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Professional Practice

Learn how Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Services ensures it operates within safe, ethical and legal practices. 

Data Protection and GDPR

Due to the nature of our work, it will be necessary to collect and store significant personal information about children and their families in order to effectively assess and support them through therapeutic work. The type of information required will be explained during the initial stages of contact with Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service. Consent forms will need to be signed by adult clients or persons holding parental responsibility for child clients to indicate an agreement to collect and store personal information. Where children have sufficient understanding to process the information in order to come to a decision about consent, they too can sign to this effect.


Generally speaking, Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service can hold personally identifiable information for the following purposes:

  • Referrals
  • Quotations and contracts
  • Assessment
  • Review
  • Supervision/Consultation
  • Reports
  • Minutes of meetings attended
  • Feedback and research


Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The ICO provides guidance to both the public and professional agencies about data protection and Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service endeavours to work within the guidance they offer.  This includes how Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service operates in relation to:

  • Consent
  • Electronic Protection
  • Paper, Video and Audio Recordings
  • Record Deletion
  • Access To Records
  • Professional Executor


Any complaints about how Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service has managed your data can be directed to the ICO. 

You can request further information about how Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service manages your data, via the Contact Form. 

Parental Consent

In order for Therapy to commence, parental consent will need to be given. This will mean that persons with parental responsibility will need to read, sign and date a consent form. It is a general expectation that there is an agreement between all parties with parental responsibility about the child being involved in Therapy. In addition to consent to Therapy, parental consent i​s also required in order to share information with relevant professionals and the storing/use of children's records.


However, it is acknowledged that there are times when parties with parental consent for a child cannot provide a joint agreement, i.e. when there is an estrangement, when contact has been stopped for safeguarding reasons, when one party works away or when one party is unable to make decisions in the best interests of their child. Where it is clear that Therapy is in the child's best interests, this situation can be resolved by formally logging this decision making process on the child's records, with a clear statement from the party who is agreeing to provide their parental consent.


In cases where a professional is referring to Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Services, it is expected that this professional will have already had consent discussions with the family.


Children's Consent

It is an expectation that children's wishes and feelings about engaging on Therapy are considered. It is counterproductive to progress with any therapeutic intervention if the child does not feel ready or is actively saying they do not want to engage. The child will be given information about  Therapy and confidentiality prior to agreeing any work. This information will be appropriately targeted for their age and developmental level. It will need to be clear that the child has understood the information, has been able to hold it in mind and use it to make a decision. As with parental consent, there are clear legally determined times when consent to share information can be overridden, to safeguard the welfare of the child.

DBS and Insurance

Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service  is fully compliant with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Tracie Faa-Thompson  is registered for the online registration system. This allows Tracie to keep her details up to date as well as providing potential clients with the ability to instantly check on the status of her DBS. Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service is also fully insured for all aspects of work that is undertaken.


Authorship

Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service has been given special permission to reproduce relevant sections from the website of www.marvellousresourcestherapyservices.com .  No part of either Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service's or Marvellous Resources Ltd's website may be reproduced without prior consent.


Website Terms and Conditions

The information contained in this website is presented for information purposes to further your understanding of the services offered by Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service. Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service has taken reasonable steps to ensure that the information is accurate by directly reading the information contained in the referenced websites and books at the time of publication on this site. However, Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service does not take responsibility for continually reviewing websites and literature as they are edited into the future. Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service is not responsible or liable for any damages that any person may incur following any reliance on this information. Any personal information you submit via this website will be used for it’s intended purpose and will not be passed onto any third parties. Northumberland Play & Filial Therapy Service does not receive any financial benefit or is otherwise rewarded for recommending any organisation or product listed on this website.

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