1.0 Terms and Conditions set out the expectations for the service user and the therapist. They govern the contract between us and ensure that both parties are protected in the unlikely event that a disagreement occurs. Please read our terms and conditions and contact us if you have any questions.
1.1 These Terms and Conditions govern the relationship between The Owl Centre (“we,” “us,” or “our”) and you, the service user, patient, parent or client. By engaging our services, you acknowledge and agree to these Terms.
2.0 BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT
2.1 Your referral may be triaged by a member of staff. In some circumstances, we may be unable to safely meet your needs. In this situation, any deposit will be refunded in full.
3.0 FIRST APPOINTMENT
3.1 You will receive an email or text confirming the details of your / your child’s first appointment, including date, time, location and fee.
3.2 If you / your child has been assessed by a relevant therapist within 6 months of your appointment with The Owl Centre, and if you can share the written report or set of current targets, a re-assessment will not, in most cases, be required. However, our therapists are happy to provide a second opinion assessment if requested.
3.3 At the end of the first appointment, a discussion about whether you / your child requires further therapy will take place.
3.4 Our therapists will let you know if they have the correct skills and experience to meet your/your child’s needs.
3.5 Our therapists will signpost you to other professionals if necessary.
4.0 ASSESSMENT FEES
4.1 You understand and agree that the assessment services provided by The Owl Centre will incur assessment fees. These fees are payable to cover the clinical time, resources, and expertise required for the assessment.
4.2 Payment of assessment fees is your responsibility, and the fees may vary depending on the type and extent of the assessment provided. We will provide you with an estimate of the assessment fees in advance, but these are subject to change based on the actual services rendered.
4.3 ASSESSMENT PURPOSE & LIMITATIONS
4.3.1. The primary purpose of assessments provided by The Owl Centre is to evaluate your / your child’s condition, symptoms, or concerns, as applicable. We aim to provide an accurate and thorough assessment, but we do not guarantee any specific outcome, diagnosis, or treatment.
4.3.2 You acknowledge that some assessments may be inconclusive due to various factors, including but not limited to, the complexity of the case, the need for further investigations, or the limitations of available diagnostic tools. Fees for assessment are payable, regardless of the outcome.
5.0 SECOND OPINIONS
5.1 The Owl Centre offers Second Opinions for skills assessments at any time (e.g. Speech & Language Therapy skills). We may ask you for copies of the reports to ensure we use different assessment methods, especially if the skills assessment was less than 12 months ago.
5.2 We are unable to offer a second opinion for diagnostic assessments (such as ASD or ADHD diagnostic assessments) where the previous assessment was less than 12 months ago. This is due to maintain validity of standardised assessments.
5.3 We do not review the content or validity of reports or processes for diagnostics assessments (eg ASD or ADHD) completed outside of The Owl Centre but can provide our own assessment and report if it has been more than 12 months since an assessment.
5.4 For more information, please speak to a member of staff or request a copy of our Second Opinion Policy.
6.0 FURTHER APPOINTMENTS FOLLOWING ASSESSMENT
6.1 Therapy sessions last 1 hour unless agreed in advance otherwise. This hour may include direct work with you / your child, discussion of progress, demonstration / explanation of follow-up activities or strategies with you / parents and/or educational staff and writing up of notes.
6.2 No fee will be charged for time spent planning activities for the next session outside the therapy sessions.
7.0 FEES
7.1 Our fees will be in accordance with our current prices available following an enquiry on our website (no VAT is charged or chargeable). Fees take into account the degree of responsibility and level of skill of those involved. We do however reserve the right to revise that level of fees, but you will be notified in advance of any such change.
7.2 Any payments to third parties (disbursements) are payable in addition to our fees. You will be notified of any significant disbursements. Disbursements are charged at cost.
7.3 Invoices are usually sent after your last appointment in a particular calendar month.
8.0 PAYMENT ON ACCOUNTS
8.1 We ask that payment by private clients be made no later than 15 days after the date that our invoice was sent to you.
