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Terms & Conditions
The basis on which Ambitions First Care Ltd provides residential accommodation and everyday support, and the terms that apply to referrals and placements.
1. Scope of these terms
These terms govern the provision of residential accommodation and everyday support services by Ambitions First Care Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) and apply to placements commissioned by local authorities, social work teams, commissioning organisations and other placing bodies (“the placing authority”). Where a separate written placement agreement or commissioning contract is in place, that document takes precedence to the extent of any conflict. These terms also govern the use of this website.
2. Our services
We provide residential accommodation, daily routine support, independence skills work, education liaison, support to participate in the community, and safeguarding, recording and reporting arrangements as set out in the individual placement plan.
We do not provide clinical assessment, therapy, medical treatment or nursing care, and we are not a secure setting. Where a young person requires services outside our remit, we will say so and work with the placing authority and partner agencies to secure them.
3. Referrals and placements
All referrals are subject to assessment and matching by us. Submitting a referral does not create an obligation on either side to proceed. We may decline a referral where we consider, in our professional judgement, that the placement would not be safe or would not meet the young person’s needs.
Placements begin only when a placement plan has been agreed and a start date confirmed in writing. The placement plan sets out the support to be provided, the staffing and overnight arrangements, the reporting cycle and the named contacts on both sides. Where information supplied at referral proves materially incomplete or inaccurate, we may review the placement in consultation with the placing authority.
Reviews take place on the cycle agreed at planning. Any change to the placement plan is recorded, together with the reasons for the change.
4. Fees, invoicing and settlement
Rates for day services, support sessions and assessment visits are published on our Fees & Funding page and are held for the financial year in which they are quoted. Fees for a residential placement are agreed in writing before the placement commences and are calculated by reference to the support commissioned, because they depend on the placement plan. Invoices are issued on the cycle set out in the placement agreement and are payable within the period stated on the invoice.
Welfare services of this kind are exempt from VAT, so the amounts quoted are the amounts invoiced. Where a service we provide falls outside that exemption, we will confirm the position and show VAT separately in the quotation before the service is commissioned.
Additional or exceptional support will not be charged unless it has been agreed with the placing authority in advance and priced explicitly. Where a placement requires additional staffing or specialist input, we will discuss the resulting variation before proceeding.
We will tell the placing authority promptly if we believe a change in circumstances will affect fees for a future period. Nothing in this clause relieves a placing authority of a liability to pay for services already provided in accordance with the placement agreement.
5. Notice, cancellation and ending a placement
Notice periods for ending a placement are set out in the placement agreement. Where the placing authority requires a placement to end at short notice, or where a placement is cancelled after a confirmed start date, fees already incurred, including committed staffing costs, remain payable unless otherwise agreed in writing. This is the extent of any refund entitlement; where fees have been paid in advance for a period during which we do not provide the service, we will refund the relevant proportion on a pro-rata basis or credit it to the placing authority, at the placing authority’s option.
We may end a placement where continued provision would be unsafe, where the placement plan can no longer be delivered, or where safeguarding requires it. In that situation we will work with the placing authority on a planned and supported transition, and will give as much notice as the circumstances allow.
6. Safeguarding and incident handling
Safeguarding takes precedence over every other provision in these terms. We will act to protect a young person immediately, and where necessary without prior agreement from the placing authority, and will inform the placing authority as soon as it is practicable to do so.
Concerns, incidents, absences and significant changes are recorded the same day and reported to the placing authority in accordance with the reporting arrangement agreed in the placement plan. We may also report to regulators, the police or other agencies where the law requires it or where it is necessary to protect someone from harm.
The placing authority agrees to provide accurate and complete information at referral, including risk and vulnerability information, to keep us informed of material changes, and to provide out-of-hours duty contact arrangements.
7. Data, records and confidentiality
Each party will treat information about a young person as confidential and will use it only for the purposes of the placement and the safeguarding of the young person. Information is shared on the basis that it is necessary, proportionate and relevant.
Records created by us remain our records and are retained in accordance with our regulatory and statutory obligations and with our Privacy Policy. Records will be made available to the placing authority for inspection on reasonable notice, and to regulators and agencies where required by law.
Personal data is processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms.
8. Responsibilities of the placing authority
The placing authority is responsible for statutory decisions concerning the young person, including care planning, contact arrangements and any decisions about placement ending or move-on. The placing authority agrees to engage with reviews, to tell us promptly about changes affecting the placement, and to maintain the provision of education and health services for which it is responsible.
9. Liability
Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.
Subject to the paragraph above, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, or loss arising from information supplied to us at referral that was incomplete or inaccurate. Our total liability arising out of a placement is limited to the fees payable in respect of that placement for the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, except where a different limit is agreed in a placement agreement.
We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of other agencies, including education providers, health services and other professionals, whose services remain their responsibility.
10. Complaints
Complaints and concerns are dealt with under our written complaints and concerns policy, a copy of which is available on request. Complaints are logged, acknowledged and investigated, and the complainant is told the outcome and the reasons for it. Where a complaint concerns the safety or welfare of a young person, it will be treated as a safeguarding matter and handled under clause 6.
11. Website use
The content of this website is provided for general information. While we take care to keep it accurate and up to date, it does not constitute advice and should not be relied on as a statement of the services available in any particular case. Nothing on this website forms an offer capable of acceptance, and no placement arises from it.
12. General
If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it. These terms, together with any placement agreement and our Privacy Policy, set out the whole basis on which we provide services to a placing authority.
13. Governing law and jurisdiction
These terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them, including non-contractual disputes, are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute or claim.
14. Contact
Questions about these terms should be sent to info@ambitionsfirstcare.uk or raised by telephone on +44 7533 557333.