Families matter

What about personal information?

What if a parent has a concern or enquiry?

Is there a cost?

Families matter:
We understand that it’s important as parents or guardians to understand why and how an organisation like Lifespace might be involved in working alongside your child(ren).

Lifespace is an independent charity and all its team and volunteers are trained to an accredited standard, have completed an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure, receive regular professional supervision, and undertake additional training as part of their involvement.

Lifespace works in a way to make sure young people are safe. See our Introduction to Lifespace for more information

What about personal information?
We treat all personal information with great care, and do not pass on this information to others without your prior permission. Data is stored securely on our IT systems through use of passwords and other security measures, and locked cabinets are used to store paperwork.

As a parent, you can be assured that Lifespace works professionally and sensitively with young people and their families. Our national accreditation (Approved Provider Standard) is a rigorous assessment of how we work safely and effectively.

What if a parent has a concern or enquiry?
We are very happy for parents/families to contact us through the office for messages to be passed on. We understand there may be questions parents want to ask to gain reassurance or even advice. Due to the high volume of young people we work with each year and the very limited resources we have as a charity, we do not usually initiate contact with parents. There are exceptions to this when we are working with young people through the CAF process, or when there are risks of harm to self or others from the young person.

We do not give out personal mobile numbers of our mentors who abide by the Mentoring Code of Good Practice and the Volunteer Mentor Policy, and who also work to our Confidentiality Protocol which provides guidance on what information from young people may or may not be passed on to parents/families.

Is there a cost?
Yes. Most often, our work is paid for by the agencies that put young people in touch with us. They complete the necessary forms and risk assessments, and we make suitable arrangements for payment. We do work directly with a number of local families where for various reasons, the school/College their child attends may not be able to use our service (e.g. outside of the geography we cover). For families in Stratford, we are able to offer a highly subsidised mentoring service due to support we get from Stratford Town Trust. We are not in a position to provide our services for free.

We are always willing to talk these matters through on the phone or to meet face to face.

Contact us