8.2 Payment can be made by BACS transfer, online payment or by cheque or, if agreed in advance of the session, in cash.
8.3 Automated payment reminders are sent by email to clients if payment is not made by the requested date.
8.4 Automated late payment notifications are also sent out, asking you to settle your account within 7 days. If payment is not made, £20 is added to your account. We reserve the right to suspend further work until payment is received.
8.5 Recourse to the small claims court is made for accounts not paid 6 months after their due date.
9.0 HEALTH INSURANCE
9.1 The Owl Centre accepts payment from health insurance providers which agree to pay the full amount and in a timely manner. Please check with your health insurance provider to find out if you are covered and if it meets our terms.
10.0 TRAVEL
10.1 A fee of 45p / mile (for the round trip) is added to outreach appointments.
10.2 A discretionary travel time fee of £40 per hour may be applicable for particularly long journeys. Clients will be notified in advance if this were the case.
10.3 Travel distances and times are calculated using Google Maps from the therapist’s starting point or from the nearest Owl Centre, whichever is closer to the client.
11.0 RESPONSE TIMES
11.1 We are committed to our clients and will endeavour to respond to your written communications within five business days and telephone calls by the end of the following business day.
12.0 CANCELLATIONS
12.1 If a therapist needs to make a cancellation, the client will be notified as soon as possible, and an alternative appointment date will be provided at the time or as soon as possible thereafter.
12.2 Cancellations by clients must be made at least 24 hours before the scheduled appointment. If a cancellation is not made, the client will incur a 50% charge.
13.0 NON-ATTENDANCE
13.1 50% of the session fee, plus the full travel fees (if applicable), will apply in the event of non-attendance. Non-attendance includes not being in when a therapist comes to your home; if your child is not at school or pre-school when the therapist has arranged a visit; or not attending one of our Centres. This also applies to an online appointment; if you do not log in and join an online call, this will be considered non-attendance.
13.2 It is the client’s responsibility to inform The Owl Centre if a child is not going to be at the school or pre-school at the appointed time.
14.0 REPORTS AND PROGRAMMES
14.1 Reports and programmes are chargeable (unless explicitly included in the session fee) and can be supplied on request.
14.2 Reports and programmes can be shared by you with other people as you choose.
14.3 Reports and programmes will be sent to you by email via secure link.
15.0 COMMUNICATION BY E-MAIL
15.1 If e-mail is used as a means of communicating with us, we advise that you ensure that all e-mail messages must be properly addressed. All e-mail messages sent to us will, if properly addressed, arrive on the terminal of the person to whom they are addressed. However, we advise that you take note of the following:
15.1.1. our computer system may not always be linked to the Internet, so messages either way are not as instantaneous as a telephone call;
15.1.2 the confidentiality of e-mail sent via the Internet cannot be guaranteed.
15.2 For the purposes of exchanging documents via the Internet, our word-processing system is Word for Mac/Windows. Documents will be shared in PDF format.
16.0 DATA PROTECTION
16.1 The Owl Centre is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller.
16.2 All clients’ details, case notes, and correspondence will be stored securely and treated confidentially according to general data protection regulations (GDPR).
16.3 Information is stored securely on password-protected laptops or desktop computers.
16.4 Any paper-based confidential information is stored securely in accordance with general data protection regulations (GDPR).
16.5 In accordance with GDPR, the Data Protection Act, and in line with NHS Guidance, all records will be kept securely until your child is 25 years old, or 26 years if they were 17 years old at the time of discharge. After this time, all records relating to your child will be destroyed.
16.6 For adults, records are kept 8 years after discharge before being destroyed.
16.7 You may apply in writing to access an electronic copy of your or your child’s notes or to request modifications of any inaccuracies. These requests will be dealt with within 30 days or 60 days if the request is complex (as per Information Commission Office rules.)
16.8 For further information, please see The Owl Centre’s Privacy Policy.
17.0 USE OF VIDEOS
17.1 Some assessment and therapy techniques involve the use of video to record the client / child. The videos are temporarily stored on an encrypted, password-protected device. Once the video has been used as needed, it will be deleted. No copies will be retained.
