Policy statement
This Data Protection and Confidentiality Policy has been written for Roots and Wings Community Preschool to ensure the safe storage of all information concerning staff, children and families that is confidential. Information concerning both staff and children’s medical needs, allergy information, and contact details must be stored correctly and confidentially.
In compliance with GDPR 2018, we will ensure that information that is collected is purposeful and beneficial to any child or staff member attending. All families will be made aware of our Terms and Conditions, as well as our Privacy Policy, and will be asked to sign to say they understand what we will be using the information for. All information that is shared with us from families will be used to support each child’s needs and will always be stored in a safe place at Roots and Wings Community Preschool with the rest of the child’s information.
We will ensure that all staff are aware of the GDPR Act of 2018 and are fully aware of when they can and cannot share information.
Confidential information will only be shared with the wider Preschool Team or outside agencies where it has been established that there is a substantial reason to do so.
Procedures
At Roots and Wings Community Preschool we have a legal duty to store any key information for up to three years after the child has left the setting. However, families have the right to erasure and can request that the information is deleted, providing there is no compelling reason for the information to still be used.
All information is stored confidentially, and we strictly follow the guidance and regulations from the following acts:
- The National Standards 2001
- The Children’s Act 2004
- The Data Protection Act 2018
- EYFS Principles 2008, revised 2012
- Human Rights Act 1998
- General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018
- Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 2024
All these procedures are in place to ensure that all private information is kept safe and secure within the setting and the team.
We strive to keep the children and our Preschool Team safe, and will protect their information by doing the following:
- All confidential information about staff, children and families will be stored securely in a locked cupboard, which will remain locked until the information is required;
- Upon leaving Roots and Wings Preschool for good, all such information will be stored electronically in a password protected folder on the password protected computer or external hard drive belonging to Roots and Wings Community Preschool for the necessary timeframe before being permanently erased from our database;
- All Preschool Team members are aware that the information is confidential and not be shared with anyone without legal access;
- Any confidential information will not be passed on to any other person without explicit permission, unless a child’s safety is at risk. In which case, a discussion will be had with the Management Team about what to do next;
- All issues revolving around staff payment and staff information must be kept confidential and will not be shared with any other staff member;
- Those person’s with parental responsibility and/or legal guardianship will have access to records and information about their own child. They will not be given access to information of any other child;
- Information can be kept from legal guardians if the Local Authority (LA) believes divulging such information could cause risk to their own child;
- All Preschool Team members have an induction period during which they will be told all of the reasons why information must be confidential and they will be made aware of the consequences of sharing this information;
- All Preschool Team members are made aware of our Social Networking Policy
- Any staff member found sharing information about a child with anyone other than the child’s legal guardians or those with parental responsibility will be suspended without pay immediately and face disciplinary procedures.