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?

it shouldn't have been there

As I said, it depends a lot on the office layout. Perhaps it is a proper office, with the window thingy & OP shouldn't have been in there. perfectly acceptable to leave stuff out if you are in a private office. The guy who dealt with her may have messed up & invited her in when he shouldn't have.

Still, where is the personal responsibility? The free will the op had to decide whether to read the document or not?

OP was filling out a crb check before she was able to start as a volunteer

The point is, is that the op wants to hold a position of trust within the school. A position which is, quite frankly an honour! What happens when the op sees a document while helping out? "Well, it's right there, in front of me,...it is begging me to read it" NO. You are trusted to do what you have been asked to do, no more.

She may not fail the CRB check, but she has failed the trust check, even before being appointed a position there! If she can fail that spectacularly in such a short space of time (30minutes) what can she achieve if left in a classroom/other office under her official capacity as volunteer?

The layout of the office doesn't really matter- there was sensitive information not in use left on a desk, which someone was then shown to to fill in a form. This person was not a member of staff, with no clearance to see such information (this is what I meant by 'not yet', iyswim, she should be treated as Joe Bloggs and not be presumed to be in a position of trust). Yes, there's an element of personal responsibility- to the person who left it at their backside!

OP shouldn't have looked at it, it wasn't her business etc. But it shouldn't have been there for her to see in the first place.

You should report this to the head and the ICO (information Commissioners Office) this is a data breach, that sort of information is sensitive and there should have been safeguards in place so it was not left on a desk
www.ico.gov.uk

We're not debating the suitability of the OP as a volunteer, this is about breaches of confidentiality by the school and ignorance of basic data protection practices. Maybe you're right and she's not the sort of person to allow to volunteer. But it's these sort of 'nosy' people that clear desk policies protect against.

But it DOES matter! Of course it does! If it were a private office, with a door/window hatch, it could have been possible that she shouldn't have been in there.

I have not denied that the school is probably in the wrong to leave documents lying around, but there is also PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY! Where was the OP's when she decided to read what was on the paper in more detail

My dr often pops out when I am with him to check, say a little kid before a vaccination, or get some supplies & do I read the other patients notes (which in our practice are still in paper form) on his desk? No, I bloody well don't! Because I have self control

Obviously people make mistakes as the person who left the document out did, but the OP did NOT make a mistake, she chose to read it.

We're not debating the suitability of the OP as a volunteer

Well we obviously are & this completely calls into question her suitability!

Well, she was placed into a position of trust when she was invited into a private office, wasn't she?

Else, you could say that all the info I saw in the staff room when I went to last years AGM (as a non volunteer/non Gov counsellor) in the hope of being elected onto the Gov Council, was free to be shared with anyone I deemed appropriate.

But that isn't so, because you are being trusted to keep what you see/hear to yourself & not blab at the soonest opportunity to an internet forum!

As I said previously, she could have easily asked what to do without spilling out all the details here, but she didn't..then tried to say she has altered facts to cover herself.

It doesn't- you have to work on the basis that you don't know who is going to access that room next. It could be anyone, an engineer you weren't told was coming, a delivery man, a cleaner...I could go on. It's situations like this that have led to the introduction of clear desk policy. What you mention with your doctor is also a breach; unfortunately this thread has proven that not everyone is as circumspect as you when it comes to reading what's in front of them! That's why data protection is there.

She did make a choice to read it, but to me that's not the important part. The people in that office were trusted with information which they were careless with and exposed to other people.

I dont think the OP is going to come back to this thread i wish she would and admit she was a nosey moo and shouldve reported the document and not read it ,

She said upthread she was leaving it, but reporting what she saw. I think!

OH ok i wonder what happened then if she is reporting it ?

Staff member will get a bollocking, all be forgotten about five minutes later. She won't be made a volunteer if she repeats all the details she's put here, I suspect.

How dare you read it? Why didn't you find someone and point it out to them as soon as you realised it was personal?

Seriously, if you are so unable to control your nose, you should think about how appropriate it is for you to put yourself in a trusted position in the school.

Op sounds like the kind of gossipy interfering busy body who gives school mum helpers a bad name.

