomplete data to be corrected.

  • Right to erasure — You can ask for your personal data to be deleted in certain circumstances. Please note that some records may need to be retained to comply with legal obligations.

  • Right to restriction — You can ask for the use of your data to be limited while a dispute is resolved.

  • Right to data portability — You can ask for your data to be provided in a structured, commonly used format.

  • Right to object — You can object to processing based on legitimate interests.

  • Rights related to automated decision-making — No automated decisions are made about you that would have a legal or significant effect. No profiling is used to make such decisions.

  • Right to withdraw consent — Where processing relies on your consent (including consent to process health information), you can withdraw it at any time by contacting jenelkeles@gmail.com. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing that took place before you withdrew it.

  • Right to complain directly — The DUAA introduced a new right for you to raise a data protection complaint directly with the data controller. Your complaint will be acknowledged and investigated without undue delay, and you will be kept informed of the outcome. To make a complaint, please email jenelkeles@gmail.com with the subject line "Data Protection Complaint". Your complaint will be acknowledged within 30 days.

  • Right to complain to the ICO — If you are not satisfied with how your complaint is handled, or you prefer to go directly to the regulator, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

Website: ico.org.uk
Phone: 0303 123 1113

Any data subject rights request will be responded to within one month of receipt. Identity verification may be required before a request can be actioned, and in some cases the response period may need to be paused while information is gathered. You will always be informed if this is the case.

9. Data Security

The security of your personal data is taken seriously, particularly given the sensitive nature of health information that may be shared. This website is hosted on Squarespace, which provides industry-standard security measures including HTTPS encryption. Any session notes or health information held offline are stored securely with access limited to Jen Elkeles only.

That said, no method of transmitting data over the internet is completely secure. While every effort is made to protect your personal data, its absolute security cannot be guaranteed.

If you suspect a data breach involving your personal information, please contact jenelkeles@gmail.com as soon as possible.

10. International Data Transfers

Squarespace may transfer and process some data outside the UK. Where this happens, appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses.

The DUAA updated the framework for international data transfers, replacing the previous "essentially equivalent" test with a new data protection test. This ensures that where data is transferred internationally, the level of protection is not materially lower than under UK GDPR. The European Commission renewed the UK's adequacy decision in December 2025, confirming that the UK continues to provide an adequate level of data protection for transfers from the EU.

11. Children's Privacy

Alexander Technique sessions are available to people of all ages, including children. Where a session is arranged for a child under the age of 13, parental or guardian consent is obtained before any personal data relating to the child is collected or processed, including any health information. Parents and guardians may request access to, correction of, or deletion of their child's data at any time by contacting jenelkeles@gmail.com.

12. Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in how this website operates or in the law. When it is, the date at the top of this page will be updated. Please check back occasionally, especially if you are an existing client.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please get in touch:

Jen Elkeles
Alexander Technique Teacher (MSTAT)
West Hampstead, London NW6
Email: jenelkeles@gmail.com
Phone: 07961 344862
Website: www.alexander-nw6.com