Privacy Policy

Kate Boot Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services is the business name that I, Independent Speech and Language Therapist, Kate Boot use in my private practice.

I take your privacy very seriously and I am committed to protecting it. I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a Data Controller. I do not share any personal information with any third parties. I will only share essential information with other health or education professionals as necessary to support you/your child, or by law (as detailed below).

At Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services, your privacy is a priority. This privacy policy explains how I collect, use, and protect your personal information when you visit my website or engage with my services.

1. Data Collection

Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services will collect electronic personal data to provide you with an effective service.

1.1 Personal identification information

This includes: your name, email address, phone number, postal address, and other contact details you provide when commissioning me to work with you.

1.2 Service-related information

This includes: information related to the consultation and assessment process, including records of communication, appointment records, healthcare records, educational records, clinical records, general administrative records, and financial records.

1.3 Website usage information

This includes: data such as your IP address, browser type, and browsing activity through the use of cookies and similar technologies. This website contains links to other Internet sites which are outside of my control and are not covered by this privacy policy. I am not responsible for data which you provide through any linked websites.

My business website is provided by Wix.com. Wix provide Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services with an online platform that allows me to advertise my services to you. If you contact me via the website your data may be stored by Wix.com’s data storage, databases and applications. The data is stored on secure servers behind a firewall. You can view Wix’s Privacy Policy via this link: https://www.wix.com/about/privacy.

1.4 Obtaining your information

Personal data will be provided by the client, or in the case of a child (under 16 years), their parent(s)/guardian(s). This information will be collected as part of a case history form prior to, or on the date of first contact. Information may also be provided directly from relevant third parties such as schools, colleges, medical and allied health professionals, workplaces with prior consent from the parent(s)/guardian(s), where applicable.

2. How I Use Your Data

The data I collect is used for the following purposes:

To communicate with you regarding appointments, services, and consultations.
To provide and manage consultation services.
To comply with legal obligations and professional standards, including record-keeping.
To improve the functionality and user experience of my website.

Information collected enables a robust service, providing assessment and therapy as per the relevant professional guidelines. It also enables Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services to maintain the general running of the business, such as scheduling appointments, keeping accounts and updating you of any changes in policies or fees. Information may also be used for research purposes, with the written consent of the client or parent/guardian.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services processes your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

Consent: By providing me with your personal information, you consent to its processing for the purposes outlined.
Contractual necessity: Data is processed to fulfill any commissioned therapeutic services.
Legal obligations: I will retain and process data to comply with professional and legal record-keeping standards.
Financial requirements: I may also be required to share financial data with an accountant or bookkeeper in order to comply with local tax laws.

4. Data Sharing

Your personal data is confidential and will not be shared with third parties except where required by law, or with your explicit consent.

5. Obtaining Consent

A consent form will need to be signed by the client prior to commencing with services from Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services. Copies of the signed consent forms and client contract will be given to both parties. Should a client wish to withdraw their consent for data to be processed, they can do so by contacting Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services.

6. Data Storage and Retention

Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services will retain personal data for as long as necessary to provide services or as required by law.

6.1 Retention of Client Records after Discharge

The Limitation Act 1980 gives the limitation period in which claims must be made. As a general rule a claim
cannot be made more than 6 years from the date on which the claimants cause of action accrued. The time
will run either from when it happened, or from the date of knowledge. Time should also be allowed for
serving of papers, so the minimum time suggested for keeping health records is seven years. The
Department of Health recommends that health records should be kept for a minimum of eight years, so to
be completely safe retention of records for eight years is recommended. Although there are some
exemptions as detailed below:

Children: Children gain legal capacity from the age of 18, therefore children's records will be kept until the child's 26th birthday.
Disabled people: There is no time limit on when disabled people can instigate legal proceedings and so records must be retained for eight years after a person is no longer temporarily disabled. If the person has a lifelohng disability, then all records should be retained for life and then eight years after their death. This is based on capacity, and the fact that a disabled client may not have the capacity to understand that they could instigate legal proceedings, but at any time an advocate could identify a past issue and support them to instigate legal proceedings.
Adults: An adult's records should be kept for eight years after discharge. If they die before this eight year period, the records may still be relevant if an executor wishes to instigate legal proceedings on the patient's behalf. So records should continue to be retained for eight years from the date of death.

6.2 Clinical Records

Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services keeps electronic records of clinical data in order to provide a service.

Clinical data is deleted and confidentially destroyed after 2 years from the last invoiced session.
Clinical data used for research purposes, may be kept for longer than 2 years.
Video records and voice recordings related to client care may be recorded with consent, analysed and then destroyed. If written consent is provided to use recordings for training purposes, the client will have the option to withdraw consent at any time.

6.3 Financial Records

Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services keeps electronic records of financial data in line with Section 886 of the Direct Tax Acts.

This states that the Revenue Commissioners require records to be retained for a minimum of six years after the completion of the commissioned transactions, acts or operations to which they relate. These requirements apply to manual and electronic records equally, therefore I will:

Keep financial data for 6 years to adhere to Revenue guidelines.
Share financial data (including non-payment of bills) at the Revenue’s request.
Keep contact data for 6 years to allow the processing of financial data, if required. (This may be retained for longer for safety, at legal request, or for safeguarding reasons.)

6.4 Exceptions

Data must be held in original form indefinitely if under investigation or if litigation is likely. Otherwise data is held for the minimum periods set out above.

7. Data Protection and Security

We take reasonable precautions to protect your personal data from loss, theft, and unauthorised access. This includes the use of secure servers, encryption, data review processes and the following precautions:

By limiting the data that I collect in the first instance.
By transmitting the data in certain specified circumstances only. Data will be kept electronically and only shared with consent and where necessary.
By keeping only the data that is required.
By retaining the data for only as long as is required.
By disposing of/destroying the data once the individual has ceased receiving services.
By destroying the data securely and confidentially after the period of retention has elapsed.
By ensuring that any personal data collected and retained is both accurate and up-to-date.

7.1 Electronic Data

All electronic data is contained in the following systems:

Work Based Laptop File System using Microsoft Office Cloud Based email, scheduling and record storing software
Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services has read/write/delete access to records.
The work based laptop requires a log in with password in order to access the records and I am the sole password holder.
A copy of the files are not made on the work based laptop when in use.

8. Your Data Rights

You have the following rights concerning your personal data:

Right to access: You may request a copy of the personal information I hold about you. Adults have the right to request data held on them as per article 15 of GDPR. A request must be made in writing. Further information regarding accessing your personal data can be found here: https://gdpr-info.eu/art-15-gdpr/. For children under the age of 13, data access requests are made by their parents or guardians. From age 13, children in England can make requests for their personal data, provided they have the capacity to understand their rights. This is in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR.
Right to rectification: You may request corrections to your personal information if it is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to erasure: You may request the deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention obligations.
Right to object: You may object to the processing of your personal data under certain conditions.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact me using the information below.

9. Cookies

Cookies are small files stored on your browser to improve your website experience. This website may use cookies to collect anonymous data regarding your browsing activity. You can adjust your browser settings to disable cookies, although this may affect your experience on this website.

10. In the event of a Data Breach

In the event of a data breach Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services will:

Complete a risk assessment as to the risk of data that is leaked.
ICO informed as appropriate.
Clients informed if there is a significant risk to their personal data.
Police informed as appropriate.

11. Changes to this Privacy Policy

Kate Boot, Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page. I encourage you to review it regularly to stay informed.

12. Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about how your data is handled, or if you would like to exercise your data rights, please contact us:

Email: kate.boot@outlook.com