Clearway Family Mediation – Privacy Policy
1. About this policy
Effective date: 1st April 2026
Clearway Family Mediation handles your personal information carefully, lawfully and openly. This policy explains what information I collect, why I need it, how I keep it safe, who I may share it with, and the rights you have over it.
It covers all family mediation services I provide, including Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs), joint mediation sessions, and the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme.
Data controller: Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, I, Catherine Cooke, trading as Clearway Family Mediation, am the data controller for your information.
ICO registration number: 00013579241
About my practice: I am a family mediator working towards accreditation with the Family Mediation Council (FMC). My mediation practice is supervised by a Professional Practice Consultant (PPC), as the FMC requires.
Contact details
Catherine Cooke, Clearway Family Mediation Address: WA3 4BW
Email: cath@clearwayfamilymediation.co.uk
Telephone: 07999683352
Website: www.clearwayfamilymediation.co.uk
2. What information I collect
I only collect what I need to provide mediation safely and properly. Depending on your situation, this may include the following.
Contact and personal details
● Your name, date of birth, address, email and phone number
● Information about your relationship and family circumstances
● Details of any children, such as names, ages and living arrangements
● Appointment records, notes and correspondence with you
Identity and eligibility
● Proof of identity and address, where needed
● National Insurance number, where needed for voucher or funding applications
Financial information (mainly for financial mediation)
● Income, benefits, payslips, bank statements and tax information
● Details of property, pensions, savings, debts and other assets
● Other documents needed to support financial discussions
Sensitive (special category) information
● Health or disability information relevant to how mediation is arranged
● Ethnicity, where collected for equality monitoring
● Anything else sensitive that you choose to share during mediation
Safeguarding information
● Information about domestic abuse, child welfare or safety concerns, which I screen for at the MIAM and throughout mediation
Case records
● MIAM records and assessment forms
● Session notes and summaries
● Open Financial Statements and Memorandums of Understanding
● Records of any proposals or agreements reached
● Family Mediation Voucher Scheme records
3. Where your information comes from
● Directly from you, by phone, email, my website forms or in meetings
● From the other person in the mediation, where relevant
● From your solicitor or other legal adviser
● From organisations that refer you to me, such as a court, solicitor or support service
● From documents you provide to support your mediation or any funding application
4. How I use your information
● To arrange and run MIAMs and mediation sessions
● To assess whether mediation is safe and suitable for you
● To manage bookings, invoices and payments
● To prepare mediation documents, such as Open Financial Statements and Memorandums of Understanding
● To complete court forms, such as confirming a MIAM took place or signing a MIAM exemption
● To process Family Mediation Voucher Scheme applications
● To keep accurate case records
● To stay in touch with you about your mediation
● To protect the safety and welfare of you, any children and others
● For professional supervision and my FMC accreditation (see section 7)
● To meet my legal, professional, insurance and regulatory obligations
● To respond to questions or complaints
5. My lawful reasons for using your information
Data protection law says I must have a lawful basis for using your information. I rely on one or more of these:
● Contract: I need the information to provide the mediation service you have asked for.
● Legal obligation: I need it to meet legal, regulatory or professional duties, including safeguarding, court requirements and FMC standards.
● Legitimate interests: I need it to run my practice properly, including supervision, accreditation and record-keeping, and this does not override your rights.
● Consent: Where the law requires it, I will ask for your consent, and you can withdraw it at any time.
6. Sensitive information
Some information, such as health, ethnicity or details of domestic abuse, needs extra protection under UK GDPR. I only use it when I have both a lawful basis and an additional legal condition that allows it. These include:
● Safeguarding children and adults at risk
● Deciding whether mediation is safe and making any adjustments you need
● Establishing, exercising or defending legal claims
● Meeting legal and regulatory duties
● Equality monitoring, where required
● Your explicit consent, where appropriate
7. Who I may share your information with
I only share your information when it is necessary and lawful. I never sell it.
