Confidentiality and Privacy at Kendall Community Preschool

Confidentiality and Privacy at Kendall Community Preschool

Rationale: The Staff and Management Committee of Kendall Community Preschool recognise that highly confidential details of individual families, staff and committee members is required to be collected and stored at Preschool as per the National Law and Regulations. A clear policy including procedures has been developed to ensure that confidentiality and privacy is treated appropriately.

Policy Statement: Staff and the Management Committee recognise that much of the information preschool requires is considered by many to be ‘sensitive’ and with this in mind, are committed to ensuring, to best of our ability, that the privacy of children, families, staff, committee members, volunteers and visitors is respected and protected.

Practices, Procedures and Strategies: The Kendall Community Preschool Confidentiality Agreement forms part of this Policy and is attached.

Kendall Community Preschool collects information about children, families, staff, committee members, volunteers and visitors in a variety of ways. These include, but are not limited to:

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©Kendall Community Preschool, 2012

·  Enrolment forms

·  Questionnaires

·  Face to face discussions

·  Meetings

·  Resumes

·  Personal correspondence

·  Electronic mail

·  Telephone calls

·  Child Observations

·  Government Department Reports about Child Care Benefit (CCB)

·  Reports from outside professionals pertaining to child assessments

·  Working with Children Checks

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Information pertaining to a child and provided by a parent/caregiver can only be divulged to the parent/caregiver, relevant staff working with that child, for the purposes of care or medical treatment, and if expressly ordered by any Act or Law.

Confidential information received in written format is stored in a safe and secure room, accessible only by the Nominated Supervisor, Approved Providers, staff and those who have signed the Kendall Community Preschool Confidentiality Agreement.

In relation to children and their families, preschool gathers and holds information about individual children prior to, during and after their enrolment and attendance at Kendall Community Preschool for the timeframes required according to the National Regulation 183 (2).

Observations and documentation pertaining to the specific development, programs and circumstances of each child is recorded digitally and in written copy by preschool staff. It is stored in the safety and security of the preschool building. Every attempt is made to keep these ‘working’ documents inaccessible to those to whom it does not relate including visitors and volunteers not involved in the children’s day-to-day curriculum.

Details of Parent-Teacher Meetings and discussions will be noted and kept in the child’s Observations File. This will be shared with other Educators at Kendall Community Preschool whose role it is to provide curriculum that meets the needs of each student.

Communication between support agencies such as speech therapists, doctors, Early Intervention, child psychologists, occupational therapist etc. is only conducted when consent from family has been granted.

Information collected by the staff at preschool may be required to be shared with a Department of Community Services (DoCS) officer should a Mandatory Report about concerns for a Child at Risk of Harm be made.

To ensure we continue to provide a high quality service to children and families, we are required to collect information about those accessing our service. Our enrolment form has been designed to provide the centre with information that is relevant to each family so that we can support the transition of children into our service, and learn more about the customs and practices enjoyed at home.

The Family Assistance Office (FAO) requires information about the families attending preschool. This information is shared and linked to each family’s CRN (Customer Reference Number).

We also collect and hold information relating to our staff, job applicants, volunteers, visitors, students and contractors.

All volunteers (including those completing work placement for school and higher education faculties) must sign the confidentiality agreement and complete a probity check, as required by Children’s Services Regulations 2004, clause 117, part 8). All volunteers will be given a copy of this policy, as well as the related paperwork upon inquiry and/or commencement.

Where information needs to be shared, staff will approach families to seek permission and explain why the sharing of information is required.

This policy will be included in the Staff Handbook, all Management Committee Handbooks and will be referred to in the Parent Information Booklet and in the Visitor’s sign-in folder.

Any alleged breaches of confidentiality and/or privacy by disclosure of sensitive information will result in serious action being taken by the Nominated Supervisor and/or Approved Provider.

Members of the preschool community unhappy with aspects of confidentiality and privacy at Kendall Community Preschool are encouraged to consult and follow the preschool’s Complaints Policy.

Further Reading, Support Sources:

·  National Regulations 181, 183 & 177.

·  Authorisations for Kendall Community Preschool Policy

·  NSW Commission for Children and Young People Website (accessed 28th April 2010)https://check.kids.nsw.gov.au/volunteer-declaration.php for declaration form for volunteers

Policy Review Process & Suggested Frequency: This policy should be reviewed by Staff and the Management Committee when there is a change in governing regulations, in response to new information, as part of ongoing reviews, as desired in the preschool’s Quality Improvement Plan, or when deemed necessary by staff and/or the Management Committee due to a breakdown in the efficiency of the procedures.

Acceptance and Approval: This policy has been reviewed and accepted by

Director on behalf of Staff:

Name:……S.Crowle…….. Signature:……………………… Date:…7.8.2012…..

President on behalf of Management Committee:

Name:……S.Cooke……… Signature:……………………..... Date:…3.10.2012….

Last Updated: May, 2012

Notes/future ideas/comments:

Kendall Community Preschool

Confidentiality Agreement

I, ______, acknowledge that I have read and understood the Confidentiality and Privacy at Kendall Community Preschool Policy.

I agree that all information about the centre, staff, children and families, sighted or heard, will be treated as strictly confidential and will not be discussed with any other person outside the centre.

I agree that, if an incident *needs to be discussed outside the centre, then this will be done in a professional way keeping details of unrelated children/ families/ staff/ incidents out of the discussion and no personal value judgements will be made during the discussion.

I understand that if I breach this confidentiality agreement then disciplinary action will be taken.

Signature: ______

Position / Role: ______

Date: ______

Witnessed by Nominated Supervisor: ______

Date: ______

* needs to be discussed covers such things as:

§  seeking information or opinions on a particular child's needs from other professionals e.g speech therapists, occupational therapists, Child Psychologists, Department Of Children’s Services etc.

§  seeking information from peers (other childcare workers) in order to form policies, procedures or programs.

§  being compelled to, as in making a Child at Risk of Harm Report or a report to Police

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©Kendall Community Preschool, 2012