Our policies

Privacy

Eating Matters is committed to protecting your personal data. We need to gather certain information about you to provide you with a personal service while safeguarding your privacy. Our Privacy Policy documents what we will do with your personal information and how we will store it.

Safeguarding

Eating Matters fully recognises the contribution it can make to protecting children, young people and adults from harm and supporting and promoting the welfare of all our service users and people with whom we come into contact. Our organisation promotes an ethos whereby our service users feel secure, are encouraged to talk, are listened to and are safe. Children and adults should be able to talk freely to any member of staff, volunteer or regular visitor to our organisation if they are worried or concerned about something. All information is confidential. However, if there is a safeguarding or child protection concern we share information with other agencies, namely the Police or Children’s Services. If we are unsure whether to make a referral, we seek a professional consultation with Children’s Advice and Duty Service (CADS). In order to do this, we ask the consent of a parent or carer, unless to do so would place the child at further risk of harm. We work in partnership and try to establish effective working relationships with parents and carers, as well as colleagues from other agencies and organisations.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults

Safeguarding Child Protection

Confidentiality

Our service is confidential. Information about a service user will not be given to any third party, including a family member, without the consent of the client. Information will be treated in confidence and will not be divulged to anyone outside of the organisation except where extenuating circumstances exist (see below). However, in order for us to provide the best possible help to our clients it may be necessary to share information with a manager or colleagues within Eating Matters. Eating Matters requires the right to breach confidentiality in some specific circumstances:

• The service user requests, and feels that it is within their best interest, that certain information be passed on.
• Circumstances where the counsellor has sufficient grounds to believe that the service user is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm.
• If the service user discloses that they are aware of significant harm of another person.
• If a young person is under a care order, or when child protection issues arise, the counsellor, with the permission of the young person, may attend case conferences and continue to honour the confidentiality contract.

If a child appears to be at risk of significant harm, it may be appropriate to seek help from other agencies to keep them safe. If appropriate, we inform the child’s parent/guardian of this. The counsellor would discuss this first with the young person concerned. For a full copy of our Safeguarding and Confidentiality Policies, please speak to your counsellor or the management team.