POLICIES AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS
See below for our up-to-date policies.
All policies are continuously reviewed and updated in line with government guidelines. All staff have the necessary and up-to-date training and insurance requirements to practice safely and effectively.
SAFEGUARDING AND CHILD PROTECTION
Our Educational Psychologists form part of the wider safeguarding system for children. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families and carers has a role to play in safeguarding children. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all professionals should make sure their approach is child-centred. This means that they should consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child. (Keeping Children Safe in Education – DfE, 2023).
DATA PROTECTION AND GDPR
Our Educational Psychologists work in line with GDPR requirements and that of the Information Commissioners' Office (ICO).
COMPLAINTS AND WHISTLEBLOWING
Hall and Co EPS take complaints and whistleblowing very seriously and, where appropriate, all complaints and allegations will be investigated thoroughly and in line with our policy and procedures.
Hall and Co EPS Privacy Policy 2023 and Terms and Conditions
Our contact details
Name: Hall and Co EPS
Address: 29 Warley Hill, Brentwood, CM14 5HR.
E-mail: info@hallandcoeps.co.uk
The type of personal information we collect
We currently collect and process the following information:
Personal identifiers, contacts, and characteristics (for example, name and contact details), information about a client’s educational needs and information about developmental and medical history. Information will be collected during consultations and assessments (for example, test results).
How we get the personal information and why we have it
Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons: to gain an understanding of family background, developmental history, medical issues, child’s experiences at school. We also receive personal information indirectly, from the following sources in the following scenarios: school staff, medical staff, social care.
We use the information that you have given us in order to gain a greater understanding of your child’s development, for hypothesis formulation, and to complete assessments. We also use this information to monitor the effectiveness of our service and to comply with the law regarding data sharing.
We may share this information with the child’s parents, and with the educational setting and other professionals with parental consent. Information will be shared without parental consent if required by law, directed by a court, or if the benefits to a child that will arise from sharing the information outweigh both the public and individual’s interest in keeping the information confidential.
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:
Your consent. You are able to remove your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting info@hallandcoeps.co.uk.
We have a contractual obligation.
We have a legal obligation.
We have a vital interest.
We need it to perform a public task.
We have a legitimate interest.
How we store your personal information
The completed educational psychology report will be stored electronically on a computer for a period of four years (for the purpose of any future re-assessment), accessed by password and only by the author of the report. It is the responsibility of those commissioning the report to keep the electronic copy safe once received. In order to adhere to data protection, reports are emailed to the school or parent who commissioned the report, with password protection. The password will be sent in a separate email to the report. Background forms, any hard copies of reports and assessment booklets will be shredded/destroyed after the assessment.
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Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. Please contact us at info@hallandcoeps.co.uk if you wish to make a request.
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How to complain
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at info@hallandcoeps.co.uk. You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data. The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk
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Terms and Conditions
Assessments
Assessments of children under 18 are only carried out with the consent of parents or those with parental responsibility. Assessments normally take 1-3 hours, with breaks as needed. Assessments take place at the child’s school or in a clinic setting, provided this has been previously agreed with members of school staff.
Written reports will be sent out up to 3 weeks after the assessment or on payment of fees, whichever is later. Reports will not be sent to any other party without the permission of the consenting parent/client. Please let us know if you would like an electronic (PDF) copy of a report. If a report is required at a date prior to 3 weeks after the assessment, this must be agreed at the time of booking the assessment.
Fees
The consenting parent/client is responsible for full payment of fees which are to be paid prior to the assessment being carried out unless otherwise agreed. The assessment fee and full payment details are provided via email to clients. Please be aware that no reports will be sent out prior to full payment of fees. Prices are valid for 24 hours from the date of quoting and are subject to change after this time. Quoted prices are subject to change if circumstances or the work required has changed in any way. Bookings and dates are only held once a deposit or full payment has been received - whichever has been agreed between both parties. Deposits are non-refundable if a booking is cancelled within 48 hour of the assessment date.
Confidentiality, Storage of Records and Personal Information
The information held on clients will be held in confidence and in accordance with our Data Protection and Privacy Policy, unless disclosure is required by a Court of Law or other statutory duty such as child protection obligations. Information will not be shared with schools or other professionals without the consent of the parent/client. Cases may be discussed on an anonymised basis as part of professional supervision sessions, as required by the professional regulatory body (HCPC). Reports will be kept on file for a minimum period of seven years, after which they may be destroyed. Clients should ensure that they store their report in a secure place in case it is needed at a future date. Clients are entitled to see all information held on them and their child. If copies of this information is required a small charge may need to be raised to cover the cost of photocopying.