Leap’s full Privacy Policy

Privacy and cookies on the Leap website

1. Introduction and general terms

Leap are committed to protecting any personal information we obtain about you, whether you are just visiting our website or are looking for assistance, to support us or volunteer. This Privacy Policy sets out how we obtain, use and protect any personal information you provide to us, whether online, via phone, text, email, by post or in other correspondence.

  • This privacy policy explains the following:
  • What information Leap may collect about you;
  • How Leap will use information we collect about you;
  • When Leap may use your details to contact you;
  • Whether Leap will disclose your details to anyone else;
  • Your choices regarding the personal information you provide to us;
  • The use of cookies on the Leap website and how you can exercise your choices in relation to those cookies.

The Leap website contains hyperlinks to websites owned and operated by third parties. These third-party websites have their own privacy policies, including policies on their use of cookies, and we urge you to review them. They will govern the use of personal information you submit, or which is collected by cookies whilst visiting these websites. We cannot accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third-party websites and your use of such websites is at your own risk.

2. Who we are

Leap is registered at Winetown, Fore, Co. Westmeath.

3. What information will Leap collect about me?

When you contact Leap to request assistance, volunteer, attend one of our workshops, conferences, or sign up for online content, such as newsletters, or you telephone, email, write to Leap, or engage with Leap via social media channels, we may receive and retain personal information about you. This can consist of information such as your name, email address, postal address, telephone or mobile number, and bank account details or financial details (Debit or Credit Cards) to process payments.

By submitting your details, you enable Leap (and where applicable any sub-contractors we may use) to provide you with information or support, activities or online content you select.

If you are simply browsing our website as an anonymous visitor, Leap may still collect certain information from you, such as your IP addresses (an IP address is a number that can uniquely identify a specific computer or other network device on the internet).
If you enter your contact details in one of our online forms, we may use this information to contact you even if you don’t “send” or “submit” the form. We will only do this to see if we can help with any problems you might be experiencing with the form or with our websites.

Leap also uses cookies. Cookies are small text files on your device. They are made by your web browser when you visit a website. Every time you go back to that website, your browser will send the cookie file back to the website’s server. They improve your experience of using a website, for example, by remembering your preference settings and by measuring your use of a website to ensure that it meets your needs. See Section 11 below for more detail on how we use cookies and how you can control your cookie preferences.

4. How will Leap use the information you collect about me?

Leap will use your personal information for a number of purposes including the following:

In relation to any correspondence you have entered into with us whether by letter, email, text, social media, message board or any other means;

  • For “service administration purposes”, which means that Leap may contact you for reasons related to donations you have made such as your tax status with regard to CHY 3/4 and Gift Aid, the completion of commercial or other transactions you have entered into with Leap or the activity or online content you have signed up for;
  • For internal record keeping;
  • To invite you to participate in surveys or research about Leap or our work (participation is always voluntary);
  • For marketing purposes where you have specifically consented to receive marketing communications from us;
  • To provide you with information about our activities or online content you have agreed to receive;
  • To personalise the way Leap content is presented to you;
  • To use IP addresses to identify the location of users, to block disruptive use, to establish the number of visits from different countries;
  • To analyse and improve the activities and content offered by the Leap website to provide you with the most user-friendly navigation experience. We may also use and disclose information in aggregate (so that no individuals are identified) for marketing and strategic development purposes.

5. Will I be contacted for marketing purposes?

Leap will only contact you for marketing purposes where you have provided us with freely given consent to do so. You may provide that consent in various ways including though online or paper forms.

Please see section 10 below for information on how to change your communication preferences, including opting out of future marketing communications.

6. Will Leap share my personal information with anyone else?

We will only use your information within Leap for the purposes for which it was obtained. Leap will not, under any circumstances, share or sell your personal data with any third party for their own marketing purposes and you will not receive offers from other companies or organisations as a result of giving your details to us.
We may share your information with selected third parties including:
Analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our site.