To all those up in arms about a confidentiality breach- yes, the school was in the wrong insofar as the document was left on a desk but fgs let's keep some perspective! It was in a secure office. It may have just arrived in the post or had been worked on by someone recently and YES of course it should immediately be filed or at least placed temporarily in a folder marked Confidential. But it wasnt left in the classroom. It wasn't even in the public domain. It wasn't even in the staffroom (and it seems this is a tricky area if parents are sometimes allowed into staff rooms, as it's absolutely right and proper that safeguarding or medical information is clearly displayed to staff. This was in the school office fgs- exactly where one would expect confidential information to be. The school has been careless and made a mistake. The op has behaved very badly NOT by mistake. I am surprised some people can't see the difference

The difference is that teachers are professionals, who will have had extensive training , one hopes, in data protocol, data security and penalties for breaches of confidentiality. The OP is a potential volunteer and might be someone who has never come across this in her working life. I don't know if the form she read was in a folder or was an A4 piece of paper with the confidential details on display but if the latter I do know that it would only take me about 10 seconds to scan something like that and then realise it was something I shouldn't be reading. By that time the damage would have been done. If it was in a folder marked 'confidential - do not open' it would be a different matter but nothing the op has said indicates that it was.

I can't understand how some mumsnetters here are blaming the op for the dereliction of professional duty and standards displayed by the teaching staff.

Erm- I think your teacher bashing is a tad misplaced crystal! The op said this took place in the school OFFICE not a classroom. The office would be staffed by administrators, not teachers. Of course, they are also bound by the same responsibilities surrounding data protection. As are lunchtime supervisors, cleaners, etc etc- all of whom will need to know, or at least will come into contact with, confidential information. And the same applies to class volunteers. Let's assume a child cannot be let out of sight of a teacher. This might be due to, for instance, a medical condition. A classroom volunteer will need to know that. The op has proved herself spectacularly unsuitable to be in a position of trust.

My point is- its nothing to do with being a professional and having certain qualifications or skills. A lunchtime supervised may have no qualifications whatsoever- but they need to understand the basic premise that certain information may be very important and confidential (eg if for example, there is a child with a medical condition, or at risk of being snatched from the playground by a parent who doesn't have custody). If the OP doesn't even understand the basic idea of not nosing into something which isn't her business, then I seriously doubt her suitability. It's not just about having had 'data protection training'- because as we've seen, even office administrators who've had it can make mistakes . It's about a mindset too.

Agree call

There seem to be a huge amount of people thinking that volunteering to help in school means exposure to information is inevitable.

I'd agree that you become aware that Callum is good at reading, Richard has special needs, Millie lies a lot and Emily looks unkempt and uncared for, her mother rarely completes the reading record and has poor grasp of grammar/spelling.... if you volunteer.

Who in the school do you think needs to see info regarding a fathers criminal record and for what reason? How will this information affect what they do?

Head
Head of year
Teachers in that year group
TA
Mealtime assistant
Cook
Cleaner
Handyman
Lollipop lady
Admin staff
Business manager
Reception
Head of PTA
Head of governors
Governors
Parents involved in voluntary activities

How would you ensure all of the above act with respect for the confidential nature of the information they are exposed to?

Ditto - Who in the school do you think needs to see info regarding a mother's domestic violence issues and for what reason? How will this information affect what they do?

Did you not think for a minute that there might be Candid Camera video cameras all around the room filming your dirty deed?

Who knows, it might yet appear on YouTube.

Sorry Callmeners, my mistake. But my argument also applies to the administrators, who should also be trained in use and misuse of confidential information, although why the general office staff would need to know about this family is beyond me.

I would not want anyone helping out with my DCs who I thought capable of having a nosey into my personal documents. Of course those papers shouldsn't have been left on the desk. But the OP shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't have read them.

You are right, the school should protect confidential information. You were completely in the wrong to read that document - you knew it was something absolutely unrelated to your purpose for being in the room.

You thought it was inappropriate but then decided that in order to judge just how inappropriate, you had to read it in full?

You want to know 'what you should do'?

a) Too late, you've read it. You shouldn't have.
b) You should be reconsidering whether you have the characteristics of a trustworthy volunteer - it seems not.
c) You should definitely not post on a public forum about the document, no matter how much you 'changed the details'.

Really, what advice did you expect to get??? Well done you for taking advantage of your position before it even begins.