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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think this is breaching confidentiality and what should I do?

295 replies

SecretMinceRinser · 22/02/2012 23:20

I visited the office of ds's school today to do a crb check so I can help out at the school. I was sat down at the desk of someone else who worked there but wasn't in that day. Laying in full view on the desk was a piece of paper that said 'Safeguarding Alert'. I glanced down at it and saw the title and though I'd better not look at it but as completing the crb application was dragging on I became more and more uneasy that it was left there for visitors to the office to see so I decided to read what was on the paper in more detail.
It had the full personal details of a mum of a child at the school, her child and the childs father - full names, dob even a physical description of each of them. It also detailed the fathers criminal convictions. It went on to say where the family had moved from and how they hadn't been co-operating with ss and that there was a history of domestic violence along with a ton of other personal stuff about the family/finances etc.
I don't know the family in question and won't repeat what I've read but that's not the point is it? There were drawers in the desk that the paper could easily have been put into out of sight.
I want to mention it to someone to ensure that personal stuff like that is stored more carefully in future but not sure who to speak to/what to say.
It did occur to me after the event that I could have mentioned it to the man in the office who was dong my application but he is a bit of an arse to be honest and not the sort of person that would take kindly to being told how to do his job. Anyway I didn't say anything at the time so too late to do that now. WWYD?

OP posts:
seeker · 24/02/2012 07:06

As I said earlier, this is how it should have gone

"please could you fill in this form- you can sit here"

"thank you- oh, this says Safeguarding Alert- should that be here?"

"oh no, I'll put it away. Thank you so much- it shouldn't have been left out"

Office staff retreats, pink and embarrassed, to put paper in locked cupboard.

Yes, of course it shouldn't have been left out- it was a huge mistake by whoever did. But it was easily resolved. And at no point did that resolution involve the OP reading every word on the document!

callmemrs · 24/02/2012 07:30

Hear hear seeker.

I also think the issue is more about the op being seated in the school office, rather than the actual document. Ideally, every school would have several small meeting rooms, where no paperwork ever needs to be left. Parents should never be allowed in either the school office or the staff room- which after all, are other peoples places of work, where confidential information will be held, and discussed. After all- who would dream of ever being allowed to sit behind the reception desk at the doctors while filling in form? Or in their staff room??

However, in the real world, most schools dont have that luxury. They are also under enormous pressure to be open and welcoming to parents who want to volunteer, in a way that no other profession is.

As a parent I have occasionally had meetings with my dds year head in her office - the school is pushed for space, and doesn't have the luxury of unlimited consultation rooms. The desk usually has papers on it. I have no idea what information these contain, because, surprise surprise, it's none of my business, I am there to discuss my child, and I damn well don't try to read anything. If I inadvertently saw a piece of paper headed 'safeguarding' I would assume it was a document merely outlining safeguarding procedures- ie not anything confidential. But again, I wouldn't know because I wouldn't read it.

What sort or person does? Hmm

Serenitysutton · 24/02/2012 07:57

Me, I'd have read it. What does that make me?

valiumredhead · 24/02/2012 08:01

A nosey sticky beak serenity

nowittynamehere · 24/02/2012 08:39

OH i like the idea of it being a bit of a test for potential volunteers as said up thread FAIL !!!!

I cant get over how nosey some folk are and how they think they have a right to look at something that has nothing to do with them Confused , and then BLAME somebody else jeez !

RustyBear · 24/02/2012 10:01

I think the OP was in the school office because the CRB check was being done online and she was needed to show her documents and maybe give some more information to the person filling in the online form. So, obviously it would have to be somewhere with a computer available (at the school I work at, the admin staff don't have laptops) In other words, they were doing it there, rather than, say in the the computer suite, in order to ensure the confidentiality of OP's information - which is a bit ironic, really...

OTheHugeManatee · 24/02/2012 11:31

It was poor practice of the school to leave the document out. I work as a volunteer counsellor and we have very strict rules about leaving client notes in the office for filing inside opaque envelopes - and that's a situation with far less potential for 'leaks' than a school.

