Terms and Conditions

Privacy Statement

Children’s Play Therapy Clinic makes protection of your personal data a high priority, taking all appropriate measures to ensure your rights and data are protected. The statement below sets out what information we may hold about you, why we need it and how it is used, stored and destroyed when no longer required. We also set out contact details should you want further information or have any concerns.

Purpose of Holding Information

Information (data) about you is required to enable us to understand and assess your individual needs and preferences and to assist us to provide the full range of services you require.  The information we collect, and process is required to:

Manage our interactions with you

Comply with our legal obligations

Look after your vital interests in the event of an emergency

Carry out our legitimate interests in managing and running our services

HOW LONG DO WE KEEP HOLD OF YOUR INFORMATION?

The time periods for which we retain your information depends on the type of information and the purposes for which we use it. We will keep your information for no longer than is required or permitted.

To protect your personal information we have implemented physical, electronic and managerial procedures so that access to your personal information is limited to those personnel who specifically require it to process your contact with us.

If you consent, we may from time to time contact you with details of events that may be of interest to you.  You can unsubscribe from this correspondence list at any time by email us for the attention of the data protection officer.

Your rights in relation to your personal data

You have certain rights in relation to your personal data. You have the right to request from us, access to and rectification or erasure of your personal data, the right to restrict processing and object to processing.  Should you require a copy of the information held, a Subject Access Request can be made in writing by contacting:

Data Protection Officer, Children’s Play Therapy Clinic, Suite 10, 1st Floor, Victoria Place, Galway City Centre.

Email: ursulacisar@gmail.com

If you are unsatisfied with our actions, have a concern or wish to make a complaint, you can contact us by writing to:

Complaints Officer, Children’s Play Therapy Clinic, Suite 10, 1st Floor, Victoria Place, Galway City Centre.

If you remain dissatisfied with our actions, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Supervisory Authority. The Data Protection Commissioner can be contacted at:

Data Protection Commissioner,

Canal House, Station Road, Portarlington, Co Laois, Ireland. R32 AP23

Tel: +353 (0) 57 8684800                    Email: Info@dataprotection.ie

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF WE CHANGE OUR PRIVACY NOTICE?

This notice may change from time to time, and any changes will be posted on our website and will be effective when posted. Please review this notice each time you use our website or our services. This notice was last updated on 14/ 03/2022.

How we will use your details:

1. Your personal contact details (your name, address, phone number and email address)

We will only use this information to contact you or for reporting the progress and results of the therapy for quality assurance purposes.  We will only share these details outside of our organisation for medical or legal purposes or, if is relevant, for the repair of the systems that we use.

1. Your child’s age, sex, ethnic background and why they have been referred for play therapy

We will use this information in reports circulated within our organisation.  We use it to assess how effective and efficient the service is for different types of children.  If the details contain your or your child’s name, we will mark them as ‘confidential’ and store them securely.  If we send this information outside our organisation, we will make it anonymous so that neither you nor your child can be traced.

1. Measures based on the results of questionnaires

You or the person who referred your child for play therapy will fill in these questionnaires. We will use the questionnaires to assess how severe any emotional well-being, behaviour or mental-health issues are so that we can decide how many sessions your child needs and who they should see.  We may also use the questionnaires after therapy has started and definitely at the end of therapy to see what changes have happened. If any reports contain your child’s name, we will mark them as ‘confidential’ and store them securely.  If we send the reports outside the organisation, we will make the information in them anonymous so that it can’t be linked to you or your child.

1. The activities your child does during the sessions

We use this information to review your child’s progress.  We also use it to see which activities help improve children’s emotional well-being and mental health so that we can improve the quality of our therapists’ practice, including their training.  If any reports contain your child’s name, we will mark them as confidential and store them securely.  If we send reports outside the organisation, we will make the information in them anonymous so that it can’t be linked to you or your child.

Clinical information may also be used in case studies that are used to assess the quality of trainees’ work.   We may circulate this information more widely to help other therapists improve their practice. Your child will not be able to be identified from any information used for this purpose.

2         Supervision and quality assurance

All practitioners on the Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists, managed by Play Therapy UK and accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, must have a set number of hours of clinical supervision.  The therapist makes a verbal report on each child to a clinical supervisor who is very experienced in working in therapy with children.  The child’s progress, including their problems, what they do in the sessions, any significant themes in their play and anything else that is relevant, is discussed.  The clinical supervisor assesses and reviews a therapist by providing support and advice, identifying any problem areas and, if necessary, suggesting action to be taken.

