|
Introduction
Confidentiality means
that details about others should only be disclosed on a need to know basis. Any
details of a personal nature will only be disclosed with the consent of the
person involved wherever possible. Early Years Solutions recognises that the
handling of identifiable information is necessary to the effective functioning
of the organisation. This information
can be written, verbal and computerised.
Information is held about individuals using and providing services. This policy helps ensure that Early Years Solutions
provides a safe environment where individuals are treated with respect. The aims
for the policy are:
·
to comply with legislation such as the Data Protection Act 1998 and the
associated Codes of Practice;
- ensure
that information given in trust to Early Years Solutions is treated with
respect.
- ensure
that information is protected through clarity about how it is to be stored
and shared.
- ensure
that the boundaries of confidentiality are clear, and understood by all
- to provide practical guidelines;
- to protect people who use Early Years Solutions services.
Purpose
The
purpose of this policy is to detail the basic standards that Early Years
Solutions adheres to and will be reviewed annually.
Principles
This policy covers
confidential information relating to those who use the services of Early Years
Solutions. It is based on the principle
that all such information should be treated as confidential. Information of this nature should only be
shared when there is a clear, legitimate reason for doing so and with the
permissions of the parties involved. Although personal/sensitive information is
protected by Early Years Solutions there are exceptional circumstances when
confidential information would have to be disclosed;
- where this is necessary to protect a vulnerable child or person
from harm
- or to comply with the law.
Wherever
possible and appropriate the person will be informed that this action has been
taken.
Legal
context
- The Human Rights Act 1998 guarantees respect for a person's
private and family life, home and correspondence.
- The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) concerns personal information,
which includes facts and opinions about an individual which might identify
them. The DPA ensures that information held about any person cannot be used for
purposes other than those for which it was originally supplied, without the
person’s consent. Exceptions to these Acts are allowed where this is necessary
to protect a vulnerable person from harm.
- Some restricted and specific areas of legislation over-ride the
Human Rights Act and the Data Protection Act, for example in the area of
suspected terrorist activity or over specific safeguarding concerns.
Confidentiality
in Practice
To help
children understand the confidentiality policy the following statement is used
(as is appropriate)
Early Years Solutions offers a confidential service.
This means that usually, anything you want me to keep private will be, but
sometimes I will ask to share information with others to in order to help you.
Occasionally I may have to ‘break confidentiality’ and tell someone – this
means telling someone in a position of authority. This is very rare. I only
have to do this if someone is in danger, and needs help. I will only tell the
people who need to know
If information for testimonials etc is to be used on
Early Years Solutions website full permission must be gained
Availability of the confidentiality policy
The
policy is available on the company website www.earlyyearssolutions.co.uk or by
request via email or telephone. It is important to encourage those who work
with Early Years Solutions to know and understand this policy.
Storage And Disposal Of Information
It is the responsibility of the Early Years
Solutions to ensure that personal/sensitive information about service users
(individual children, groups and organisations) is treated as confidential and
stored in a secure place such as a locked filing cabinet. Such information will
be stored only if it is current and necessary to undertake tasks relating to
service delivery.
The time limit for storage of general
non-active information will be 5 years, where this is a legal requirement to do
so. Information where there is no such
legal requirement will be stored for an appropriate period of time, which may,
on occasion, be specified. There may be
instances in which information of a personal nature is held longer than 5 years
at Early Years Solution's discretion.
Early Years Solutions will shred
confidential papers when finished with and delete them from computer files.
Access To Information
Early Years Solutions operates an Open
Access Policy in relation to files and computer records, whereby service users
have access to information held about them with a notice period of ten working
days.
Information regarding service users is
confidential but it can often be of benefit to share information with others
e.g. other agencies and school, in order to support an individual most effectively.
Information will only be shared with the consent of the child (if of an
appropriate age to do so) and the parents/carers.
In the case of working with a group,
individual group members have the right to access general group files stored at
the organisation but not to personal information about other group
members.
