Privacy Policy
North Within – Alignment Coaching
Last updated: 22 October 2026
At North Within, we believe that meaningful personal growth begins with trust. Your privacy matters to us, and we are committed to handling your personal information with care, confidentiality and transparency.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and the rights you have.
1. Who we are
North Within – Alignment Coaching is a coaching business operated by Roberta Melcore, a sole trader based in London, United Kingdom.
For the purposes of UK data protection law, Roberta Melcore, trading as North Within – Alignment Coaching, is the data controller responsible for personal information processed in connection with the business.
Business name: North Within – Alignment Coaching
Data controller: Roberta Melcore (sole trader)
Location: London, United Kingdom
Email: roberta@north-within.com
Website: https://north-within.com
For any questions about this policy or your personal information, please contact us using the email address above.
2. What personal information we collect
Depending on how you interact with North Within, we may collect:
Contact information: Your name, email address, telephone number and other details you voluntarily provide.
Coaching information: Goals, challenges, reflections, feedback and other information you choose to share during coaching enquiries or sessions.
Questionnaire responses: Answers submitted through The Alignment Compass or other reflective exercises.
Booking and transaction information: Appointment details, services purchased, payment records and related correspondence.
Communication preferences: Your choices about receiving follow-up messages or marketing communications.
Website information: Limited technical information, such as cookies, device information and website usage data, where collected through our website or service providers.
Some coaching conversations may involve sensitive personal information. Where we process special-category data, such as health information, we will identify both an appropriate lawful basis and an additional condition permitted under applicable data protection law.
We encourage you not to include sensitive medical information in general website enquiries or questionnaires.
3. Why we use your information
We process personal information for the following purposes:
To respond to enquiries and requests for information.
To arrange, administer and deliver individual or corporate coaching services.
To communicate with clients about appointments, sessions and agreed actions.
To provide reflective questionnaires and educational resources.
To understand recurring themes and improve our coaching methods, services and content.
To send coaching insights, resources and information about our services where you have chosen to receive them or another lawful marketing basis applies.
To maintain appropriate business, financial and administrative records.
To comply with legal obligations and protect legitimate business interests.
We do not sell your personal information.
We do not publish identifiable coaching reflections, questionnaire responses or testimonials without an appropriate lawful basis and, where required, your permission.
4. Our lawful bases for processing
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we must have a lawful basis for using personal information.
Depending on the activity, we may rely on:
Performance of a contract
When processing is necessary to provide coaching services you have requested or to take steps before entering into a coaching agreement.
Legitimate interests
When processing is necessary for legitimate business purposes, such as responding to enquiries, managing our services, maintaining security or improving coaching resources, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Consent
When you voluntarily agree to a particular activity, such as subscribing to optional marketing communications or participating in processing that requires consent.
Legal obligations
When processing is necessary to comply with applicable laws, including tax, accounting or other legal requirements.
Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing lawfully carried out before consent was withdrawn.
Where special-category information is processed, we will also identify an applicable additional condition under Article 9 UK GDPR.
5. The Alignment Compass
The Alignment Compass is a free reflective questionnaire developed by North Within to help individuals explore five common tensions between professional success and personal fulfilment.
Participation and information collected
Participation is voluntary.
You can complete the questionnaire without providing your name or email address.
The questionnaire includes rating-scale statements and optional written reflections. At the end, you may choose whether to provide contact details.
We ask participants to avoid including medical information or other highly sensitive personal details in their written responses.
How responses are used
North Within uses questionnaire responses to:
Provide a structured opportunity for personal reflection.
Understand recurring themes experienced by professionals.
Inform the development of coaching resources and educational content.
Respond individually to participants who request a personal follow-up.
We may share anonymised and aggregated observations about recurring themes, but we will not knowingly publish information that identifies individual participants without an appropriate lawful basis.
The Alignment Compass is a reflective coaching exercise, not a validated psychological assessment, medical evaluation or diagnostic tool.
Storage and retention
Responses are collected through Google Forms and may be stored in a linked Google Sheet.
Access is restricted to authorised individuals working on behalf of North Within.
Questionnaire responses and associated contact information are retained for up to six months after submission.
After this period, they will be deleted or irreversibly anonymised, unless a separate legal obligation requires particular information to be retained.
Anonymised, aggregated findings that cannot reasonably identify individuals may be retained for longer.
Optional contact and marketing
Providing your email address is optional.
You may separately choose to:
Receive a personal follow-up about your reflections.
Receive occasional emails containing coaching insights, reflective exercises and information about North Within's services.
These are independent choices.
Requesting a personal follow-up does not automatically subscribe you to marketing communications.
You may withdraw marketing consent at any time.
If you subscribe to ongoing marketing communications, your subscription details may be retained separately from your questionnaire responses under the arrangements described in Section 7.
