Services Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Last updated: 5 September 2024

Author: Rachael McMullen Head of Dyslexia Support

Approver: Andy Cook Chief Executive Officer

Booking a service

  • Our services include assessments, tuition, study skills sessions and parent consultations. To book one of our services, we require you to provide personal data (including name, date of birth, address), complete all necessary questionnaires and supply other relevant reports where appropriate.
  • We require this information as it is a very important part of the assessment process, and so that our tuition/study skills support and consultations can be as effective as possible. Any personal information will be available to the professional to allow them to carry out the service, and to essential members of the admin team.
  • Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity (HADC) is committed to protecting personal information and using it responsibly.
  • On the basis of the information you provide, HADC will assign a suitably qualified professional to deliver the service you need. HADC reserves the right to change the professional assigned should they become unavailable for any reason.
  •  It is important that you are aware that whilst an assessment may result in a diagnosis of dyslexia, we cannot guarantee that a diagnosis will always be given. However, as a result of the assessment, the assessor will be able to identify areas of strength and weakness and give specific recommendations based on the assessment to help with future teaching/learning.

Paying for a service

  • Once an assessment is booked, the client must pay a deposit within 5 days of receiving our confirmation email, to secure the appointment. The deposit for an assessment for a child conducted by a specialist assessor is £225, for an adult is £245 and for all ages with an educational psychologist is £320.
  • The balance for the assessment should be paid no later than 5 working days prior to the assessment taking place. If the balance has not be paid by this time, the appointment may be cancelled.
  • It may be possible for you to pay in instalments. If you need to pay in instalments, we will book an appointment on a date which allows time for the assessment to be paid in full.
  • If the assessment is being funded by more than 1 person, please notify us of this as soon as possible.
  • If you are the person who has authorised HADC to arrange tuition or study skills sessions, you are responsible for the payment of fees for this service. Once tuition has started, an invoice will be sent monthly. Tuition is paid in arrears. Each invoice should be settled within ten days of receipt.
  • Please let us know by emailing enquiries@helenarkell.org.uk if a third party is paying the tuition/study skills fees before the sessions begin, as HADC requires confirmation in writing from
  • the third party accepting responsibility for the payment of fees. If a business or institution is paying for the tuition/study skills, the invoice should be settled within ten days of receipt.
  • Once a parent consultation is booked, the client must pay the total fee to secure the appointment.
  • Payment can be made by card or by bank transfer to:

Lloyds Bank PLC

A/C no: 00585630

Sort Code: 30-93-20

Account Name Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity

Ref: Your Account no (supplied by Admin)

If you wish to pay by card, please call HADC on 01252 792400 between 10-12 or 2-4 Monday to Friday.

  • HADC may be able to provide help from its Bursary Fund in cases of real need. Such assistance can only be provided for future services not for services already received.

Late/non-payment

You must pay for an assessment before the assessment takes place. Once an assessment has been conducted, an invoice will be sent to you. Prior payment will show the Total Due to be £0.00. However, if there is a balance to pay, this amount will be shown in Total Due and should be paid within ten days of receipt. Late payment fees may be incurred if a further seven days elapse before the balance is settled. We will not be able to send the assessment report to you unless the assessment has been paid for in full.

Once tuition has started, an invoice will be sent monthly. Tuition is paid in arrears. Each invoice should be settled within ten days of receipt. Late payment fees may be incurred if a further seven days elapse before the balance is settled. Failure to do so may result in HADC suspending tuition. If a business or institution is paying for the tuition/study skills, the invoice should be settled within ten days of receipt.

Once a parent consultation is booked, the client must pay the total fee to secure the appointment. Failure to do so will result in the session being cancelled.

Cancellations

Cancelling an assessment

  • If you need to cancel an assessment, please email assessments@helenarkell.org.uk
  • If we are notified of the cancellation at least 14 days before the appointment, your deposit will be refunded.
  • If less than 14 days’ notice is given, then it will be necessary to charge a cancellation fee of 50% of the balance and your deposit will not be refunded.
  • If you do not attend your appointment, then it will be necessary to charge 75% of the balance and your deposit will not be refunded.
  • If you require us to rearrange an assessment, this may result in the loss of your deposit and the need to pay the full fee for the rearranged date.
  • In the event that severe weather or any other emergency results in HADC cancelling the assessment, we will endeavour to give clients a minimum of 24 hours’ notice and reschedule the assessment. Wherever possible, we will try to re-schedule with the same assessor.