If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our terms and conditions and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Leap, the user of our services, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

7. Offensive or inappropriate content placed on the Leap website

If you post or send offensive, inappropriate or objectionable content to or anywhere on the Leap website or otherwise engage in any disruptive behaviour on any Leap service, we may use your personal information to stop such behaviour.
Where Leap reasonably believes that you are or may be in breach of any of the laws of Ireland (e.g. because content you have posted may be defamatory), we may use your personal information to inform relevant third parties such as your employer, internet provider or law enforcement agencies about the content and your behaviour.

8. How long will Leap keep my personal data?

We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, for example we will keep a record of your request for assistance and support for at least seven years.

If you request that we stop sending you material, we will keep a record of your contact details and appropriate information to enable us to comply with your request not to be contacted by us.

Where you contribute material to us, e.g. user generated content or in response to a particular request we will generally only keep your content for as long as is reasonably required for the purpose(s) for which it was submitted unless otherwise stated at the point of generation.

9. Storing your personal data

All information you provide to us is stored on secure servers.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

10. What is Leap’s policy on allowing me to update, correct, or delete my personal information?

The accuracy of your information is really important to us. We want to ensure that we are able to communicate with you in ways that you are happy with, and to provide you with information that is of interest. If you wish to change how we communicate with you, or update the information we hold, then please contact us:

  • Write to us: Leap, Winetown, Fore, Co. Westmeath.
  • Email us: leapireland@gmail.com
  • Call us (Mon-Sat 0900-1700): 0876130165
  • You may also opt out of information emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any information email from Leap.
  • If you wish to make any data protection related enquiries or requests about your personal data, please contact Leap’s designated Data Protection officer on: 0876130165
  • Email leapireland@gmail.com
  • Under the National Legislation from 1998 and 2003 and the GDPR you have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected.

11. Cookies Policy – information Leap collects from your computer or mobile device

a. What is a cookie?

Cookies are small text files on your device. They are made by your web-browser when you visit a website. Every time you go back to that website, your browser will send the cookie file back to the website’s server. Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user’s device. Cookies do lots of different jobs, like letting you navigate between pages efficiently, remembering your preferences, and generally improving the user experience.

They can also help to ensure that adverts you see online are more relevant to you and your interests.

b. Why does Leap use cookies?

Like many websites, leap uses cookies in order to provide you with a more personalised web service.

Cookies help us identify which bits of our website people are using and help us do work on those sections of the website to improve the user experience. We also use cookies to help show content on our site which is relevant to you and your interests.

For further information on Leap cookies and how to control your cookie preferences see our Cookie Policy

12. Changes to Leap’s Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time, so you may wish to check it each time you submit personal information to Leap. The date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page. If you do not agree to these changes, please do not continue to use the Leap website to submit personal information to Leap. If material changes are made to the Privacy Policy, we will notify you by placing a prominent notice on the website.

Updated September 2018

If you have any questions please contact us

I am delighted to be connected with Leap. Since having attended one of their family leadership weekends back in 2012 my outlook for Liam's future has been full of aspirations envisioning what "a good life" could look like for us. I have attended many Leap events since that time. Thank you so much Rachel Cassen and team for your inspiring work.

L. Nolan

Parent, 2019

Leap were able to effectively manage the set up and delivery of training to a range of participants in various venues around the country. They were always professional, punctual and courteous. They managed a range of diverse situations and learning groups with skill and diplomacy. Their training and workshops were highly engaging and were designed and delivered to an extremely high standard. Training content and handouts were clear and concise even whilst covering complex topics. Training was well paced and utilised a range of methodologies including discussion and facilitated reflection, small group work and values clarification. I would have no hesitation in recommending Leap as a training provider.
Brian Smyth, Deputy CEO

Leitrim Development Company, 2019

This is just to say a huge thank you to you for yesterday’s ‘Creating a Good Life’ course in Galway. For the first time since our lovely boy was diagnosed, I am filled with enthusiasm and hope about how we as a family can help him to have a great future.
Parent who attended a workshop