6. Coaching services and confidentiality
Information shared during individual or corporate coaching is treated confidentially and handled in accordance with the relevant coaching agreement.
We use coaching-related information to prepare for sessions, support agreed coaching objectives, maintain appropriate records and administer the coaching relationship.
Confidentiality is subject to limited exceptions, which may include situations where disclosure is required by law or where an applicable safeguarding or other legal obligation arises.
The relevant coaching agreement will explain the confidentiality arrangements and any applicable exceptions.
We do not share identifiable client information with employers, colleagues, family members or other third parties merely because they have paid for or introduced a coaching engagement.
Where corporate coaching arrangements involve reporting to an organisation, the scope of any reporting and confidentiality boundaries will be explained in advance.
7. Marketing communications
North Within may offer optional communications containing coaching insights, reflective exercises, events, educational content and information about coaching opportunities.
Where consent is required, we will request it separately and will not use preselected consent boxes.
You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by using an unsubscribe method provided in the communication or emailing roberta@north-within.com.
Marketing subscription information may be retained while you remain subscribed, separately from questionnaire responses.
If you unsubscribe, we will stop sending marketing communications and may retain the minimum information reasonably necessary to record and respect your preference.
We do not sell contact lists or personal information to third-party advertisers.
8. Who we share information with
We may use trusted service providers to support our business operations, including:
Website hosting and management services, including Squarespace.
Google services, including Google Forms, Google Sheets and email.
Appointment scheduling and booking platforms.
Payment processing and accounting services.
Communication and other administrative tools used to deliver our services.
These providers may process personal information as independent controllers or on our behalf, depending on the service and circumstances.
We share only information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose and take appropriate steps to assess the data protection arrangements of service providers.
We may also disclose personal information where required by law or where necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
9. International data transfers
Some technology providers used by North Within may store or process personal information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally and data protection law requires safeguards, we will rely on an applicable UK adequacy regulation or appropriate transfer safeguards, such as recognised contractual arrangements, together with any additional measures required by law.
You may contact us for further information about relevant international transfers and safeguards.
10. How we protect your information
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse or disclosure.
These measures include, where appropriate:
Restricting access to personal information.
Using password-protected accounts and available multi-factor authentication.
Limiting access to questionnaire responses and coaching records.
Reviewing information retention and deletion.
Using established technology providers and appropriate account security controls.
Avoiding unnecessary collection of personal information.
No online service or method of electronic storage can guarantee absolute security. However, we take the protection of personal information seriously and review our practices as needed.
11. How long we keep personal information
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, taking account of legal, contractual and operational requirements.
The Alignment Compass: Responses and associated contact details are retained for up to six months after submission, then deleted or irreversibly anonymised.
Marketing subscriptions: Contact information is retained while you remain subscribed, with limited records retained where necessary to document consent or respect an unsubscribe request.
Coaching records: Retained according to the relevant coaching agreement, the purpose of the records and applicable legal requirements. We periodically review whether continued retention is necessary.
Financial and transaction records: Retained for the periods required by applicable UK tax and accounting legislation.
General enquiries: Retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to respond and manage the enquiry, unless a further lawful purpose justifies continued retention.
Where information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it using appropriate procedures.
12. Your data protection rights
Under UK data protection law, you may have the right to:
Access: Request a copy of personal information we hold about you.
Rectification: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Erasure: Request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Restriction: Ask us to restrict how your information is processed.
Objection: Object to certain processing, including processing based on legitimate interests.
Data portability: Request transfer of certain information in a structured, commonly used format.
Withdrawal of consent: Withdraw consent at any time where processing relies on consent.
You have the right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing at any time.
To exercise your rights, contact:
We will respond in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.
If you complete a questionnaire without identifying yourself, we may not be able to locate your individual submission unless you provide sufficient information to identify it.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
ICO website: https://ico.org.uk
13. Cookies and website technologies
Our website is hosted on Squarespace and may use cookies or similar technologies to support website functionality, security, performance and other features.
Some cookies are strictly necessary for the website to operate. Others, such as analytics or marketing cookies, may require your consent before they are used.
Where required, we will provide appropriate cookie information and consent controls.
You can also manage certain cookies through your browser settings.
Additional information about cookies used by our website will be made available through our website's cookie settings or cookie notice.
14. Third-party websites and links
Our website and communications may contain links to external websites or services.
North Within is not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites.
We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.
15. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, business practices or legal requirements.
Any updates will be published on our website, together with the date of the latest revision.
Where changes materially affect how we use personal information, we will provide additional notice where required.
16. Contact us
For questions about this Privacy Policy, your personal information or your data protection rights, please contact:
Roberta Melcore
Sole Trader, North Within – Alignment Coaching
London, United Kingdom
Email: roberta@north-within.com
Website: https://north-within.com