Confidentiality

When you are being “looked after” by Children, Schools and Families, it is important that everyone involved in looking after you talks to each other about important things in your life.  Sometimes this can feel as if “everyone knows your business”.   It is also very important that people treat you kindly and respectfully, and that information about you is also treated carefully.

You should ask your social worker to explain to you who has the right to know things about you and your family, and which of the other adults around you have been told about things in your life.

Teachers, carers, the police and other professionals will tell your social worker about important things they know about you.  It is helpful to think that people are talking about you because they want to make sure that they are doing their best to care for you.

Lots of people do not have the right to know about your life - like the other children at school or in the Children’s Home.  If you are worried that too many people seem to know about things you would like to keep private, you should talk to your social worker or carer.

The law about “Child Protection” means that there are some things that the adults caring for you cannot keep secret and have to share.  This is about people hurting you or another child, (please read the Section on “Child Protection”).  If an adult hears about you or another child being hurt they must tell a social worker.

Often things that you say or do are written down and kept in your file either by your social worker, or if you are in Children’s Home, in the files they keep there.  Other people that work there can read these files and you should ask residential staff and your social worker exactly what sort of things will be written down and who will be able to see them.

If you want to read what is written in your file, you need to speak to your social worker.  Sometimes this may take a long while to arrange but it is your right to see your file.

If you want to talk to someone about your feelings and don’t want everything written down you could always speak to a counsellor or a therapist.  But, everyone needs to tell a social worker about a child being hurt, even a counsellor or therapist.  Some Help Lines and Useful Organisations may be entirely confidential and if you don’t give your name they cannot know who to tell. 

Generally it is a good idea to make sure whenever you start to tell people about your feelings and your life, that you know exactly who else they will have to tell.