Adaptation/Age Appropriateness
Breakages
Confidentiality
Disclaimers
Feedback
Hidden Charges
Late return of Equipment
Length of Loan
New Stocks
Postage / Packaging
Referral
Registration
What we do not supply
Adaptation/age appropriateness
Not every toy will be suitable for adaptation, but we do our best to provide the widest variety of toys possible, both electronically and financially. Except for novelty toys and radio-controlled toys, which hopefully appeal to the child in all of us, there is a time when toys, for some children, cease to amuse and stimulate. If this is the case, there may come a time when we can no longer help.
back to top
Breakages
There is no charge for breakages, although we do get miffed if the parents or teachers go on a rampage with the toys and switches.
back to top
Confidentiality.
We are a registered charity and have been for 16 years. We have a strict confidentiality rule regarding client details. Certain basic information is needed to ensure that we provide the best service we can. No client details are shared with anybody!
back to top
Disclaimers.
All of the equipment purchased by Steps is of a high standard and conforms to all of the standard safety regulations. We strongly recommend that children are supervised during switch and toy usage as Steps cannot accept responsibility for any accidents incurred. The responsibility for switch and toy safety remains with their respective manufacturers
back to top
Feedback
Each piece of equipment is sent out with a feedback form. We know that you are busy people but for us to give the very best service that we can, even ‘More of the same’, is helpful. The feedback form has a few nuggets of information on it that you might find useful, including the return date. Whilst we cannot guarantee to have a particular toy in stock at any given time, every effort will be made to send a requested toy out to the child or one in a similar category. No piece of feedback is ignored and we will either write back to you or phone for a chat. Your concerns about the toys and switches are our concerns.
back to top
Hidden Charges
There ARE no hidden charges. It is our guarantee that you will never be asked to contribute to our service. Of course, (smiles) if you should want to send a little something by way of a thank you, we will not refuse it and put the money to very good use.
back to top
Late return of equipment
Do not worry if you cannot get the toy returned to us by the date on the form. We will not send the bailiffs! If the toy should stop working or get broken, there is no need to feel embarrassed or worried and keep hold of the toy, just parcel up the relevant bits and send them back to us. If the toy is changed every three months it gives a child the chance to try a range of different toys. We feel that this can only be a good thing.
back to top
Length of loan
Switches are loaned on long-term basis; toys are loaned on a short-term basis and exchanged every three months.
When a group of children are supplied toys and switches by Steps, please feel free to pool the toys together at the school so that the children each have a turn playing with a variety of toys. If we do send toys en bloc, we exchange the toys every 6 months, individual clients toys are exchanged after 3 months. If this is as clear as mud do give me a ring, or e-mail. It is always helpful to us to have somebody at the school willing to keep an eye on the toys and let us know about any difficulties or problems with the toys and switches. Do not worry if this is inconvenient.
back to top
New stocks
Our stocks of toys and switches is being updated on a regular basis, so it is a good idea to check with us if we have, or are planning to get a toy or a switch that you consider useful to the child.
back to top
Postage / Packaging
The return postage label is supplied by Steps, please keep this safely. The loss of the return stamped label adds substantially to our costs if this return postage label is lost and we are asked for a duplicate. If you can retain the packaging for the return journey, we would be obliged, as sending the toy back in a Jiffy bag has resulted in the destruction of the toy in the postal system.
Children who are registered as blind or partially sighted are sent Freepost labels marked as, (Articles For The Blind)
back to top
Referral
Providing it is with the agreement of the parents or carers, anybody can refer a child to us.
back to top
Registration
There is absolutely no red tape. It is very simple to register a child with us in any number of ways, whichever suits you the best.
It is Steps Policy to register children with our service rather than a school /Unit, with the exception of Hospices. When a child leaves the school or Unit for example, they can then continue to receive toys and switches from us for as long as they wish. We will happily register up to 10 children from a school with our service.
These are the registration details, the form filled in over the phone or the details e-mailed to us. If the parents or carers are a bit shy, we certainly do not mind a friendly occupational therapist or health professional acting as an intermediary for them.
Child’s name
Date of birth
Address, including the post code
Contact telephone number/person
Significant hearing/ visual impairment
Is the child registered as blind or partially sighted
Significant learning disability
Type of switch requested
Type of toy
back to top
What we do not supply
We do not supply batteries, or ANY mains-operated equipment.
back to top
|