Notes may be taken during the discussions between the therapist and supervisor. If these notes contain your or your child’s name, we will mark them as confidential and store them securely.  If we send any part of these notes to anyone else or another organisation, we will make your or your child’s personal details anonymous so that you can’t be traced.

3         Play Therapy UK

Play Therapy UK is my professional organisation.  It uses information about your child and their play therapy activities to check the quality of therapists’ service, and to update the clinical evidence base (see below) and other research projects which are aimed at improving the quality of therapists’  practice for the benefit of the children they work with. 

The clinical evidence base is kept in a secure computer database managed by PTUK. It is used to compare the results of therapy with a child’s characteristics (such as their age, sex, ethnic background and the condition they have been referred with), the number and type of sessions and the therapy activities that have taken place.  Doing this helps Play Therapy UK to set guidelines of good practice, and to identify any areas of risk or where further investigation (through research) is needed.  I make all the information anonymous so that a child cannot be identified in any lists or reports that are produced. When information is analysed and reported on by PTUK, it is based on groups of a minimum number of 200 cases and does not identify any child.

Play Therapy UK therapists have to re-register each year. They do this by providing the following information.

• Your child’s age, sex, ethnic background and the condition they were referred to us with
• Measures they have taken based on information from questionnaires
• The therapy activities carried out by the child during the sessions

Fortuna

Fortuna is a highly secure system provided by Play Therapy UK for me to record your and your child’s data. Name and address data of yourself and child/children are only processed by myself for communication purposes. They are not processed by Play Therapy UK except, if relevant, for the repair of the system.  Neither are they released by Play Therapy UK to any other organisation or person.

Your rights

You have a right to access personal information that we hold about you or your child.  Please see our Privacy Policy for further information on an individual’s rights and how to request them.

For details of information held by myself, please contact:

Ursula Cisa

Certified Therapeutic Play Practitioner and Play Therapist
Children’s Play Therapy Galway.

Phone: 0876748425

Child Safeguarding Statement Children’s Play Therapy Clinic

1. Name of service being provided: Children’s Play Therapy Clinic Galway.

Nature of service and principles to safeguard children from harm

 main principles are:

We believe the following:

1. Our priority to ensure the welfare and safety of every child and young person who attends our service is paramount.
2. Our guiding principles and procedures to safeguard children and young people reflect national policy and legislation and we will review our guiding principles and child safeguarding procedures every two years.

3. All children and young people have an equal right to attend a service that respects them as individuals and encourages them to reach their potential, regardless of their background.
4. We are committed to upholding the rights of every child and young person who attends our service, including the rights to be kept safe and protected from harm, listened to, and heard.

5. Our guiding principles apply to everyone in our organisation.
6. Workers/volunteers must conduct themselves in a way that reflects the principles of our organisation.
7. Risk Assessment:
   We have carried out an assessment of any potential for harm to a child while availing of our services including the area of online safety when accessing the internet. Below is a list of the areas of risk identified and the list of procedures for managing these risks.

3. Procedures

Our Child Safeguarding Statement has been developed in line with requirements under the Children First Act 2015, Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017), and Tusla’s Child Safeguarding: A Guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice. In addition to the procedures listed in our risk assessment, the following procedures support our intention to safeguard children while they are availing of our service:

• Procedure for the management of allegations of abuse or misconduct against workers/volunteers of a child availing of our service;
• Procedure for the safe recruitment and selection of workers and volunteers to work with children;
• Procedure for provision of and access to child safeguarding training and information, including the identification of the occurrence of harm;
• Procedure for the reporting of child protection or welfare concerns to Tusla;
• Procedure for maintaining a list of the persons (if any) in the relevant service who are mandated persons;
• Procedure for appointing a relevant person.

All procedures listed are available upon request.

4. Implementation
   We recognise that implementation is an on-going process. Our service is committed to the implementation of this Child Safeguarding Statement and the procedures that support our intention to keep children safe from harm while availing of our service.

This Child Safeguarding Statement will be reviewed on    September 2024 , or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which the statement refers.

Signed: ________ Ursula Cisa______ (Provider)

For queries, please contact Ursula Cisa 0876748425, Relevant Person under the Children First Act 2015.