Data Privacy Notice
We are committed to providing families with the highest quality support. To do this we keep records about you and the services we have provided in accordance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations). This includes telephone consultations, correspondence, referral forms, assessment, session and meeting notes, any referrals made to outside agencies and any reports that are commissioned. If you decide to proceed with therapy following an initial enquiry and referral, a consent form will be provided and your therapist will support you to ask questions and ensure that you fully understand its contents. The consent form will need to be signed before work can begin and indicates agreement to collect and store personal information.
Data that is collected will be stored securely by Katherine Mautner, Director and/or by your therapist. Your therapist will create a running record of sessions so that they can remember key elements including dates and contents of sessions. Basic information relating to payments are also shared with our accounting system (www.xero.com) and accountant who are also GDPR compliant.
How your data will be kept secure
The notes of enquiries, referral form, consent form, session notes and any other reports/documents relating to you/your child will be stored on a password protected device. Any handwritten notes will be kept in a locked filing box.
How long your data will be kept
Records will be kept securely until the client (child) is eighteen years of age plus five years, after which time they will be securely destroyed.
Who will your data be shared with
Basic details such as name and contact details will be available to the Directors of the company, the accountant and online accounts system. With your consent (verbal or written,) information or written records will be shared with the prospective or allocated therapist and may be shared with other professionals. Your records will not be shared with any third party without your consent (unless legally required).
Access to your data
Under GDPR the data subject or their parent/legal guardian have rights as an individual which they can exercise in relation to the information Willow Child Therapy hold about the child and family. See https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/right-to-be-informed/
Withdrawal of consent
Should you wish to withdraw your consent for data about you and your family being stored, you will need to put this in writing. You will receive a written response explaining what will happen next. In the event of withdrawal of consent for collecting and storing data, therapeutic support would end.
Access to records
You have the right to request a copy of your records. Once this request is received in writing, the request will be processed within 40 days to process the request. Please note that any details about third parties will be blanked from records provided. There will be an administrative charge for processing documents (£30).
Confidentiality
In general, what is talked about and played about in sessions is kept private in order to maintain a sense of safety for the child/parent/carer in their therapeutic relationship. Therapists will discuss the sessions in some detail with their clinical supervisor.
In order to support improved understanding of the child, parents/carers will be given feedback about play themes and about the therapist’s observations, with the child’s consent, in regular review meetings.
All safeguarding concerns will also be discussed with Katherine Mautner, Director. If a therapist believes that the child is at risk of significant harm, they will usually speak to parents/carers about this. When the child is being seen in school, therapists may liaise with the school Designated Safeguarding Lead. They will also contact children’s social care to inform them of safeguarding concerns.
Complaints
The therapist is an associate of Willow Child Therapy and as such will offer the highest standards of care and will abide by their professional code of ethics at all times. Should you be unhappy with the treatment or services that are offered and have not been able to resolve this directly with your therapist, complaints should be made to Katherine Mautner, Director, Willow Child Therapy Ltd by email willowchildtherapy@gmail.com
If you have any complaints about how your data has been handled, as well as letting your therapist know, you have the right to contact the Information Commissioners Office online https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or by telephone 0303 123 1113.
Statement reviewed: June 2023
Safeguarding Policy
Willow Child Therapy Ltd is small private practice with two directors (Katherine Mautner and David Willans) and self-employed associate Therapists.
This policy applies to directors, associates and anyone working on behalf of Willow Child Therapy.
The purpose of this policy:
to protect children and young people who receive therapy from Willow
to provide directors and associates with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection
to clarify safeguarding roles and responsibilities when working across different settings
Willow Child Therapy operates from the position that a child or young person should never experience abuse of any kind. We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people and to keep them safe. We are committed to practise in a way that protects them.
We recognise that:
the welfare of the child/young person is paramount
all children, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse
working in partnership with children, young people, their parents, carers and other agencies is essential in promoting young people’s welfare
We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:
valuing them, listening to and respecting them
communicating with children (verbally) and parents (verbally and in writing) from the beginning of interventions about our safeguarding responsibilities and the limits of confidentiality
providing effective management for directors and associates through supervision and support
recruiting associate therapists safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
sharing concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving parents and children appropriately
If a safeguarding concern arises within privately commissioned work, the therapist will:
speak to the parent/carer (unless unsafe to do so)
keep the child informed about who information will be shared with
discuss the concern with the clinical Director (Katherine Mautner) to agree a way forward
when necessary, share information with outside agencies such as children’s social care
If a safeguarding concern arises within an outside setting such as a school, where an organisational safeguarding policy and structure already exists, the therapist will:
speak to the parent/carer (unless unsafe to do so)
keep the child informed about who information will be shared with
address safeguarding concerns through that organisation’s framework (for example liaising with the school safeguarding lead to agree a way forward)
inform the clinical Director (Katherine Mautner) what has been agreed
when necessary, share information with outside agencies such as children’s social care
Policy reviewed: June 2023
