Safety first. Statement, Policy and Service Provider Agreement. These form part of the T&C’s of this site and by default are agreed to as part of agreeing to the Terms and Conditions of the site.
Firstly, should you have any concerns either with a Service Provider, their Service or CosyChats.com please contact@cosychats.com immediately.
The safety and welfare of Service Providers, Customers and those around them is paramount.
We hope your interaction with CosyChats.com and your chosen Service Provider is a rewarding and beneficial one. Below is our Safety First, Statement and Policy.
This recognises the most valuable thing in your life. Your children. How precious they are and how as parents we do everything, we can to keep them safe and protected.
CosyChats.com grew from a desire to help and do good, but as part of this we must make absolutely clear the limitations and the potential pitfalls in booking a Service. Below we trust makes this transparent to Customers and parents. We hope you find this useful and informative. Should you have any comments or any concerns whatsoever regarding any interaction, engagement, observation, communication with CosyChats.com or a Service Provider please contact us immediately. contact@cosychats.com
For all users, visitors, participants, Service Providers, Customers, contributors and observers who interact in any way or in any context with www.CosyChats.com or any Service Provider.
Safety first – always
Firstly, as parents, children’s (and your) welfare and safety are paramount.
In our experience to err on the side of caution uses best judgement and if required seek the advice and opinion of a professional. Cosychats.com and Service Providers detailed on CosyChats.com should never be considered a replacement for a medical or mental health professional. If you need the service of a medical or mental health professional, please seek that service. CosyChats.com or any of the Service Providers detailed should not and cannot replace the service provided by professionals.
What is Cosychats.com
Cosychats.com is a website that provides a marketplace for Service Providers. Customers book sessions with Service Providers to share experience and knowledge. CosyChats.com facilitates the payment and booking process but CosyChats.com or associated companies are not part of the booking. CosyChats.com does not monitor, review or have access to the information discussed or disclosed as part of the booking. CosyChats.com does not and could not validate the information and experience provided as being correct, valid, or accurate. It is important to understand the booking is made with the Service Provider individually and it is their experience and knowledge that is shared.
Service Provider experience and knowledge.
Any information or experience shared by Service Providers is their own opinion and experience. Information or experience shared should not necessarily be relied upon as being factual or as being a statement of fact, as being best practice; an expert or qualified opinion; a recommendation or plan of action.
Customers must validate Service Providers experience or experience shared as being relative and correct to their circumstances and children’s circumstances.
Service Providers may provide information, experience or knowledge that may be considered incorrect, or is incorrect or not best practice as reviewed by a qualified practitioner or expert in the field or is harmful or be detrimental to your child.
There may be several reasons for this including.
There is no one size fits all. Every child is different. What works for one child may not work for another. Children do not come with a user manual. Customers and parents must always use discretion and judgement.
The Service Provider deliberately did not follow best practice. For example, unhealthy eating (high sugar/fat/salt content snacks), as the child was a particularly fussy eater in the parents view and food intake was the important point, in their view.
The Service provider has not shared all relative information or experience. The Service Providers recollection is inaccurate. As to make the experience or knowledge shared incomplete or inaccurate to the actual event.
The customer has not shared all relative information and /or is not aware of all relative information in relation to the child concerned.
The Service Provider was not and is not aware of best practice or correct practice or did not consider it best practice. Either historically or currently. More up to date research, scientific study or qualified or professional opinion may disagree with the Service Providers approach or opinion.
The Service Provider may have a different set of beliefs which does not align to what would be considered or is best practice.
The experience and knowledge shared by a Service Provider may not be suitable, relative, correct, or appropriate for your or other children, for you or your family.
The knowledge or experience shared may have no or a detrimental impact if followed.
Experience, knowledge or anything else expressed or shared by a Service Provider as part of a service booked through cosychats.com should not be solely relied upon and should be independently researched and verified by the customer to a qualified and reliable source.
Service and Service Provider Information.
Service Providers are self-employed and can set their own availability and hourly rate.
Service Providers write their own profile detailing their experience and parenting journey.
Service Providers provide the Service to the Customer. Cosychats does not monitor conversations, have the ability to review conversations or is party to discussions. Cosychats does not dictate the style or approach of the Service Provider, how they provide the service or any other part of the service provided.
Service Providers are usually subject to a reasonableness assessment. For clarity this is not a defined or formal assessment, no results are recorded or scored. The assessment is not to be relied upon as validation of the Service Providers knowledge, experience or capability to provide the Service.
Cosychats does not validate the Service Providers profile information, including the experience and parenting information detailed. Cosychats does not validate the Service Providers ability to provide any service or other item as detailed in the profile.
Service Provider Registration
Each Service Provider undertakes a registration process including identity, address, parent (Child’s birth certificate) and DBS, checks.
Service Providers do agree to maintaining confidentiality, the exception being if a safeguarding concern is identified, and information be shared with relevant authorities to assist in the safeguarding concern.
Service Providers commit to undertaking safeguarding training.
Service Providers are interviewed and subject to a reasonableness test. This is test is not to be relied on as confidence in the Service Providers ability.
There is a risk when seeking the experience/knowledge of others. CosyChats has considered this at length and believes this risk cannot be eliminated. CosyChats wishes to be clear about this.
If you have any concerns over any Service Provider or element of service provided, please contact@cosychats.com immediately.
Service Providers Service
In relation to a Service booked through cosychats.com. To the best of their ability, Service Providers should always act with integrity, share and communicate their experience and knowledge accurately and not be misleading.
