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?

The OP did say she wasn't going to post any more, so the fact she hasn't posted since last night is sort of to be expected...

OP should have said something at the time, but it shouldn't have been there either, especially if they knew the member of staff who it was for wasn't even there. Would it have been left there all day and night? It's the person who the data 'belongs' to that has the responsibility.

OP shouldn't have read it though. But, if it's set out as a table or with headings, it might be possible to pick up a lot of what it's about without reading the vast majority of the text, so she hasn't read as much as you think.

True, she did say that she didn't read it all at first glance, but everyone who came through that office could have seen it and noticed half the details. Not good.

She read enough to know the Father's criminal convictions. Why are people making excuses for her ?

Haven't read whoe thread, sorry - but I worked in a highly confidential environment once and even we kept all paperwork out of sight, in folders, drawers etc, even though we were in a locked office and all doing the same job. Same went for word docs, which was a nightmare tbh as you couldn't identify any names in them. I also read like the wind and can read upside down and sideways, backwards etc. I don't think you were too terrible to have read it. Tell the head that you read it before you realised what you were reading (absentmindedly) and that you didn't tell the office bloke because he's a stuffy and difficult bloke - the same as you said here. As long as the info gets passed on that's all that matters. ie that the doc was essentially on public display.

I have not read whole thread. OP should NOT have read the complete document, and should have covered it over with a piece of paper once she'd seen the confidential headlines. However, she was right not to tell the bloke in the office. The only person who this should be reported to is the Head. She must own up to the Head that she was able to read the whole document; it is very important she does this as the Head will need to inform the whole staff that there has been a breach of confidentiality on pupil x and that staff are not to discuss or pass on anything they might hear. Who knows who else had read it before or after you?

Sorry OP, you may well not be allowed to work in the school after this, but you MUST own up to it so that the school can move into damage-limitation and, most importantly, ensure this doesn't happen again.

I'm making 'excuses' for her because, without trying, I could have read all those details. Therefore the details were not secure, and the SCHOOL needs to tighten its procedures. The OP may not come across such as situation again, so bashing her behaviour isn't dealing with the problem.

During the Manhattan project to develop the atomic bomb, Richard Feynman used to go around deliberately demonstrating that he could breach security, and then letting the bosses know of the lapse. Generally the authorities' response was to tell everyone not to let Feynman into their office, rather than tightening up procedures...

The point is through she did try

How many of us would snoop at something at work given half the chance? I know I would. Just out of sheer curiosity and the fact I'm bloody nosy.

Having said that, I've house sat for friends on many occasions and I wouldn't dream of poking around their private paperwork. That's a def 'no go' as far as I'm concernced.

There is no way I could have sat there that long without scanning thru it.

The difference is I wouldn't say anything to the Head or on here; not worth the real or potential grilling on all sides.

Thqt's why you say something the minute you realise what it is- removing the temptation!

Ragged - that is morally reprehensible. How would you feel if something confidential to YOUR family had been left out?

OP shouldn't have read it - that much is clear - but there is no point dwelling on it now that she has read it. The posts I have read haven't grilled OP - rather opinions/advice. Better to focus on trying to sort it out. I believe she has an obligation to tell the Head. If she can't face owning up to actually reading the whole thing, she must at least point out that it was perfectly possible to have done so (which is the real point of the security here) and let the Head draw his/her own conclusions.

I am still PMSL at the fact that the OP glanced at it, read the title, thought "I'd better not read this" and then (because she was uneasy that is was left there for visitors to the office to see ) read the rest of it!

Not covered it up.
Not mentioned it to someone.
She read it.

And then tried to justify it.

However reprehensible it is to look, however long it took to read, it shouldn't have been there. A school that assumes its paperwork is safe because only hugely moral, incurious and shortsighted people come into the office is deluded.

Just because it was there doesn't mean it needs to be read!

Of course it shouldn't have been there. And if the OP doesn't report it, the same thing will happen again.

If the OP could read it a cleaner pupil or other member of staff could have. Very poor practice of the school to not have rules they enforce about confidentiality.

I was a teacher in a failing school with lots of problems. However I cannot imagine this ever happening.

cleaner,pupil rather than a less dirty student.

Personally I think the onus is on the school here, whether the OP read the document or not is a completely different issue.

Like others have mentioned, the school probably operates a 'clear desk policy'. When I worked in the back office of a bank we had exactly the same thing. Didn't matter that you needed a security pass and a code to get through the two doors in there, if you left your desk anything 'sensitive' had to be put away. If you didn't, it was a disciplinary matter. The man (or whoever left it there) in that office would probably have had no idea who'd be next through the door- teacher, caretaker, pupil, man to fix the printer....are they all to be trusted just not to look? Because frankly if it were my information I'd rather it was stored safely out of sight than simply relying on perfect strangers to not read it hardly the most foolproof method of data protection.

And I wouldn't know what safeguarding alert meant either; I'd probably most likely think it was something to with health and safety OP was silly reading the paper, but I'd keep your ire for the person that left a vulnerable family's details sitting out for anyone to see.

Pupils would not be wandering around in the school office, clean or dirty!

I think we're all agreed that the school has not been as rigorous as it should be. I assume this document had just been received or someone had been working on it, and it was left there inadvertently- which shouldnt have happened, agreed, but let's face it, this is real life, mistakes happen. And it wasnt as though it was left on a teachers desk in the classroom. It was in a secure office. The real problem seems to be that someone who is applying to volunteer is having to be sat at a member of staffs desk in the school office to complete their forms. Ideally there would be a visitors room/ meeting room .however, again, this is real life; most schools I know are desperately short of space and there was probably no where else available.

So- yes the school made a mistake- but it wasn't massive or unforgiveable- the document was in a secure office but unfortunately left visible. The op did NOT make a mistake- she quite deliberately read the document.

but she she is not the one with a duty of confidentiality to the family

But she is, if she wants to be part of the school!

But she's not yet. OP was filling out a crb check before she was able to start as a volunteer, and as such has no official duty of care or responsibility to safeguarding information.

Even if she had already started volunteering, I highly doubt she would've been privy to this type of information. So it still would've been a breach of confidentiality.

so some people think Nosiness is fine and dandy and the school is at fault ? oh well

How can the school not be at fault?

she may not be yet thats being a bit pedantic tbh , she didnt glance at the document and think oh they shouldnt have left that lying here TSK she thought of private info oh whats that the page fell open oh i cant divert my eyes

the school is at fault partly but the OP is mostly at fault for being so nosey , plain and simple imo ,