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

[SecretMinceRinser]

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?

Lol I think the words safeguarding alert should have been enough to inform you you shouldn't be reading it

In a nutshell mocking you have got it

I also agree the holier than thous are those suggesting that only the OP would have read it.

'Safeguarding Alert' would have satisfied that....but obviously not your curiosity.

Still it's done now

Report it to the Head by all means but I doubt you'll be honest enough to admit how much you read.

Eau- the difference is that this is CP information handled by professionals who have to work within the law and LA guidelines.

The school has broken those. You are personally accountable for handling this sort of information.

This cannot be alowed to happen.

Eau what are you on about - 'holier than thou'?

OP is concerned that the school do not have adequate procedures in place to ensure data protection. How could OP feel holier than thou about that?

Why the hell wouldn't I it wasn't my responsibility to store it safely?

You can think what you like about me - I don't know you and I don't care but I could have read a hell of a lot more if I had wanted some gossip about someone I don't know!

Well, to be honest, I think there were mistakes on both sides.

OP, you shouldn't have been shown to a seat at a staff member's desk where there was a safeguarding report in plain view. The staff member should not have left it in plain view unless he or she had a reasonable expectation of privacy and security. And you were there on trust, and shouldn't have read it.

If you could talk to the Head, then lessons can be learned. After all, others will go in for CRB checks in the future. It could be a positive outcome.

As soon as you saw the title of the document you should have said something to someone in the office, What possible justification do you have for reading it? And I don't understand your reasoning in your op for looking at it.

Well apart from the name, you haven't really kept it confidential, have you! ?

As a member of the Gov council (and someone who does a lot of volunteer work there) at my daughter's school, I would be annoyed that personal info had been left on show, annoyed that you deemed it necessary to read it and FUCKING PISSED OFF that you shared the info on a public forum. And I would move to have you removed from any type of volunteer work within the school.

You don't know who is on here & who could possibly put 2 & 2 together & recognise you or this family. I think you need to reconsider why you want to help out at the school, because you have found out some 'gossip' & it sounds like you couldn't wait to share it. You could have easily come on here, stating that you saw something that perhaps you shouldn't have & how to go about making sure it doesn't happen again, but no, you shared practically EVERYTHING you saw!

all the people saying I was nosy I suggest you try sitting with a piece of paper slap bang in front of you for 1/2 hour

When I interviewed a school that I wanted to move dd to, I was in the deputy head's office. I was sat at a table away from his desk, but could see that there were documents there. When he left the room, I read the info he gave me on THE SCHOOL. I wasn't tempted to look at the documents, to read them or otherwise. To suggest we are all like you (reading a whole page - more maybe by the amount you just shared) of a confidential document is trying to get yourself off the hook. If they had been closer, I would have diverted my eyes. No excuse, op...no excuse.

Whay is everyone having a go at the OP when the fault lies with the person who left confidential information on the desk? The OP didn't have CRB clearance so she wasn't part of the school and shouldn't have been put in the position of being able to read it. I would report it to the head if I were the OP. Confidential data should never be left lying, especially if there's a chance that a non member of teaching staff could see it.

In my daughter's school, when you listen to them read, you have to record it in their reading/everyday diary...would you be tempted to read their diary 'because it is slap bang in front of you' & you have access to it?

I'd be worried about you as a helper, tbh. I think I would feel like the line of trust had been crossed. You should tell the head, they need to decide if you should still be allowed to help out at the school after seeing (and sharing) this document.

You seem to have no power of self control over what you read & I would be concerned that you would be tempted to read personal diaries/ records that you have access to, and not just use them for the express intended purpose!

crystalglasses

because she read it
because she has just shared it all here
because she will be around other documentation that she may feel she has a right to read as it is 'slap bang in front of her'.

She didn't have to read it. Yes, perhaps they should have put it away, but also, perhaps she was wrongly sat at that desk & the persons whose desk it was, was away from his/her station for a short period of time & didn't expect anyone to use it?

She has breached confidentially by posting it here, can't you see that?

How has she breached confidentiality? We don't know who the OP is as we are all anonymous on mumsnet, we don't know which part of the country she lives in, we don't know the names of the school or the people she is referring to.

Lots of posters on this forum report information, gossip, call it what you like, about friends, colleagues or people they don't know. Don't shoot the messenger, shoot the person who has left the information lying around. I would suggest the person who has breached confidentiality was that person.

I haven't breached confidentiality. I haven't mentioned any names and I've changed enough detail that the family it was about wouldn't even recognise themselves.
Leaving personal details on a desk for all to see including fellow parents at your childs school is breaching confidentiality but for some this is obviously a side issue.
I've no interest in reading anyones reading diary but if I did see anything then it's not going to be sensitive information. There is a difference between 'Billy enjoyed this book' and personal information that should be locked away.
Anyway I'm leaving this thread now as I've had the advice I need on how to proceed from some very helpful Mumsnetters qualified in child protection.

via pm I meant to say (as well as on the thread).

Yes I had a closer look because I genuinely didn't know what a Safeguarding Alert

Op, you are being disingenuous! "Safeguarding alert" is pretty self explanatory, do you not think!

She has posted enough into & anyone knowing this family could easily identify them.

here is a difference between 'Billy enjoyed this book' and personal information that should be locked away

Well, my daughter has an everyday diary. Where we record reading, homework etc, but also where I communicate with her teacher, so yes, there IS a possibility that you could be holding a document in your hand that has a little more personal info in it.

I stand by my previous post, I would move to have you prevented from working within the school. It doesn't sit right that you read all that, it would have take some time to read 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

And, I believe that would have been MORE than a single A4 piece of paper.

You read it. No one forced you to, regardless of why it was there. You took the time to read a document & carry on reading it when it became obvious it wasn't to be read by you. And have shared the info here. You say that you have changed info...but what? Either they had financial issues or they didn't, there was DV or there wasn't, there is a parent with criminal convictions or there isn't. The family moved, or they didn't..see what I mean? You have either embellished this story or you have printed the full facts.

So yes, the school employee was wrong to leave it out, but so were you for reading it.

TBH I would have had no clue what a safeguarding alert was either, but now I do!

Tbh it sounds like analert has been given to all staff with one put on the desk of the person who was not in.the gentleman who was filling the op's crb in might not even have known it was still on the desk if the description of desks facing with a screen between is how I imagine it. This was not on public display the op was in a privileged position as a prospective member of the school community albeit on a voluntary basis.

If you mentioned this in my school you would not be allowed to volunteer, you will as a volunteer hear information about pupils that is confidential and all volunteers have to sign to confirm they will keep any information they hear or are told to themselves. You've just failed.

auntpetunia

Well said!

I think that there are two separate issues here. One the school should be more careful about who they allow into areas where confidential information could be openly available, or they should be more careful about storage if they do allow non staff members into their offices. Either way, the OP should not have seen this sheet, and the school were very definitely in the wrong.

On the other hand the OP should certainly not have read it. If it was one side of A4 then the right thing to do was to turn it over so that it wasn't a temptation. It sounds like a cursory glance would have been more than sufficient for her to know that she should not be reading it - indeed she knows this 'I thought I'd better not look at it', and yet it sounds like she read the whole document with interest. Even better would have been to tell the staff member in the room with her that the alert was there, but I can understand that she might have felt this was difficult. However reading it was still definitely wrong.