Place2Be

Place2Be is a national charity supporting schools to improve the confidence and wellbeing of children and young people. They provide emotional and therapeutic support to pupils, families and staff in more than 250 schools nationwide. It gives pupils a space to express themselves through talking and creative work and to think about any worries they might have. Place2Be also provides support for parents and staff too.

Place2Talk

One of the most popular aspects of this service is called ‘Place2Talk’. It’s open to all pupils and they can make an appointment to spend 15 minutes with a trained counsellor, either by themselves or with a friend. On average, about a third of pupils in Place2Be’s schools take advantage of this service every year. Pupils often talk about friendships or any worries they may have.

Place2Be will record your child’s name, date of birth, year group, gender, ethnicity, the broad topic of discussion and any actions taken as a result of the session. This information is stored securely. It is used in key coded form to evaluate Place2Be’s service and improve our work.

Frequently asked questions by parents and carers

• What is Place2Talk?

One of the most popular aspects of Place2Be’s support is called ‘Place2Talk’. It’s open to all pupils and they can make an appointment to spend 15 minutes with a trained counsellor, either by themselves or with a friend. On average, about a third of pupils in Place2Be’s schools take advantage of this service every year. Pupils often talk about friendships or any worries they may have.

• Who conducts the Place2Talk sessions?

Place2Be School Project Managers (SPM).

Place2Be is an organisational member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. This means our SPMs are committed to the highest standards of personal and professional practise and work in line with its Ethical Framework and Ethical Guidelines.

• Who will SPMs talk to about the Place2Talk sessions?

Place2Be has a responsibility to keep children safe and follow safeguarding procedures as and when required, but otherwise we will never disclose you child’s data to third parties.

• What is Place2Be’s evaluation and why is it important?

Place2Be collects information to evaluate our effectiveness and learn about how to give the best possible service to children and families. For Place2Be to work well, we need to find out how the support we provide helps children’s emotional wellbeing and their learning and academic progress. This in turn helps us to secure more funding and therefore to help more children, by being able to demonstrate that our services are effective. We collect as little personal data as we reasonably can and store it securely, so that children’s privacy is not unduly affected.

• What information about your child is included in Place2Be’s evaluation?

Place2Be collects the following information from the school: child’s name, date of birth, year group, gender and ethnicity. We then record brief details of children’s appointments and the matters discussed, as well as any action recommended as a result of the session.

• Is your child’s information confidential?

Yes. Your child’s name will not be in our research data. Your child’s information will be stored securely.

• What is the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?

The new DPA 2018 gives people control over their personal information (data) and requires organisations who have people’s personal information to act in a lawful and transparent way. It brings the GDPR into UK law, in order to enhance people’s control over their personal data. Place2Be works within the DPA 2018 and the GDPR to ensure that personal details, for example name, date of birth or address are lawfully collected, kept securely and not passed to other people or agencies.

• How do we safeguard your child’s information?

We care about protecting your child’s information. Our policies and systems make sure that the information cannot be accessed by anyone who should not see it. They also protect against loss or misuse of the information.

We are committed to taking all appropriate steps to protect the personal information that we hold. We do this by having in place a range of measures, including the information being held in a secure, password protected database that can only be accessed by those who need to see the information to deliver the service for your child.

• Why haven’t we asked for consent to collect information about your child?

We aim to have a service that any child in the school can access when they wish. Place2Talk is a valuable self-referral support service that reduces stigma by being accessible. Any child whose parent / carer has agreed that their child can use Place2Talk can attend. In those circumstances, parental consent is not required to record or store or assess a child’s information, because other legal safeguards kick in to ensure the minimal information is collected and used in a way that respects and protects the children who use the service.

• Is this legal?

Yes. Under the DPA 2018 and the GDPR parental consent for using children’s personal information is not needed in the context of counselling services offered direct to a child (see our website for more details). The GDPR imposes strict safeguards on the use of children’s information. We can record, store and assess information about your child if they come to Place2Talk for two reasons:

• We are protecting the interests of your child in accessing counselling support and only the minimum necessary information is collected (this is called the “legitimate interests” legal basis for processing personal information); and

• Recording the information means your child can access a service for their Health and Social Care (this is a further lawful basis for any sensitive or “special category” personal information).

This is in line with guidance from the BACP, of which Place2Be is a member and our SPMs must adhere to BACP’s Ethical Framework and Ethical Guidelines, so they will make sure your child’s information is confidential.

In addition, we are also able to use some of your child’s information for research and statistical purposes, as we use coded information and remove your child’s name. We also use the coded information for monitoring equality of opportunity and equal treatment.

For more information on this, you can contact our Chief Financial Officer, who can be contacted on 020 7923 5500.

• Can you request that your child does not attend Place2Talk?

Yes. You can ask us not to see your child if your child wishes to attend Place2Talk. You will need to complete and return the slip above to the Place2Be School Project Manager.

• Can you request for information held about your child?

You may ask us to confirm what information we hold about your child at any time and request us to modify, update or delete such information. This is known as a Subject Access Request.

It is important to note that even if a child is too young to understand the implications of subject access rights, data about them is still their personal data and does not belong to anyone else, such as a parent or guardian. In the case of young children these rights are likely to be exercised by those with parental responsibility for them. If you request your child’s data, proof of parental responsibility will be required.

We will consider whether the child is mature enough to understand their rights. If they are considered to be competent we will respond to or consult the child or seek the child’s consent for disclosure to you (with parental responsibility).

You can make a Subject Access Request by speaking with the Place2Be School Project Manager who will ask you to complete a form or by sending an email to Privacy@place2be.org.uk

• How long will we store your child’s information for?

We store your child’s information securely for 6 years and then it is destroyed.

• What can you do if you are unhappy with our service?

If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, you can make a complaint in writing addressed to the Data Protection Officer at Enquiries@Place2be.org

If you are unhappy with how your child’s data has been handled, you many complain to the Information Commissioner. Office of the Information Commissioner Wycliffe House Water Lane WILMSLOW SK9 5AF. Phone 0303 123 1113.

We assume that parents / carers will discuss this letter with their children, so that they also understand how and why their information is being collected. Copies of this sheet will also be available to children at Place2Talk sessions.