However the courteous thing to do would just be to point it out so someone could put it away, out of sight of OP's prying eyes.

grimtraveller · 01/04/2016 20:07

Both parties were in the wrong.
The school should not leave sensitive information lying around, even if on the private desk of someone. The fact that the OP was in the room shows that the room was not that private.
On the other hand, the OP has totally disrespected the idea of the words 'private & confidential.' That we on the net have been told the story shows the danger of what they've done. That we don't know the names of the involved parties isn't important.
Two wrongs don't make a right.
The moral of the story ¬> if you see the words 'private' or 'confidential' on a document or computer screen, show some respect and maturity and look away !

2016ismyyear · 01/04/2016 20:11

Grim traveller why are you bumping zombie threads?

crystalgall · 01/04/2016 20:12

Or is the moral of the story 'don't read a zombie thread before checking the date'?
Why have you restarted this zombie thread?!

grimtraveller · 01/04/2016 20:12

And if you see the words "safeguard" or "alert", run for the hills !!

FarrowandBallAche · 01/04/2016 20:13

WHY GRIM??

grimtraveller · 01/04/2016 20:13

Why are you relying to a zombie thread ?

FarrowandBallAche · 01/04/2016 20:15

Why do you think.

FarrowandBallAche · 01/04/2016 20:16

How did I know you'd just joined.

grimtraveller · 01/04/2016 20:24

Ha ha, that should be 'replying' not 'relying' !

Look at it this way. It's 2016. I've just come across the thread in the last 25 minutes; I was actually searching for something else. I thought it was an interesting dilemma, even if the original question is four or so years old. There's a chance that other people may come across it inadvertently and read through the replies as the years roll by. After all, I did.
The fact that it's an old thread doesn't invalidate the question that the OP posed, nor does it invalidate one's freedom to add a voice to the original debate.
I'm often curious as to why people feel the need to get all itchy over a bumped thread ¬> you could, after all, just ignore it. By diving in with the whys and wherefores you're doing what you're getting itchy with me about.
If it was being bumped just for the sake of spoiling, I could understand it. But it wasn't.

Sparklingbrook · 01/04/2016 20:26
Confused
FarrowandBallAche · 01/04/2016 20:28

People sometimes invest time and energy into posting only to then see that it's 6 years old and the OP has long gone. A bit annoying.

TwentyCupsOfTea · 01/04/2016 20:29

Get the job, and if you see a document like that lying around again don't read it all, but raise the issue that you think it needs putting away properly. Honestly, you shouldn't have read it, but many many other would - including someone who would abuse the information.

DonkeyOaty · 01/04/2016 20:44

Okaaaaay

grimtraveller · 01/04/2016 20:45

"People sometimes invest time and energy into posting only to then see that it's 6 years old and the OP has long gone. A bit annoying."

Fair enough, I can dig that.
My view on this is that the OP neither owns the thread, nor are they necessarily particularly important to it once they've got it going and other contributors have picked up the baton and run with it. It's contributions from a variety of sources that often make for a good and involved thread.
I was aware of the age of the thread and my initial post did not have the OP in mind at all. I wouldn't expect them to still be viewing the thread. There are however, a number of people for whom the contents of the thread and different contributions {such as people doing a TA course or people wanting to volunteer in schools or youth facilities} could prove really useful.
To reply, one has to join. No irritation or offence intended.

Sparklingbrook · 01/04/2016 20:47

I was actually searching for something else.

Did you find it? What words were you putting into Advanced Search?

nocoolnamesleft · 01/04/2016 20:56

It should absolutely definitely 100% not have been left out, and I am rather shocked at the school. And the OP clearly has no business volunteering in a trusted position at the school.

Tenementfunster · 01/04/2016 20:59

A www don't be mean! I've been here 7 years and at the start I had a goodroot through the old threads when I started out. Don't worry grimtraveller

Its really that annoying really is it? I mean annoyed parties should really have checked the date of the thread?

Tenementfunster · 01/04/2016 21:00

It's really NOT that annoying I mean