What confidentially training do foster carers get?

[YourAmberFish]

I use a hairdresser who lives down the road from me and WFH with a little salon in her home.

I've used her 5 times I think.

My visit this week she told me she's been approved as a FC and the DC is coming to live with her in the next couple of weeks.

She also told me:

The gender.
Age.
First name.
What school the DC goes to.
How long they've been in care.
Why they're in care.
Why they're leaving their current placement.
Medical and developmental ssues the DC has.
Issues their family of origin has.

All unsolicited. I didn't ask any questions.

I don't know if they're fostering privately or for a local authority but in either case, are FCs not given training on confidentiality?

Part of me wonders if I should try and report her to who? But also know FC placements are at a premium and would I potentially be stopping a DC from a potentially loving home when the FC just needs some guidance and education?

Could me reporting if I even knew who to? Potentially stop the placement? Then a DC potentially suffering while a new placement is found? Or would she just be educated?

Defo report to social services.
You are not allowed to post pics of foster kids on social media, let alone tell strangers confidential details of their lives.
Many have to be hidden from their blood families.
Please report.

There is confidentiality training.

Basically, you cannot disclose anything about the child's past or their own family. Medical info would just be within a small group of need-to-know.

Name, age, school can generally be shared. Their name is important as this is a key part of their identity.

For all she knows you might know the FC’s parents, have recognised her / him from what she said & dashed straight off to tell them everything.

Thanks. Report to who? CYPSS?

What happened when you said to her you aren’t sure she should be telling you information like this?

At what point did you tell her to stop, because it must have been going on for some time for her to share that volume of information.

I didn't.

I had my hair done and went home.

The same as I do when a hairdresser tells me about anything that I haven't asked them about.

My hair took an hour.

She told me the info about the DC over about 15 mins.

The rest of the time she told me about her Dad's illness, her holiday in January, her friend with benefits and falling out with her best friend over her new BF and all the rest flags she sees.

She's one of those who says 'how are you' and when you say fine, goes on to tell you everything going on in her life in an unboundaried fashion where I just nod and make the occasional comment.

There's an awful lot someone can say in an hour when it's not really a conversation and there's a hairdryer going for half of it.

From what I’ve seen with agencies like Sunbeam, confidentiality is covered as part of the core safeguarding and training programme rather than a single standalone course.
It’s usually included in areas like:

• record keeping and data protection
• safer caring and safeguarding
• working with children who have experienced abuse
• handling sensitive information and reports

Foster carers are expected to follow strict guidelines around sharing information, especially when it comes to the child’s history, family details, and case records. It’s also reinforced through ongoing training and supervision, not just at the start. So it’s less about one training session and more something that’s built into everything you learn and do as a foster carer.