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
In 2015 we attended a one day workshop run by Leap focused on empowering families towards creating an ordinary life for their child with disability. At that point we had been learning to live with a complex physical and intellectual disability diagnosis for our son Ed. We could not articulate what we wanted for him, but we were certain that we did not want him to experience a life of exclusion and special, away from his siblings and other children.
Following the workshop with Leap we started to understand that we needed to change our language and how we spoke about Ed towards a strength based, positive articulation of who he is. We sat with our children and discussed what they imagined a good life to be, and interestingly all three held the same hopes for their life. The reality that we could be the leaders in Ed’s life while he was growing and navigating his childhood became obvious. We started to outline a vision for Ed’s future, one where he would work within his community, within a valued role, contributing his expertise and value in a meaningful way. This vision became our destination and all decisions that we make are guided by it.
Recognition of Ed’s strengths provided a foundation for decision-making for Ed. It assisted in the decision around where he would attend school. Ed attended mainstream primary school, and remained in his class every day with the support of a shared SNA. We were able to outline our vision clearly to each teacher and as a result they applied their expertise to ensure that Ed was educated using a universal design for learning approach. This allowed him to demonstrate his understanding of the knowledge gained in a way most suited to his strengths. Ed moved on from primary to secondary school. Again, thanks to the language learned and support from Leap, Ed continues to enjoy his educational journey, surrounded by his peers, in an inclusive classroom. Ed is being knitted into his community, willingly, and he is experiencing a welcome that is true and genuine. It is not based on a “special needs” approach, but rather it is based on a recognition of his unique abilities and wonderful imagination and creativity It is tempting to pick the safe route for my wonderful son, yet the” tougher” route will be the one that provides a more meaningful and fulfilling future.
Today Ed will be attending the local drumming camp. He will independently take the bus there and back. He will hang out with his peers. He will have the life of any other 14 year old. We do not need to access service, he is entitled to July Provision, but because he is knitted in community, he does not need it. This has not happened by accident, rather it has been intentionally created by his family and friends with the support of Leap, buoyed by the vision for his ordinary life, his good life.
Ultimately our vision remains unwavering; Ed will work in a paid job where he thrives, included and valued as part of his community. He will live interdependently, supported by friends and family. He will live a good life, thanks to the support of Leap in helping us to articulate and clearly outline our vision for his future.
I learned more from the Leadership for Inclusion weekend than I thought possible, it was very powerful shared with like-minded group of people who want their son or daughter to live an inclusive, ordinary life. These are the moments where ideas grow wings and fly and our children and young adults get to live happy, fulfilled, inclusive and ordinary lives. I left Galway with fire in my belly.
The work that Leap do is crucial. Without their experiential wisdom and training for Families, the life our family member would have taken an entirely different trajectory. They have been instrumental in keeping us on track to create a good life for our son, where he is a valued member of society. The weekend workshops have given us the resolve to carry on. It’s really important to meet other families, hear their stories and to support each other on our journeys. We have learned that an ordinary life, not a special one is what makes for a good life. Everyone has a different type of intelligence and has something valuable to offer their community. It is crucial that Leap continue their good work, offering more workshops to other families to support our often invisible citizens to be fully visible and celebrated for who they are.
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.
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.
My first encounter with LEAP was in 2019 when I attended a family weekend with my three children, two of which have special needs and complex medical issues. As a single parent I was sceptical as to how the weekend would unfold but LEAP was extremely organised and there was lots of support for the children so I was quickly reassured. I was introduced to inclusion and ‘what a good life’ looks like and the role I have in helping my children have that inclusive good life. On one hand I felt extremely heartbroken at the thought of my children not experiencing an inclusive life and on the other hand I was extremely motivated at the prospects of my children living life to their full potential.
My children have two different diagnoses and up to this point I was a member of each respective special needs club and there was no club that welcomed both or all of my children just as they are. The special needs clubs segregate children and parents and only advocate for the needs of that particular condition. They don’t prioritise inclusion; in fact, they thrive on segregation and organise events and activities that keep “us” all together and away from the outside world. To me, this sends an indirect message to our communities that ‘we are different and we don’t want to be associated with you’.
LEAP helped me look at life from a different perspective, to see my children as just children, with different strengths, weaknesses and opportunities just like everyone of us.
I stayed linked in with LEAP and was able to liaise with Rachel on many issues which has helped me immensely on my life’s journey as a single parent with three children. LEAP has been very supportive and I’ve never felt alone and when I questioned my own direction, I was gently guided by Rachel to stay on track.
In 2024 I attended LEAP’s ‘Leadership for Inclusion’ series and learned a lot about the history of disability in Ireland and the changing attitudes of our society. We discussed our basic human needs such as food, shelter and connections and also the importance of inclusion, participation and contribution to society. This led to hearing some amazing stories about our shared values and stories of the achievements of our children. LEAP has created a platform for families to network and connect with one another and open up discussion groups amongst us.
Thanks to LEAP I really feel that I am an integral part of this movement for change. Through their workshops I feel that I now share the same vision of ‘living in a community where we all belong’ and our differences are accepted.
Overall LEAP empowers families with valuable information and practical advice about inclusion and equality. They are there to support you and help you speak up for your children when faced with challenges, to reassure you, and even hold your hand. There is genuinely no other charity that I know off that offers this unique service. I feel its imperative that LEAP secure funding to continue its core mission and help in the creation of an ‘Ireland where everyone belongs’.
We are a family of five living in Laois with three sons, two of whom are on the autism spectrum. Ruairi, our eldest at 19, just finished school in June. We kept him in school an extra year as we were uncertain about his future. This year, with Ruairi eager to move on like his brother Oran, who was also finishing school, we began exploring local opportunities. Ruairi made it clear, saying, “I am the same as Oran, I want to go to college and get a job.” With his vision so clear, we began our journey.
While local services were helpful, they didn’t align with Ruairi’s goals. It was only when we spoke with the occupational guidance officer that we were introduced to Leap Ireland. That same evening, I spoke with Leap for 40 minutes, and they explained their approach. I was thrilled that Ruairi’s voice could finally be heard. Leap sent information about their services and connected us with other families to give us a clearer picture of what they offer.
After discussing it with Ruairi, we invited Leap to our home. Together, over four hours, Ruairi developed his vision with our support, and we created a plan for him to live a full, inclusive life. We later attended training at Leap’s Westmeath premises, which was invaluable. We met other families with similar visions, and Leap was always available for guidance, never making us feel like just a number.
With Leap’s help, we set up a circle of support, and since then, we haven’t looked back. Ruairi is excited to start college and engage more with the community. His personal budget will be available in September, and he’s already trying new things with our family and Leap’s support. We are confident Ruairi will attend college, find employment, and be a valuable member of society, just like his peers.
We’ve recommended Leap to many families, and once Ruairi is in college, I plan to advocate more for this choice. Everyone deserves to know their options, and without Leap, Ruairi’s story might have been very different. His future is now in his hands, with our support. We cannot thank Leap enough.
Hi Rachel,
I just wanted to personally thank you for all you gave us over the weekend. I didn’t properly hug you and thank you when you left. The work you along with Trevor and your team do gives steadfast hope and strength for us to continue to reach for our goals and dreams and the confidence to know we’ll get there. It’s scary at times (sometimes often!) but you really do help to take the fear away. Thank you, Rachel. I really do appreciate what you and Leap are doing for all of us at the weekends and for so many other families. I hope you now have some time for yourself to recover, rest and relax and bathe in the realisation that you are doing and instigating something mind blowing and wonderful.
Family testimony, Leadership for Inclusion Series, 2024