Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd’s Terms and Conditions.

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Terms and Conditions form the contract between the service user and the therapist. They seek to detail the expectations of the therapist and the parent/carer. They are in place to ensure that both parties are protected in the unlikely event that a disagreement occurs. You will need to read and sign them before the first appointment can take place. Please read them carefully and do not hesitate to ask any questions that may arise from them. Terms and conditions are subject to change. Amendments to terms and conditions will be communicated to clients at the point of change. Thank you. 

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Hours of Business – Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd primarily operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday's term time only. During school holiday periods emails are checked periodically and may be responded to. Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd is committed to continued professional development and therefore trainings are attended throughout the year, where this may affect a regular therapy booking parents/carers will be given as much notice as possible. Where a therapy session has already been invoiced/paid a refund or alternative date will be provided. 

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Fees – Fees as detailed in the ‘services and fees’ document (a copy has been provided to you) and on the Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd website. Fees are non-negotiable. Fees are agreed with service users prior to the appointment. Fees will be reviewed annually and updated as required. Parents/Carers who are having ongoing therapy will be given one month's notice of any upcoming fee increase. 

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Payment – For initial assessments a 50% deposit is required at least 24 hours prior to appointment, the remaining balance is due within 7 days following the appointment. Payments for reports are due prior to them being completed. Therapy appointments are invoiced on a monthly basis after the first session of each month and full payment is due within 7 days of the invoice unless otherwise agreed. For example, if therapy sessions have been agreed for Thursdays in the month the invoice will be sent on the first Thursday of the month for the entire month.

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Cancellation – Appointments cancelled with notice of 24 hours or more will not be charged. Appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours will be charged at the full rate. If the education setting cancels an appointment with less than 24 hour's notice the parent/carer will be charged the full appointment cost. If the therapist is unable to attend an appointment as much notice as possible will be provided and no charge for the appointment will be made. If payment has already been received and the therapist cancels a full refund will be provided or a new appointment will be arranged depending on the client's preference. 

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Consent – Consent for assessment and treatment is required in all cases. A consent form will be provided by the therapist and must be completed before the first appointment. Once this consent form is completed consent is in place for the duration of the child’s involvement with Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd. Parents/carers can withdraw their consent at any stage by putting this in writing. Consent can only be provided by a parent with parental responsibility or a carer with appropriate legal authorisation to act on the child’s behalf e.g. a special guardianship order. 

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Appointments – For home appointments the child’s parent/carer will need to be present throughout the appointment and will engage in the appointment as directed by the therapist. Where the appointment is in a school/nursery/preschool the setting with aim to ensure that a key member of staff is available to work with the child and therapist, if this is not possible due to staffing on a particular occasion the appointment can go ahead but setting staff will need to ensure that a member of staff is available for feedback and discussion. For nursery observations parents/carers do not need to attend but a way of sharing feedback with the parent/carer will be arranged prior to the visit.

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Storage and sharing of Client Information – In order to provide treatment, it is in your child’s best interests for Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd to share appropriate information about your child with other professionals. Such information will be treated confidentially in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (GDPR). Information will only be shared with the signed consent of the child's parent/carer. Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd are not responsible for information that is shared by outside agencies (e.g. preschool, school). In the event that information is shared by an outside agency without the consent of the parent/carer, the responsibility lies with that agency. Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd holds a Data Controller registration with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). For more information about how your/your child’s information is processed please see our Privacy Policy. 

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Onward Referrals – Where onward referrals are discussed and agreed the therapist will provide information on how these referrals can be made. Generally, referrals for other services can be made via open referral systems or by contacting the Health Visitor, GP or Special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator (SENDCO) at your child’s preschool/nursery/school setting. 

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NHS Therapy - Every child is eligible for a referral to NHS Speech and Language Therapy services. It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to inform the Independent Therapist if the child is receiving, or on a waiting list for NHS therapy, and to inform the NHS therapist of any Independent Therapist involvement. Little Words Speech and Language Therapy works in accordance with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) ‘Working in Harmony’ guidelines.

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Continued Professional Development and Professional Registration (CPD) – Therapists will maintain continued professional development in line with the standards set out by the Health Professions Council and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy. Therapists will ensure registration at the Health Care Professions Council, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practise is maintained. Therapists will attend regular supervision sessions in line with the governing bodies guidelines.

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Clinical Opinion - Therapists at Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd are fully qualified autonomous practitioners and as such will provide their informed clinical opinion based on the information provided, assessment results and monitoring during therapeutic interventions in association with their clinical knowledge and experience. At times the therapist and parent/carers views may differ and if these are not reconcilable then further appointments will not be offered by Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd.

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Safeguarding – Therapists will have a full clean enhanced DBS certificate. The safeguarding of adults and children is everybody’s responsibility. The therapist has a duty of care to raise any safeguarding concerns with appropriate professionals such as Health visiting, education staff or the police. 

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Reports/Programmes – Reports/programmes are not provided routinely and are at the request of parents/carers. When a report/programme is requested, the therapist will agree a date by when this report will be provided. Reports/programmes are provided at an additional cost. The report/programme will be sent to the parents/carers and to a list of other professionals agreed with the parent/carer. Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd will keep a copy of all reports/programmes provided. It is in your child’s best interests for copies of reports from other professionals including reports from previous Independent Speech and Language Therapists to be provided to Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd. Therefore, please request a copy of these from other professionals. 

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Use of video – Recording within a therapy session or at home between sessions is part of some therapy packages. Where this is recommended this will be discussed with you. Where video’s are needed these are recorded on the parent/carers device and shared with the therapist in the appointments on your device. 

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Discharge/End of care – The therapist will discuss with you when services are no longer needed and the clinical reasons for this. Parents/carers can also discontinue services at any time with at least 7 days notice, where parents/carers decide to end care prior to the therapist's clinical recommendation they do so at their own risk. When discharge/end of care occurs, the therapist will send a discharge confirmation email. Once discharge has been completed families can seek further services from Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd in the future. However, following discharge there is no requirement for Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd to keep slots available for discharged clients and therefore availability cannot be guaranteed. 

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Complaints – If you are unhappy with the service received, please speak to Emma Cullen at Little Words Speech and Language Therapy. If it is not possible to resolve the issue together then advice can be sought from ASLTIP. 

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Prior to services being provided a copy of these terms and conditions must be signed by a parent with parental responsibility or a carer with appropriate legal authorisation to act on the child’s behalf.

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Little Words (Speech and Language Therapy) Ltd.

Company registration No:14575542.

Registered Office: 61 London Road, Old Basing, Basingstoke, Hants. RG24 7JG. England.