Confidentiality: Data Protection Act 1998

Confidentiality

In this assignment I will write about my knowledge and understanding on confidentiality. There are different types of confidentiality. It is the right of every parents/carer that information about them is respected, kept in confidence, safely, securely and in the accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. A teaching assistant needs to understand how important it is to respect confidentiality if we went to gain and keep respect of other adults and parents in the settings, although it is the most difficult to maintain. There is also legislation about confidentiality which gives children and their family their right to privacy.

It is important to reassure children, young people, and adults that any information about them is kept confidential and only used when necessary; by reassuring the adults give them confidence to know they can talk with you and build trust. Breaking trust could lead to reluctance in sharing important information with us. In most cases we cannot share the information about a child or their family unless you have asked for permission or a consent form from their parents. There are information that needs to be shared like food allergies or other allergies, medical needs. All staff dealing with the child needs to know about this. And of course any declaration of abuse, or suspicious would need to be shared with management and those responsible for the child protection in your settings and outside agencies like social services, police etc…

Kind of information when confidentiality protocol must be breached with safeguarding issues, health issues and medical conditions: * When you suspect that there is child or infant abuse. * When there has been injury, illness, or other such events that medical staff needs information pronto. * When the child is unconscious or you need other medical information.

In a school every parents and carers are asked for a variety of information so that the school personnel are able to care for the children as effectively and safely as they can whilst the children are in school. All information with regards to pupils must be treated confidentially, as stated in the Data Protection Act 1998. Any information must be stored as stated in the Act. All members of staff must be familiar and adhere to guidelines. Information about students, school teaching staff should never be passed into third parties. I would also need to check with the class teacher, if I was unsure whether I could/ should speak about a matter or not to another party. If a parent gives me information about a child, I would make sure that this information is recorded correctly, following the school policies and guidelines, and passed onto the relevant member of staff.

Respecting confidentiality in school settings is very important. When working in this environment certain information has to be gathered about pupils, for the school to work effectively this info includes: * Names * Addresses and contact number * Medical information * Dietary needs * Family changes * Special Educational Needs (SEN)
To give out any of the above information is a breach of confidentiality. It should be passed on, on a need to know basis. For example certain information may have to be passed onto the teaching staff that deals with a child’s health, well-being, welfare or protection. The Data Protection Act (1998) covers both paper and electronic records. Individuals have the right to see all information about them. The school have a responsibility to ensure the information is correct and kept confidential.

It is their right to privacy to have this information kept confidential, do not gossip, never to discuss one parent with another, not to make judgement about children or their family. The school has a legal obligation to disclose information if there is any indication of the child being at risk. As a teaching assistant I need to be aware of the importance of confidentiality. Also I need to reassure everyone in this environment that I know the policies and guidelines of confidentiality.