Flourish With Neurodiversity aims to create a safe, respectful and trustworthy space for children, young people and families.

When working with children and young people, Flourish With Neurodiversity will consider:

·        the child or young person’s welfare and safety;

·        their age, understanding, communication style and needs;

·        their wishes and feelings;

·        parental responsibility and consent arrangements;

·        confidentiality and privacy;

·        safeguarding and legal responsibilities;

·        the purpose and scope of the service; and

·        what information needs to be shared, with whom and why.

2. Consent Before Work Begins

Before work begins, Flourish With Neurodiversity will aim to clarify who the service is for, who is consenting to the work and how information may be shared.

Depending on the service, consent may be sought from a parent/carer, the child or young person, or both. Where appropriate, Flourish With Neurodiversity will seek the agreement of the child or young person as well as parent/carer consent.

Consent and involvement will be considered in light of the child or young person’s age, understanding, wishes, needs and any relevant parental responsibility arrangements.

3. Who the Client Is

For services involving children and young people, the client may be the child or young person, the parent/carer, the family as a whole, or a combination of these. Different parts of the work may have different confidentiality and information-sharing boundaries.

Flourish With Neurodiversity will aim to explain these boundaries clearly before work begins and review them if the nature of the work changes.

4. What Confidentiality Means

Confidentiality means that personal information shared with Flourish With Neurodiversity will be treated with care and will not be shared without a valid reason.

Children and young people need a safe space to speak openly. Information shared in 1:1 sessions will usually remain private between the child or young person and Flourish With Neurodiversity, unless one of the limits to confidentiality applies.

Private information may include personal thoughts, worries, emotions, experiences, relationships, identity, family issues, school experiences and details the child or young person does not want shared.

5. What Parents/Carers May Be Told

Parents/carers may receive general updates where appropriate, such as:

·        attendance;

·        general themes;

·        progress toward agreed goals;

·        practical recommendations;

·        strategies that may help at home or school;

·        whether further support may be useful;

·        agreed next steps; and

·        information needed to support the child or young person safely and appropriately.

Flourish With Neurodiversity will not usually share detailed session content, personal disclosures, full session notes or private information shared by the child or young person unless they have agreed, or unless there is a safeguarding, legal, risk-related or other valid reason to do so.

6. Payment Does Not Override Confidentiality

Payment may be made by a parent, carer, school, organisation or another agreed person. The person paying for the service is responsible for fees, cancellations and agreed administrative arrangements.

Payment for sessions does not automatically give the payer access to confidential session content, full session notes or private information shared by the child or young person.

7. Limits to Confidentiality

Confidentiality is not absolute. Flourish With Neurodiversity may need to share information where:

·        there is a concern that the child or young person is at risk of harm;

·        another child, young person or adult may be at risk of harm;

·        there is a safeguarding concern;

·        there is a legal requirement to disclose information;

·        information is needed to seek urgent help or emergency support;

·        there is a serious concern about self-harm, suicide, abuse, neglect, exploitation or significant risk;

·        information sharing is needed for supervision, consultation, service administration, complaints handling or legal/insurance reasons; or

·        the child or young person, parent/carer or another agreed person has consented to specific information being shared.

Where possible and appropriate, Flourish With Neurodiversity will discuss information sharing with the child or young person first. However, information may be shared without their agreement where this is necessary to keep them or someone else safe.

Safeguarding concerns should not be delayed by uncertainty about consent or confidentiality. Data protection law does not prevent proportionate information sharing where there is a valid safeguarding, legal or risk-related reason.

8. Safeguarding Override

The welfare and safety of the child or young person is the priority. If Flourish With Neurodiversity believes a child or young person may be at risk of harm, relevant information may be shared with appropriate people or agencies.

This may include parents/carers, a school safeguarding lead, children’s social care, emergency services, a GP, another healthcare professional, a local authority, a college or another relevant professional.

Flourish With Neurodiversity will aim to share only information that is necessary and proportionate to the concern.

9. Parent-Present and 1:1 Sessions

Some sessions may include a parent/carer. Other sessions may be held 1:1 with the child or young person, depending on the child’s age, needs, preferences, risk level, consent and the purpose of the work.