18.0 SAFEGUARDING
18.1 The Owl Centre has a Designated Safeguarding Lead.
18.2 All therapists complete Children’s Safeguarding training yearly and Adult Safeguarding 3 yearly.
18.3 Every therapist has a current DBS certificate. Either a Status Update check or new DBS is run every 3 years at a minimum.
18.4 Each therapist will have read and understood the latest version of KCSIE (Keeping Children Safe in Education) and the latest Prevent training.
18.5 In the event of a safeguarding concern where the client’s child or another person is at risk of harm, each therapist has a legal obligation to share that information with relevant professionals in line with the Safeguarding Children’s Act 2004.
18.6 All staff members who work with adults undertake additional safeguarding adults training and follow The Owl Centre’s Safeguarding Policy in regard to adults.
18.7 The Owl Centre does not provide an emergency service. If you feel that you need immediate support, or in the case of a mental health crisis, please contact your GP, or 111 for an out of hours GP appointment. Alternatively, you can attend your local A&E department or dial 999 if you are at immediate risk. You can also call or email the Samaritans for confidential support www.samaritans.org
19.0 PUBLICITY
19.1 We may from time to time use and include details of clients and the matters we have handled for them in our publicity or marketing material. No details of your identity will be revealed without your prior consent. However, we may ask for your consent to publicise information on completion of a matter.
20.1 RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
20.1 We aim to ensure that each matter on which we are instructed is dealt with by people with the right level and area of expertise, so as to achieve an effective service. In practice, this means that different people may be involved in the conduct of a matter. We shall have overall responsibility for managing our relationship with you and maintain regular contact with you to review progress on outstanding matters and the services.
21.0 LIASION WITH OTHER PROFESSIONALS
21.1 To offer the best service to the adult client or client’s child, it is important for us to liaise with other professionals involved in the adult or child’s care. This may include NHS therapists, school staff, GPs or other medical / educational professionals.
22.0 EDUCATION HEALTHCARE PLANS (EHCP)
22.1 The Owl Centre therapists do not write separate reports as part of a child’s EHCP process. Where applicable, information gathered through an Owl Centre assessment or therapy sessions will be fed into the NHS / County Council report, meaning that the child will only have one report from the SLT / OT / SEN discipline.
23.0 WORKING HOURS AND AVAILABILITY
23.1 The Owl Centre’s main office is open from 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday (for most of the year)
23.2 The Owl Centre’s therapists mainly work on a part-time basis, meaning that their availability and therefore response times might be more limited. Staff are expected to communicate their working hours with clients.
23.3 Outside of Clinician’s working hours, clients can contact office@theowltherapycentre.co.uk via email and leave messages if needed.
24.0 COMPLAINTS
24.1 If you feel that you have cause for dissatisfaction about any aspect of our service, please first speak to your Therapist who will attempt to resolve your concerns. If this cannot be resolved, we would ask that you put your comments in writing and indicate what action you would like to be taken.
24.2 Please refer to our Complaints Policy which can be found on our website.
24.3 The Owl Centre has a Zero Tolerance Policy against Violence, Harassment and Aggression of our Staff. We reserve discrimination to end communications if there has been a vexatious complaint. We may refer for Legal Advice or to the Police as appropriate.
25.0 AMENDMENTS & UPDATES
25.1 The Owl Centre reserves the right to amend or update these Terms at any time. The revised Terms will be posted on our website. Your continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
26.0 QUESTIONS
26.1 If you wish to discuss the above terms and conditions, please contact us.
26.2 Other policies can be requested by emailing compliance@theowltherapycentre.co.uk
27.0 DECLARATION
27.1 By accepting the above terms and conditions, the client is agreeing the following:
– I agree that The Owl Centre’s therapists can liaise with other professionals when it is in my [adult client] or my child’s best interests.
– I agree to The Owl Centre’s therapists using video as necessary in my [adults client] or my child’s therapy sessions (as described above).
– I understand that The Owl Centre’s therapists will be storing and processing my [adult client] or my child’s personal information (as described above).
– I agree to The Owl Centre’s therapists using email as a form of communication with me and other professionals (as described above)
Tel: 01242 571883 | Email: office@owltherapycentre.co.uk | www.theowl.org
