Privacy notice

Last updated 22 October 2026

This notice explains what personal information I collect when you contact me or use my mentoring service, why I collect it, and what your rights are. I've written it in plain English. If anything is unclear, email me and I'll explain.

Who I am

I'm Cherian Mathan, and I provide one to one social and emotional mentoring for young people. I'm the data controller for the information described here, which means I decide how it's used and I'm responsible for looking after it.

You can contact me about anything in this notice at cherianmathan@outlook.com or on +44 7417 554828.

What I collect

When you book a free call. Bookings are made through Calendly. I receive your name, your email address, the time you choose and anything you write in the booking form.

When you message or call me. If you contact me by WhatsApp, email or phone, I receive your name, your number or email address and whatever you tell me.

If you go ahead with mentoring. I collect:

• contact details for the parent or guardian
• your child's name, age, and school or club
• an emergency contact
• information you or your child share about how your child is doing, which may include information about their wellbeing or health
• my notes from sessions
• records of payments

When you visit this website. The site is hosted by Cloudflare, which processes technical information such as your IP address so it can deliver the site and protect it from attacks. This website doesn't use analytics or advertising cookies, and it doesn't track you.

Why I use it, and the legal basis

• To reply to you and arrange a free call. This is in my legitimate interests, and it's a step you've asked for before we agree to work together.
• To deliver mentoring. This is needed for the agreement between me and the parent or guardian.
• Information about wellbeing or health. UK law treats health information as special category data. I only record it with the explicit consent of the parent or guardian, which I ask for in writing before mentoring starts. You can withdraw that consent at any time.
• To keep children safe. If I believe a child is at risk of harm, I may share information with the people who need to know, such as the local authority's children's services or the police. Where the law allows it, I may do this without consent, because protecting a child comes first.
• To keep financial records. I have a legal obligation to keep records for tax purposes.

I will never sell your information, and I won't send you marketing unless you've asked me to.

Confidentiality in sessions

What a young person tells me in a session stays between us. Parents receive general updates on progress, but not the detail of what was said. The one exception is safeguarding: if what I hear suggests a young person or someone else is at risk of harm, I will act on it, and where it's safe to do so I'll tell the young person first.

Children's information

Most of the people I mentor are under 18. I only work with a young person when their parent or guardian has agreed. I explain to young people, in a way that suits their age, what I write down and why.

Who I share it with

I use a small number of service providers who handle information on my behalf:

• Calendly, for bookings
• WhatsApp, for messages
• Microsoft Outlook, for email
• Cloudflare, for hosting this website
• the video platform we use for online sessions

Beyond these, I only share information where the law requires it or where it's needed to keep a child safe, as explained above.

Information stored outside the UK

Some of these providers store or process information outside the UK, for example in the United States. When they do, they rely on safeguards recognised under UK law, such as the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or approved contract terms.

How long I keep it

• Enquiries that don't lead to mentoring: deleted within 12 months.
• Mentoring records and session notes: kept for 2 years after mentoring ends, then deleted.
• Records of a safeguarding concern: kept until the young person's 25th birthday.
• Financial records: kept for as long as HMRC requires, which is at least 5 years after the 31 January tax return deadline for the year they relate to.

Your rights

You have the right to ask for a copy of the information I hold about you, and to ask me to correct it, delete it, or limit how I use it. You can also object to how I use it, ask me to send it to you in a format you can reuse, and withdraw consent you've given. A young person can make these requests for themselves once they're old enough to understand what they're asking.

Email me to make a request. I'll reply within one month.

Complaints

If you're unhappy with how I've handled your information, please tell me first and I'll try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this notice

If I change how I handle personal information, I'll update this page and the date at the top.