Cancelling a tuition/study skills session

  • If you need to cancel a tuition session, you should contact the teacher directly as soon as possible.
  • If you have to cancel a session (for reasons other than illness on the day/other emergencies), you are required to give 14 days’ notice. If less than 14 days’ notice is given, HADC will charge for missed sessions.
  • If you have to cancel a session due to illness, it may be possible for the session to be rearranged. If this is not possible, due to an individual teacher’s circumstances, we would have to charge for this session, as the teacher will have reserved time in his/her timetable for the session.
  • If you cancel sessions at short notice more than twice, we may have to terminate the tuition/study skills sessions.
  • If a teacher has to cancel a session you will be offered an alternative time if at all possible. If this cannot be arranged you will not be charged for this session.
  • If you wish to terminate tuition/study/skills sessions, we require four weeks’ notice in writing. You will be charged for these 4 weeks and the student may continue to attend sessions during this period.
  • Sessions will be charged from the agreed start time, regardless of any late arrival.

Cancelling a parent consultation

  • If you need to cancel a parent consultation, please phone the Helen Arkell main office (01252 792400) as soon as possible and we will try to rearrange the session. Cancellation of a consultation should not be made by email.
  • HADC will not give refunds for missed sessions. The professional will have reserved time in his/her timetable for the session.
  • If a professional has to cancel a session you will be offered an alternative time if at all possible. If this cannot be arranged you will receive a refund or a credit towards a future consultation.

How we keep your information

HADC is committed to protecting personal information and using it responsibly. All personal information will be stored securely in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR)and in accordance with our Privacy Policy at https://helenarkell.org.uk/about-us/our-policies/privacy-policy/

Our General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance Statement at https://helenarkell.org.uk/about-us/our-policies/gdpr-compliance-statement/ outlines how we ensure the security and protect of the personal information we process and provide a compliant and consistent approach to data protection.

During an assessment, it may be necessary for the assessor to make an audio recording of the individual’s responses to a particular test. This will allow the assessor to review responses when analysing the results. The recording will be deleted as soon as the report is sent to you (within 3 weeks from the date of the assessment).

How long we keep your information

Assessment reports and any information regarding tuition/study skills or a parent consultation for individuals under age 18 is held until their 24th birthday. For anyone over the age of 18 we hold assessment reports and any information regarding tuition/study skills for a period of up to six years.

After this time HADC will not be able to supply you with a copy of your assessment report. We strongly recommend that you keep a copy of your report securely.

Once you have received a final assessment report all raw data test sheets will be permanently destroyed.

Permission for sharing of information

As a charity with a mission to help people with dyslexia and educate the public, we may wish to share the information you give us are about the impact of dyslexia/specific learning difficulties (SpLDs) on the individual, the family and the work environment, with the wider community and for research purposes. By sharing information and experiences, we can contribute to a greater understanding of dyslexia/SpLDs.

The wider community may include:

  • School learning support departments and teachers
  • Educational Psychologists
  • HR departments and employers
  • Research projects

When sharing information, only anonymised questionnaires and assessment data will ever be used. Your personal data will be removed. The data will be assigned a unique code number, and it would not be possible to identify individuals from this information. The anonymised data may be used in research and the findings may be published in scientific journals and used in lectures to other scientists, students and the general public. Individuals will not be identified in lectures or publications.

By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, you agree that the questionnaires you complete, any assessment information collected, and report may be used, anonymised, without further permission given by you, as part of information for research purposes.

Safeguarding

We are committed to protecting children and young people who receive HADC’s services. We also aim to ensure those children who attend HADC and any other children who may come to the attention of HADC receive the protection and support they need if they are at risk of abuse.

Our Safeguarding Policy at https://helenarkell.org.uk/about-us/our-policies/safeguarding-policy/ applies to all staff, including senior managers and the board of trustees, paid staff, volunteers and sessional workers, agency staff, course candidates, students or anyone working on behalf of the HADC.

Complaints

If you have any complaints about your experience with HADC, or how we handle your personal data, please contact us so we can resolve the issue, where possible. Read more about how to make a complaint. Read more about how to make a complaint.