Privacy Policy

This policy sets out how Coy Consultancy Services Limited (Company Number 11574250), trading as North East Sling Library ("NESL", "we", "us"), collects, uses and protects your personal information, whether you contact us via this website, video call, email, social media or in person. This policy complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who we are

NESL is a sling library providing support and advice to parents across the North East, and further afield via postal hire and online support, on choosing and using baby carriers. We offer support at in-person drop-in sessions, video call, email and via social media. We are owned by Rachel Coy, working with a team of trained consultants and peer supporters.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration number ZA912398. You can check the current status of this registration on the ICO's public register at ico.org.uk. For the purposes of data protection law, Coy Consultancy Services Limited is the data controller for the information described in this policy.

What information we collect

We only collect the data we need to provide you with the appropriate level of support, process your hire, and meet our legal obligations. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

Name, address, contact phone number and email address
Payment details (processed by our payment providers — see below; we do not store full card numbers ourselves)
Child's name and date of birth
Medical conditions, complications from pregnancy or birth, or premature birth, where relevant to assessing which carrier is safe and suitable for you
Sign-in details at drop-in sessions
Photographs or video taken at library sessions, consultations, events or workshops
Website usage information, collected via cookies

Health-related information about you or your child is "special category data" under UK GDPR. We only collect it with your explicit consent, and only use it to assess carrier safety and suitability — never for any other purpose.

How we use your information, and our lawful basis

Data protection law requires us to have a valid "lawful basis" for every use of personal data. The following table explains the lawful basis and purpose for each type of data we hold.

Where we rely on your consent (for example, marketing emails or special category health data), you can withdraw that consent at any time — see "Your rights" below. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of anything we did with your data before you withdrew it. If you do not provide data we need for a contract or legal obligation (for example, contact details needed to process a hire), we may be unable to provide that service, and we will tell you if this is the case.

How we gather your information

Face to face contact and sign-in sheets at meets
Over the phone
Via social media, including personal messages sent to request support or hire (rather than our official business pages)
Comments on our social media posts (please note this can make your name visible to others viewing the page)
Incoming email
Pre-consultation questionnaire
Website cookies
Newsletter sign-up via Mailchimp
Photo and video at sessions, consultations, events and workshops

Who we share your data with

We will never sell your data, and we will never share it for third-party marketing purposes. We only share data where necessary to run the parts of our service listed below, or with your express permission (for example, arranging a drop-ship delivery direct from a manufacturer or wholesaler, or a warranty replacement).

We currently use the following processors, each of whom is contractually required to protect your data and only use it for the purpose we specify:

MyTurn — to log and manage sling hires. Access is restricted to official Sling Library admin, and may be used to contact you in an emergency or about your hire.
Stripe and GoCardless — to process card and direct debit payments. We do not see or store your full card details.
PayPal — to process PayPal payments, under PayPal's own privacy policy.
Our company bank (for BACS payments).
Bookedin.com — to manage consultation bookings; you'll receive a confirmation from them directly.
A password-protected questionnaire, used only to assess the appropriate level of care and support for your consultation.
Mailchimp — to send marketing emails to those who have opted in.
Our website host and cookie tools, to run this website.

Some of these providers are based outside the UK (for example, in the United States). Where this is the case, they provide appropriate safeguards for your data, such as the UK's International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or they are certified under an approved data protection framework. You can ask us for more detail on the safeguards a specific provider uses.

If you do not return hired equipment and do not respond after repeated contact attempts, we may share relevant data with the police and/or the small claims court in order to recover our property. By hiring from us, you agree to our Terms and Conditions of Hire, which cover this.

How long we keep your data

Sign-in sheet details from families who did not go on to hire: retained for 14 days, then securely destroyed.
Hire and consultation records: retained for the duration of your relationship with us, plus a reasonable period afterwards in case of queries, warranty issues or disputes.
Records we are required to keep for tax and insurance purposes: retained for up to 7 years, stored securely.
Marketing email addresses: retained until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them.

Outside these periods, or once data is no longer needed for the purpose it was collected, we securely delete or anonymise it.

Children's data

We collect limited information about children (name, date of birth, and health information relevant to carrier safety) from a parent or carer, with that parent or carer's consent, solely to provide safe and appropriate babywearing advice. We do not use children's data for marketing, and do not knowingly collect data directly from a child without a parent or carer's involvement. See also our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy for how we handle photography and video of children.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device to collect standard internet log information and visitor behaviour, helping us understand how our website is used. Some cookies are strictly necessary for the site to function; others (such as analytics) are only set with your consent, in line with the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). You will be asked to choose your cookie preferences when you first visit our site, and you can change your browser settings to block cookies at any time, though this may affect how the site works.

More information on cookies is available at www.allaboutcookies.org or www.aboutcookies.org.

External links

Our website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to our own sites (www.northeastslinglibrary.co.uk and www.slingsandmore.blog). We do not control the content or privacy practices of external sites, and encourage you to read their own privacy policies.

Your rights

Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to:

Be informed about how we use your data (this policy)
Request access to a copy of your personal data
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
Request erasure of your data, where applicable
Object to, or request that we restrict, certain processing
Request data portability, in certain circumstances
Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent
Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe we have not handled your data properly

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below. We will respond within one calendar month, as required by law, and will let you know if we need longer for a complex request. If you ask us to delete your account, we will do so within 7 days, subject to any data we are legally required to retain (see "How long we keep your data").

You can contact the ICO at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We'd appreciate the chance to resolve any concern directly first, but you are not required to contact us before contacting the ICO.

Keeping your data secure

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect your data, including password-protected systems, restricted access to hire and booking records, and using reputable, GDPR-compliant third-party processors. No online system is completely secure, but we review our practices regularly and will notify both the ICO and any affected individuals without undue delay if we become aware of a data breach likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms.

Changes to this policy

We will post any changes to this privacy policy on our website and, where the change is significant, notify you by email or via our Facebook page (facebook.com/northeastslinglibrary).

Questions, concerns or complaints

If you have any queries about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us:

Phone: 07989 242664
Email: rachel@northeastslinglibrary.co.uk
Post: Rachel Coy, 13 Brecken Way, Meadowfield, Durham, DH7 8UZ

This policy was reviewed and updated on 9 July 2026. It will next be reviewed by 9 July 2027, or sooner if our services or the law change.