Privacy Policy

Last updated: 3rd of August 2026

Confidentiality of coaching

Our coaching conversations are confidential, in line with the ICF Code of Ethics. The only exception is if I believe there is a risk of serious harm to you or someone else, in which case I may need to break confidentiality to keep people safe.

1. Who we are

This website is operated by Leila Sykes, trading as Leila Sykes Coaching. If you have any questions about this policy or how your data is handled, you can contact me at leila@leilasykes.com.

2. Information I collect

  • Contact and booking details: your name and email address, collected when you use the contact form or book a session through the site.

  • Session content: notes I take during or after our sessions, and, where agreed, audio recordings of sessions (see "Session recordings" below).

  • Wheel of Life and reflection exercises: anything you choose to share with me ahead of or during coaching, such as completed pre-session reflection materials.

  • Website usage data: standard technical information (such as IP address, browser type, and pages visited), collected automatically via cookies. See "Cookies" below.

3. How I use your information

  • To arrange, deliver, and follow up on coaching sessions.

  • To respond to enquiries made through the contact form.

  • To meet my professional obligations as an ICF-trained coach, including maintaining a coaching log (see below).

  • To improve the website's functionality.

I do not use your information for marketing or add you to any mailing list without your separate, explicit consent.

4. Session recordings

Sessions may be recorded for my own training and development purposes, with your consent, agreed separately before recording begins. Recordings are retained only for as long as needed for that purpose, for a maximum of 18 months, and are then securely deleted.

5. ICF coaching log

As part of my ICF accreditation requirements, I keep a log of the clients I've worked with, including your name, email address, and the number of coaching hours completed. The ICF may, on occasion, contact you directly to verify these hours. This information is used solely for accreditation purposes and is not shared for any other reason.

6. Legal basis for processing (UK GDPR)

I process your personal data on the following grounds:

  • Contract: to provide the coaching services you've booked.

  • Consent: for session recordings, and for any optional communications you opt into.

  • Legitimate interests: to run and improve this website, and to meet my professional accreditation requirements.

7. Third-party services I use

To run my practice, I share limited data with the following providers, who process it on my behalf:

  • Acuity Scheduling, for booking and calendar management.

  • Google Calendar and Google Workspace, for scheduling and internal record-keeping.

  • Squarespace, which hosts this website and may set functional cookies as part of standard site operation.

These providers are contractually bound to handle your data securely and only for the purposes I've instructed.

8. Data retention

  • Contact form enquiries are kept only as long as needed to respond, then deleted.

  • Session notes are kept for the duration of our coaching relationship and for a reasonable period afterwards, then securely deleted.

  • Session recordings are kept for a maximum of 18 months (see above).

  • Coaching log entries are retained in line with ICF accreditation requirements.

9. Cookies

This site uses cookies to help it function properly and, where applicable, to understand how visitors use it. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings, though some parts of the site may not work as intended if you do.

10. Data security

I take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and I cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data I hold about you

  • Ask me to correct inaccurate data

  • Ask me to delete your data, where applicable

  • Object to or restrict how I use your data

  • Request a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise any of these rights, contact me at leila@leilasykes.com. If you're not satisfied with how I've handled your data, you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

12. Changes to this policy

I may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in my practice or in the law. Please check back periodically.