Kids Talk Matters are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.

Who we are

Kids Talk Matters Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) delivers independent speech and language therapy to children in the home and/or educational setting. It is owned and directed by Laura Whittall, Speech and Language Therapist, who is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT) and the Association of Speech & Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP).

Kids Talk Matters operates a website at kidstalkmatters.com and hosts a Facebook page www.facebook.com/kidstalkmatters

Kids Talk Matters is committed to protecting the privacy of information provided by clients

Collection of personal information

Information about your child may be collected via spoken or written information. This information may come from parents/carers, educational establishments, your local educational authority or medical professionals. If the referral/ enquiry does not result in your child being seen by Kids Talk Matters then this personal information will be deleted once the enquiry has been dealt with. If your child is subsequently seen by Kids Talk Matters these details may be added to their personal record. If the referral/enquiry is from any person who is not the child or young person’s parent/carer then Kids Talk Matters will request parental contact details in order to gain consent from parents before proceeding. A child or young person will not be seen for assessment or ongoing therapy without parental consent.

With parental consent, information may also be collected from other professionals working with your child (such as teachers, nursery staff, childminders, NHS Speech and Language Therapist). We may also collect information about family members where this relates to your child e.g. contact details for parents and relevant medical or developmental history. Where other professionals work with your child we will record their contact details in order for us to liaise with them, with your consent.

You may use the Kids Talk Matters website without providing any personal information. However, if you wish to make an enquiry via the website, you are requested to provide relevant contact details, such as your name, e-mail address and contact telephone number to enable us to respond to your enquiry. You may add comments or queries which might also contain personal information.

The website contains links to other Internet sites which are outside our control and are not covered by this privacy policy. We are not responsible for data which you provide through any such linked websites.

Our use of personal information

Personal information collected by us via the Kids Talk Matters website, email, written documentation/letters, telephone or face to face, is stored and used by us for the purpose of delivering your child’s speech and language therapy.

Any sensitive personal details are stored in a secure and confidential system and processed in confidence by Kids Talk Matters and shall only be used for the purposes of delivering appropriate speech and language therapy services to your child.

With your consent, information about your child’s speech and language needs will be shared with other professionals involved in your child’s care, when it is in your child’s best interests. A record of your consent is kept within your child’s clinical records.

Unless we are required to do so by law, we will not disclose any personal information collected to any person other than as set out above.

We do not employ agents to process personal data, for example specialist mailing companies to send out communications.

We do not give or sell client details to any third parties.

We may, at times, use your contact information to keep inform you about changes to services, events and to ask your thoughts on our service. If you do not wish us to make use of your Personal Information in this way, please email laura@kidstalkmatters.com. We will also give you the opportunity to opt out of future marketing whenever we send you marketing material. You can also opt out at any time by contacting us.

How we use personal information

We use this information:

To prepare, plan and provide speech and language therapy services appropriate for your child's needs

To communicate with you via post, email, telephone, mobile messages and SMS in relation to:

• confirming and preparing for appointments.
• general communication in between appointments.
• sending you reports and programmes for your child (always password protected).
• copying you into communications with other professionals involved with your child (your child's initials rather than full name will be used in emails).
• sending you resources.
• sending you invoices and receipts.



For clinical audit to assess and improve our service. Results of audits are always presented with all client identities removed.

For management and administration, for example surnames of clients are included in our password protected accounting database

Whenever personal identifiers are not needed for these tasks, if possible we remove them from the information we use.

How we store personal information

All information about you, your child and their speech and language therapy is stored securely in our systems to ensure that we have a complete record of our service to them. We use a secure electronic cloud-based system called “WriteUpp” which is compliant with general data protection regulations. Backup copies of reports and programmes are held within Dropbox (an electronic cloud-based system which is compliant with general data protection regulations) and on an encrypted and password protected USB. Documents which contain confidential information such as reports and programmes are also individually password protected from the outset. Any paper based confidential information such as assessments are stored securely in accordance with Data Protection Regulations.

Videos may be taken of clients with parental consent. These may then be viewed by the SLT in order to make notes in a client record within 24 hours of the child’s appointment. The video is then deleted. Copies of any video recording can be sent to parents and other professionals with parental consent. Video will be transferred by a secure transfer system.

The minimum amount of confidential information will be taken out of the Speech and Language Therapist’s office base. When your child’s information is taken out of the office base it will be kept with the Speech and Language Therapist.

In accordance with our professional standards, all records will be kept securely until your child is;

• 25 years old.
• 26 years old, if they were 17 years old at date of discharge.
• 8 years after discharge for all young people over the age of 18 at date of discharge.



After this time all records relating to your child or young person will be destroyed.

Our lawful basis for processing personal information

We process and store personal information to comply with our legal obligations and in the legitimate interests of your child.

It is a legal requirement for all Speech and Language Therapists to be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The HCPC has clear standards of conduct, performance and ethics that all registrants must adhere to.

These standards affect the way in which we process and share information. Specifically:

Standard 2: Communicate appropriately and effectively

“You must share relevant information, where appropriate, with colleagues involved in the care, treatment or other services provided to a service user.”

Standard 10: Keep records of your work

“You must keep full, clear, and accurate records for everyone you care for, treat, or provide other services to. You must complete all records promptly and as soon as possible after providing care, treatment or other services. You must keep records secure by protecting them from loss, damage or inappropriate access.”

For further information the full document can be found at: hcpc standards of conduct

The Data Protection Act 1988 and General Data Protection Regulations 2018

The Data Protection Act 1988 and The General Data Protection Regulations 2018 lay down wide- ranging rules, backed up by criminal sanctions, for the processing of information about identifiable, living individuals. It also gives individuals certain rights in relation to personal data held about them by others. Laura Whittall is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a Data Controller. You can view her ICO registration by visiting: ICO registration

Our responsibilities

We are committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your child’s record. We actively implement security measures to ensure their information is safe, and audit these regularly.

We will not release your personal details to any third party without first seeking your consent, unless this is allowed for or required by law.

We are constantly working to ensure compliance with current data protection regulation.

Cookies

Like all websites, Kids Talk Matters uses cookies. A cookie is a small file, typically of letters and numbers, downloaded on to a device when the user accesses certain websites. Cookies allow a website to recognise a user’s device and respond to them as an individual. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

What Cookies are we using on our site?

Business Critical Cookies
These cookies allow Kids Talk Matters to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our website. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around our site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when a visitor has come to the site, and will not be able to monitor its performance and make improvements. We use the Google Analytics service for this purpose.

Cookies used: __utma, __utmb, __utmc, __utmz

Essential Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by visitors which amount to a request for services, such as logging in or filling in forms. Visitors can set their browser to block or alert them about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Cookies used: has_js

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Your rights

Data protection legislation gives you, the parent, various rights. The most important of these are as follows:

• You have the right to a copy of information we hold about your child.
• You have the right to ask for your record to be amended if you believe that it is wrong.



How to access your child's records

You can access the information we hold about you by writing to us at the address given below. Please apply in writing rather than by email, so that we receive an original signature to compare against the records we hold.

A copy of your child’s records is provided free of charge.

We will provide access to your child’s records within 30 days of receipt of all necessary information. Please make your request in writing to:

Subject Access Request: Kids Talk Matters 32 East Green Blackwater Camberley Surrey GU17 0AU

If you have any further questions about how we use your information, please contact: privacy@kidstalkmatters.com.

Further information about data protection legislation and your rights is available from the Information Commissioner's Office or by calling 0303 123 1113, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.