● My Professional Practice Consultant (PPC): I discuss cases in supervision, as the FMC requires. Wherever possible, I remove names and identifying details first.
● Co-mediators: If an accredited mediator co-mediates or observes with you, they will see the case information needed for that role.
● The Family Mediation Council: For my accreditation, I submit a portfolio of case work. This is anonymised so that you cannot be identified.
● Your solicitor or legal adviser, with your permission
● Courts, for example when signing court forms or where the law requires it
● Family Mediation Voucher Scheme administrators and the Ministry of Justice
● Children's services, the police or other agencies, where there is a safeguarding concern (see section 8)
● Professional advisers, such as my accountant or insurer
● Trusted service providers who help me run my practice, such as secure email, cloud storage, video calls, booking and payment systems
● Regulators and law enforcement, where the law requires it
8. Confidentiality in mediation
What you say in mediation is confidential. I will not share it outside the mediation without your agreement. This helps everyone speak openly and work towards decisions that suit their family.
There are a few exceptions where I may have to share information:
● If I believe a child or adult at risk is at risk of significant harm
● If there is a risk of serious harm to you or someone else
● If a court orders it or the law requires it
● If I have a legal duty to report suspected money laundering, fraud or other crime
● If a regulator or professional body requires it under its legal powers
● If you agree to it
Where it is safe and appropriate, I will tell you before sharing anything.
Open Financial Statements and Memorandums of Understanding
In financial mediation, I may prepare two documents:
● Open Financial Statement (OFS): a record of the financial information you have each provided. It is not confidential and can be shown to solicitors or the court.
● Memorandum of Understanding (MoU): a summary of the proposals you have reached. It is written on a "without prejudice" basis, so it normally cannot be used as evidence in court if talks break down, unless the law allows it.
Neither document is legally binding. I recommend you get independent legal advice on any proposals, including whether to make them legally binding, for example through a consent order.
This section is about the confidentiality of mediation itself. How I protect your personal data is explained throughout the rest of this policy.
9. My website, international transfers and security
My website
My website is hosted by Squarespace. When you use its contact or booking forms, I receive the details you enter. The site may use cookies to work properly and to measure visitor numbers.
Information stored outside the UK
Some of the service providers I use may store or process information outside the UK. When this happens, I make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, as UK GDPR requires.
How I keep your information secure
● Secure cloud storage and email through Google Workspace
● Strong passwords and two-step verification on all accounts
● Encrypted devices
● Access limited to those who need it
● Secure video platforms for online sessions
● Paper documents kept locked away and shredded when no longer needed
● Regular software and security updates
No system is completely secure, but I take every reasonable step to protect your information.
10. How long I keep your information
I keep your information only as long as I need it for your mediation and to meet my legal, professional and insurance obligations.
● Mediation case files: kept for six years after your case closes, then securely deleted or destroyed.
● Financial documents (such as bank statements and payslips): securely destroyed or returned when your case closes, unless I am legally required to keep them.
● Anonymised accreditation records: kept as long as the FMC requires. They do not identify you.
● Enquiries that do not go ahead: deleted within [12 months] of our last contact.
11. Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
● Ask for a copy of the information I hold about you
● Ask me to correct anything inaccurate
● Ask me to delete your information, in some circumstances
● Ask me to limit how I use it
● Object to certain uses of it
● Ask for your information in a format you can take elsewhere, where this applies
● Withdraw consent, where I rely on it
Some rights may be limited where I must keep information by law, or where sharing it would reveal the other participant's confidential information. To use any of these rights, contact me using the details below. I will respond within one month.
12. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how I have handled your information, please contact me first and I will try to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
13. Changes to this policy
I may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on my website and available on request.
14. Contact me
Catherine Cooke, Clearway Family Mediation
Email: cath@clearwayfamilymediation.co.uk
Telephone: 07999683352
Website: www.clearwayfamilymediation.co.uk