Where sessions are 1:1, Flourish With Neurodiversity will aim to agree in advance how feedback will be handled. This may include brief parent/carer check-ins, separate review sessions, agreed written summaries or specific updates focused on themes, strategies and next steps.

Parents/carers should not ask the child or young person to repeat everything discussed in a private session, as this can reduce trust, safety and the effectiveness of the work.

10. School, College and Professional Liaison

Flourish With Neurodiversity will only contact or share information with a school, college, GP, SENCO, local authority, therapist, employer, Access to Work adviser or other professional where consent has been given, unless there is a safeguarding, legal or risk-related reason to share information without consent.

Where liaison is agreed, Flourish With Neurodiversity will aim to clarify:

·        who Flourish With Neurodiversity may speak to;

·        what information may be shared;

·        the purpose of the liaison;

·        whether updates will be verbal or written;

·        whether the child or young person will be involved in the discussion;

·        whether parents/carers will receive a copy of written information; and

·        whether liaison, letters, summaries or reports are included in the service or charged separately.

11. Separated Parents, Disputes and Court Orders

Where parents/carers disagree about the child or young person receiving support, attending sessions, sharing information or involving school or other professionals, Flourish With Neurodiversity may pause or decline the work until the position is clarified.

Flourish With Neurodiversity may ask for confirmation of parental responsibility, written consent, relevant court orders or other information where needed. Flourish With Neurodiversity will prioritise the welfare of the child or young person and will not take sides in parental disputes.

If there is an immediate safeguarding concern, Flourish With Neurodiversity may act without waiting for agreement from all parents/carers.

12. Records and Notes

Flourish With Neurodiversity keeps appropriate records of sessions, assessments, communications, decisions, safeguarding concerns and professional liaison. These records are stored securely and handled in line with privacy, data protection and professional obligations.

Session notes are professional records and are not usually shared in full as routine updates. Where records are requested, Flourish With Neurodiversity will consider the request in line with data protection law, confidentiality duties, safeguarding responsibilities and the rights and best interests of the child or young person.

Separate records may be kept for different types of work, for example child sessions, parent coaching sessions, family work, assessment work and professional liaison.

13. Written Summaries, Letters and Reports

Written summaries, letters and reports are only provided where agreed as part of the service or confirmed separately in writing.

Before preparing or sharing a written document, Flourish With Neurodiversity may consider consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, the child or young person’s wishes, the purpose of the document, who will receive it and whether the document is appropriate within the scope of the service.

Flourish With Neurodiversity may decline to provide or share written information where it would be inappropriate, outside the scope of the service, misleading, unsafe or not professionally appropriate.

14. Parent Coaching and Child Privacy

Where the service is parent coaching, consultation or strategy support, the parent/carer receiving coaching is usually the client. The focus is on helping the parent/carer understand and support the child or young person.

Parent coaching does not give a parent/carer automatic access to private information shared by a child or young person in separate 1:1 work. If Flourish With Neurodiversity is also working directly with the child or young person, separate confidentiality boundaries will apply to that work.

Flourish With Neurodiversity will aim to agree what information may be shared between child sessions and parent coaching sessions. Safeguarding concerns may override normal confidentiality.

15. Withdrawal of Consent

A parent/carer or child/young person may ask to withdraw consent for certain types of work or information sharing. Flourish With Neurodiversity will consider the request in light of the service, safeguarding responsibilities, legal obligations, professional duties and the best interests of the child or young person.

Withdrawal of consent may mean that some services, liaison or written work cannot continue. Safeguarding, legal or risk-related information may still need to be shared where necessary and proportionate.

16. Questions About Consent or Confidentiality

Questions about consent, confidentiality, information sharing or records can be raised with Flourish With Neurodiversity by emailing [email protected].

17. Agreement

By booking, paying for or attending a service involving a child or young person, the parent/carer confirms that they have read, understood and agree to this Consent, Confidentiality and Information Sharing document, alongside the Main Client Terms, Children, Young People and Parent/Carer Terms and any relevant Service-Specific Terms.

Where appropriate, Flourish With Neurodiversity will also seek the agreement and involvement of the child or young person in a way that is suitable for their age, understanding, needs and circumstances.