Meetings should always be virtual and never in person.
Service Providers commit to monitoring their own mental health especially when discussing distressing or life changing or other experiences. Should you have any concerns about a Service Provider please contact@cosychats.com . The welfare of customers and Service Providers is paramount to CosyChats,com
Requests for diagnosis
Customers or anyone else should refrain from asking Service Providers to provide diagnosis, assessment, prognosis or interpretation or opinion of any medical or mental health issue as communicated as part of the service delivered in relation to a booking make through cosychats.com.
Such requests, assessments, diagnosis, interpretation, or medical opinion should always be completed by a qualified practitioner expert in the relevant field. A face-to-face consultation, assessment, examination and additional information or tests may be required.
‘Qualified’ Service Providers
Service Providers may have relevant experience or knowledge, but this should not be solely relied upon. Customers should seek the opinion of a qualified practitioner(s) acting in that capacity and/or source to validate any such information provided, to their own satisfaction and judgement.
Should the customer require the opinion of a qualified professional employed in that capacity by a trusted employer, the customer must seek this service directly.
To reiterate, as parents’ children’s (and your) welfare and safety are paramount. CosyChats.com and the Service Providers detailed, in no way whatsoever wish to, or replace, any qualified professional service.
Safeguarding & Sign posting
As part your interaction with Cosychats.com or your chosen Service Provider a safeguarding issue may be identified.
Your Service Provider may identify, or you communicate or observe behaviour that relates to your (and/or those around you) welfare, safety, or something else that causes concern. This may relate to physical or psychological harm or risk of harm.
Examples.
Observe a child being harmed or threatened.
Observe, identify or be communicated, abuse or risk of abuse, either physical or psychological. For example, an abusive relationship.
Welfare issue. For example, new parents under extreme pressure which is creating a welfare concern for them and/or those around them.
If a safeguarding issue is identified.
Service Providers should;
If necessary, take immediate action. For example, contact the emergency services clearly communicating the risk, details and as much information as required.
Document the safe-guarding concern,
Use short factual sentences, for example use bullet points
A concise statement would be: Identified that child had bruising. When asked about the bruise, parent (name) said ‘i lost my temper’ I have reported my concerns to 101.
Preserve and document evidence.
As part of Safeguarding customers may be directed to relevant Services. These may vary from area to area and the list below is not prescriptive.
Here are some key helplines available in the UK:
- Samaritans: Available 24/7 for anyone in distress. You can call them at 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org for a response within 24 hours1.
- Shout Crisis Text Line: A free, confidential text service available 24/7. Text SHOUT to 85258 to connect with a trained volunteer1.
- Mind: Offers various support services, including a helpline. You can find more information on their website2.
- Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): Provides support for anyone feeling down or in crisis. Call 0800 58 58 58 or use their webchat service2.
- NHS 111: For urgent but non-emergency medical help, you can call 111 and select the mental health option1
And links to help points
Mental health services – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Mental Health Support Network provided by Chasing the Stigma | Hub of hope
Refuge, the largest UK domestic abuse organisation for women
Home – Women’s Aid (womensaid.org.uk)
Freedom From Domestic Abuse | Everyone Deserves To Feel Safe (theelmfoundation.org.uk)
Domestic abuse: how to get help – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen
Below is Specific to Service Providers
I agree and understand.
1. All conversations, information shared, discussed, communicated in whatsoever way either on a booking made via Cosychats.Com or in relation to a booking made via CosyChats.com is confidential unless a safeguarding or safety issue, point or concern is identified. In which case I agree to sharing the relevant information with the relevant service(s), authorities, as required to assist and resolve the safeguarding or safety concern.
2. Not to undertake professional or not, services, treatments diagnosis, including but not limited to counselling, therapy, coaching, holistic medicine in relation to any booking made through CosyChats.com
Any such services and/or treatment should be provided by an appropriately recognised, trained, and qualified professional. This type of therapy could unlock negative and toxic emotions in the person. This may be a floodgate the person has maintained by suppressing negative and toxic emotions. Releasing and processing these emotions could be very damaging and requires qualified support, possibly across several professions, to assist the person and prevent further emotional damage and safeguarding and self-harm risks.
For the avoidance of doubt, any such service(s) cannot be provided following any contact or booking made originally through CosyChats.com. By the service provider or associate of the service provider.
In relation to any information, knowledge or experience shared. Be mindful and not knowingly provide anything, whether actually or potentially, incorrect, harmful, or damaging. I understand this does not prevent me from sharing my experience. It does not inhibit my ability to discuss things that have worked for my family, but I would caveat the experience as being mine.
3. That as part of sharing knowledge, experience, understanding or any information whatsoever either during, or in relation to, a booking made through CosyChats.com this may impact my mental or physical health. For example, but not limited to, by reliving painful or traumatic experiences. I will be mindful of any such impact to my mental or physical health. Should there be any such impact, risk of impact or signs of impact, I will stop providing services and seek qualified and professional assistance as required.
The welfare of Service Providers, Customers and those close, is paramount to all of us.
4. Should I Identify a safety or safeguarding concern, risk, potential risk, or indication of risk. I will take appropriate action to support and signpost appropriate services. If necessary, contacting emergency services.
I commit to undertaking appropriate Safeguarding training. I understand there are various courses available. CosyChats.com has provided the below example of Mental Health first Aid. Which is fully funded by the UK Government.
Mental health first aid course online free – Free Courses Online
I understand this agreement is to protect all users of CosyChats.com, including myself and to ensure CosyChats.com can operate.