The Surestart staff will in the course of their duties have access to and be entrusted with information relating to children and their families. Parents/carers are entitled to expect that any information about family circumstances, children’s health, development and behaviour shared with or observed by staff or volunteers will be treated in the strictest confidence. Sensitive information about individual children, given by parents/carer to a Surestart member of staff will not be shared with other staff members unless there is a need to know and the parent/carer has granted permission for the information to be shared.
Staff will only discuss individual children for the purposes of activity/event planning or child management.
The childcare services may require personal details about children in their care for health and safety reasons. Parents/carers are informed of the need for any record keeping.
Consideration of confidentiality should not override the right of children to be protected from harm. In instances where there is an allegation or suspicion of abuse, confidentiality may need to be broken in order to protect the child. It is important to ensure that only those who need to know are given the relevant information so that the rights of the victim and the alleged perpetrator are protected.
August 2007