February 2017

Leap provided us with fantastic support on working with families. The two days of training they delivered provided staff with an honest platform to discuss proactive ways to engage families, to understand what is service business and what is family business, as well as reflection on their roles. The training provided a way of valuing and enhancing the role support workers provide and feedback indicated staff really appreciated the opportunity to learn and develop their skills and understanding. We look forward to working with you again! Thank you.
RehabCare

May 2016

Parent feedback to the Autism Services was extremely positive and encouraging. There were a number of key responses from parents who attended the workshops. Parents advised that the workshops offered a safe supportive place to discuss the “real practical issues” for them as family units. It offered an opportunity to explore and challenge the value they place on their own roles, strength and capacity as parents /carers and where they and their children “fit” in society. Parents report an enhanced confidence in determining the pathways for their children advising they had an increased sense of “hope” and “empowerment”. Parents acknowledged that they are more willing and confident in ensuring their child is involved in their local community thus developing and widening the “natural” supports available to them as a family. Parents reported a clearer understanding of the role of support services in relation to their family. Parents who were in attendance advised they would recommend the workshops to other parents/ carers.
HSE West

2016

Very valuable - the best information, positive, beneficial. More so than any meetings that I have attended since my son's diagnosis Thank-you.
Parent who attended workshop

February 2016

For the last 6 years I have worked closely with Rachel Cassen, Director of Leap, on a number of projects, and am constantly impressed by her dedication, energy and capabilities in bringing together people from diverse backgrounds to work towards a common goal. The Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway has a strong relationship with Leap, which began with Leap’s involvement in research on the personalisation of supports for people with disabilities in Ireland. Following the publication of the Assisted Decision-Making Capacity Bill in July 2013, our Centre, in partnership with Leap and Inclusion Ireland, hosted the first set of national seminars to explain the Bill to people with disabilities and their families. As a result, I was invited by Leap to form the ‘Self-Directed Living Research Group’ – bringing together families, self-advocates, disability service providers and brokers with a shared interest in community living. We jointly chaired the group, and sought out funding opportunities for our work – securing a small grant from the Irish Research Council for a series of workshops and a research report on the experiences of people with disabilities and their families in using individualised funding to create good lives in the community. The workshops we held around the country for this project led to the publication of a dynamic research report, which documented the important lessons learned by people with disabilities and their families on their journeys towards self-directed living. This research was well-received globally and was cited as an example of good practice during the plenary session of a conference in Vancouver in October 2015 entitled ‘Claiming full citizenship – an international conference on self-determination, personalisation and individualised funding.’ Since the completion of the report, Leap has gone on to develop the project further with a new group of families and we have continued to collaborate and support Leap’s work in the fields of inclusive education and equal citizenship. For example, Leap presented at our annual summer school in June 2019 on the subject of young people with disabilities belonging to families and communities. Rachel is always a pleasure to work with and someone whose vision and integrity I greatly admire.
Professor Eilionóir Flynn, Director

Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUIG, 2019

When I came away after the Leap weekend I was on fire. I really think it's the way forward and it has really filled in the gap in my head that was missing. I think it's brilliant for all agencies to be involved but I think the real change has to be on the ground through families! Families and their aspirations for their loved ones really change things especially in extended family, neighbours, community and society. Always remember you can read books, study it but we are the ones who live and breathe this every day of our lives.
Parent who attended a workshop

April 2016

I want to say thank you for the wonderful course that I was lucky enough to attend today. This morning I had no idea of what lay ahead of me and I thought it was going to be another one of those courses/gatherings where people moan about the lack of services and where I might pick up perhaps one or two ideas, but how wrong could I be. As a mum to two children with ‘disabilities’ (however I'm not sure I agree with this word) a fourteen-year-old and a seven-year-old whom both struggle to conform and fit in, I learnt that my children have so much to offer society. I learnt the importance of celebrating and building on what my children can do, not what they can't. I met some amazing people that are on similar paths to me and we learnt and supported each other and I look forward to meeting up with them all soon. I cannot recommend this course enough and if you get the chance take a few hours out and attend it. Oh, I forgot to say most importantly I see hope for the future. Thank you again.
Parent who attended workshop

February 2016