You can delete your Speak Up Space chat history.

If you don’t want the next person using your device to be able to see a chat that you have had with Speak Up Space then follow these 3 steps:

• Click the ‘X’ to leave the chat.
• Visit a different website (eg www.google.co.uk).
• Click on ‘internet history’ & select “Clear History”.

The next time you want to chat with Speak Up Space you will need to submit your Nickname, Age & Town again.

Speak Up Space Instant Messaging is a confidential service.

This means that what you tell us will remain private unless we believe that your life or another person’s life is in immediate danger or is at risk of immediate harm. We will always be honest with you and we will try and work with you to find the best way to keep you safe.

Speak Up Space will only break confidentiality if we believe that your life or another young person’s life is in immediate danger or is at risk of immediate harm. We will always be honest with you and we will try and work with you to find the best way to keep you and other young people safe. We will never hide what we are doing from you.

If you are not at risk of harm but would like us to tell someone you trust something, we can explore this with you too.

At Speak Up Space we very rarely break confidentiality.

Whenever you contact Speak Up Space you will chat with a fully trained Speak Up Space Practitioner. We all complete the same training so we all work in a very similar way. We listen to you to understand what is happening in your life and to help you find the best way to move forwards that feels right for you.

When you come through for a chat we ask you for 5 pieces of information: your nickname, your age, your gender, your ethnicity and your postcode.

• We ask for a nickname to help us see when and how many times you have used the service and to plan future delivery of Speak up Space. Remember if you would prefer to remain anonymous, that’s okay. Just give a first name and initial or a nickname.
• Your age helps us to find out which age groups are using the service so that we can understand how we can best reach and support all different age groups.
• Gender identity is important to us and helps us to make sure that Speak Up Space is reaching and supporting everyone in a way that works for them.
• Speak up Space wants to be available to all young people in Stoke-on-Trent so your ethnicity helps us to ensure that everyone can benefit from support when they need help. If we understand who is using Speak up Space we can promote the work we do to any groups who may be missing out on support.
• Your postcode helps us to see which areas of Stoke-on-Trent are using Speak Up Space so that we can promote the work that we do in the areas that are missing out. If you prefer to remain anonymous it’s okay to just give us the first 3 digits of your postcode and your home town.

There is no right or wrong amount of time for a chat to last. An average chat lasts around 45 minutes. Some chats only last a few minutes but others can last longer. The most important thing is that we have enough time to support you in the way that feels right for you.

There are no limits to the number of times that you can use Speak Up Space’s instant messaging service. You can use it as often as you need in order to receive the support you need to talk about what is important to you.

Our practitioners work at different times on different shifts so it is unlikely that you will always speak to the same person BUT all our practitioners work in the same way so whoever you talk to you will always receive the same type of support.

At Speak Up Space you can talk about anything that is important to you. We will always listen and we will never judge. We aim to support you in the way that feels right for you in that moment.

We ARE NOT a crisis support service and if you feel that your life or somebody else’s life is in immediate danger we recommend that you dial 999 and speak to the emergency services OR you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 OR Papyrus Hopeline UK on 0800 068 4141 (9am-10pm weekdays & 2pm-10pm weekends & Bank Holidays).

At Speak Up Space we will not tell you what to do. We will listen and support you with whatever you need.

Speak Up Space is a confidential service so we will not tell anyone else that you have used the service unless we need to break confidentiality (see 3. above).

If you need to talk to someone when Speak Up Space is closed you can have an online chat with ChildLine by visiting www.childline.org.uk or by calling them on 0800 11 11. ChildLine are available 24 hours per day. Alternatively visit our online support pages for other options.

Yes. Sometimes even the speak up space team spell things wrong. If we don’t understand something that you have typed, or we are unsure, we will ask and between us we will get there. In the same way, you can always ask if you don’t understand what we have typed.

Yes. Even if you are receiving support from another service or professional you can still access our instant messaging service.

Even if you have spoken to us before we will never share ANY information with you that you told us in a previous chat. If anyone does pretend to be you in a chat they will not find out from us anything that you have spoken about before (also see 1. Deleting Chat History).