Terms and Conditions
This page sets out the terms & conditions for clients receiving services from Steps To Talking LTD.
In order to make decisions about whether we can offer the service you are looking for, we can offer a short initial chat over the phone, online or by e-mail. The purpose is to discuss the support you would like for your child, explain what we can offer and signpost you to alternative support if necessary.
Fees
You will receive at least 4 weeks’ notice of fee increases and these will not apply to invoices that have been already issued or sessions that have been booked.
We do not provide services under health insurance policies although some insurers do accept a receipt to reclaim a set number of sessions.
Travel charges for home and school visits
Travel costs are the sum of two figures; travel time and milage.
a/ Milage is calculated as the travel from the SLT’s clinic base at 48 Camp Road, North Camp, Farnborough GU14 6EP and will be charged at 45p per mile.
b/Travel time is calculated as the time spent travelling to and from the clinic base and is charged as follows for Amber’s travel costs. Please contact Dominic to discuss the travel time costs for Dominic.
<15 minutes - £10
15-30 minutes - £20
30-45 minutes - £30
45 minutes+ - £40
Hours and Holidays
Depending on availability, Steps To Talking LTD’s normal appointment times are from 9-5 Monday – Friday. Steps To Talking LTD will give reasonable notice of holidays/training days and will rearrange sessions wherever possible.
Cancellation Policy
At least 24 hours’ notice is required to cancel an appointment in order that appointments can be offered to other clients. Appointments cancelled within 24 hours will be charged at the usual rate).
If you need to cancel an appointment at very short notice, please inform Dominic or Amber by mobile phone (Dominic - 07858599128, /Amber - 07513892448), text or voicemail as soon as possible on the day of the appointment. In exceptional circumstances, fees will be waived. If appointments are cancelled due to unforeseen illness we tend to be very forgiving, but may charge if cancellations become a regular occurrence.
Should Steps To Talking LTD need to change the date of a session, school visit or meeting, we aim to give you as much notice as possible and provide you with a choice of alternative dates. In unforeseen circumstances we may need to cancel at short notice.
Payment
For initial assessment : payment is required in advance of the appointment to confirm the appointment.
For therapy/intervention
Invoices for blocks of therapy are normally issued at the end of each month. Alternatively, we accept pre-payment or payment at the end of each session if you prefer.
Whole term school-based contracts invoices are issued at the end of each calendar month for the sessions completed that month.
Payment is requested within 14 days. Direct online bank transfer is preferred. Cheques are not accepted.
Every attempt will be made to resolve late payments amicably. However, these may incur an additional 10% charge. In the case of failure to pay, outstanding debts will be collected through legal proceedings or other third parties.
In the event of another family member paying for Steps To Talking LTD’s services (such as grandparents), we are only able to share information around the child’s progress with written consent from parents/guardians.
Refunds
If a prepaid session is cancelled or postponed within the terms of our cancellation policy above, we will make a note in your payment record and the payment will cover the following session. In other words, we deduct the cost of cancelled sessions from the following month’s invoice.
If pre-paid sessions are cancelled and not rescheduled, then we issue a credit note for future sessions. If future sessions are unlikely to be needed, then we refund all monies owing within 1 month.
If your child does not engage in a session, we are unable to reimburse any of the session.
Therapy Sessions
In most circumstances your child must have had an assessment with Steps To Talking LTD before we can provide therapy. This is to ensure that the assessment is carried out to our standards and targets can be carefully identified. We are not able to start therapy following assessment with another therapist – although it may reduce the assessment time needed.
We will talk to you about this in more detail at the first appointment.
For every appointment we have with your child, we spend between half an hour to an hour (longer in the case of detailed assessments) planning, preparing, analysing and record keeping. The face to face session is just one part of the therapy process.
The more that you, and education setting staff, are involved in the therapy process, the better the outcomes are likely to be. We are less likely to see results without your support for newly learned skills at home.
All discussions about your child will usually take place during therapy sessions as they are an integral part of the therapy process. You are welcome to book an additional half hour /phone appointment if you need a longer discussion, which will be invoiced for.
For children who are seen for an extended period of time. We will need to carry out an assessment once a year which we try to coincide with any annual reviews they might have scheduled, with their school.
Safeguarding
If a safeguarding concern arises, where we believe a child may be at risk of harm, we are legally obliged to share information with relevant professionals as outlined in the Children Act 2004. You can find out more information here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
Record keeping and storage of confidential client data
Steps To Talking LTD and the associated lead data controller/Director, Dominic Langdon, is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and all records are kept in accordance with GDPR legislation. Information on how we store your personal information is detailed in our GDPR/privacy policy which can be found on our website. Paper records are stored in locked filing cabinets and on a password protected laptop which is locked in a filing cabinet when the office is vacated. When the SLT is out on visits, any paper records are taken into schools, or client’s homes, or locked in the boot of a car – whichever is deemed safer at the time. Electronic records are stored within the GDPR and HIPAA compliant virtual practice management system WriteUpp which is password protected. These records are kept until the child is 25 years of age or until 26 years if the young person is 17. Further information about WriteUpp is available at https://www.writeupp.com. Any electronic client reports & intervention plans are password protected before emailing.
Documents containing client data that are no longer required are shredded before disposal.
Sharing information with other professionals
It is usually necessary to liaise with a range of relevant professionals (possibly GP, class teacher, learning support assistant, SENCo, paediatrician, psychologist, audiologist) including any NHS Speech and Language Therapists involved to ensure provision of a high-quality service. We will only discuss your child’s case with other professionals or share information with your consent, with the exception of safe-guarding concerns. The exception to this is where schools have contracted in our services and your child is seen at the school’s request with your consent. It is then necessary to share the report with the school. Reports sent by email are password protected.
Complaints procedure
School staff, parents and carers are actively encouraged to raise concerns or issues at the earliest opportunity. We recognise that most concerns will be dealt with informally and never go further than the preliminary stage. Please discuss any complaints or concerns that you may have in the first instance.
If we are unable to resolve the difficulty, then you can take your concern to the Association of Speech & Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP) http://www.helpwithtalking.com/Complaint-Policy
For serious issues you may also contact the Health Professions Council:
https://www.hcpc-uk.org/concerns/raising-concerns/
Acceptance and Agreement
Before the speech and language therapy sessions begin, parents/carers will be asked to sign, and return to me, a declaration indicating that they have read, understood and agreed to the terms and conditions stated.