how we use your information
WMRSASC’s Children and Young People’s Service is a private and confidential service. This means that what you say stays between you and us. The only time we would say something is if we think that you or someone else is in danger of being seriously hurt; or your life, or someone else’s life, is in danger.
We need to collect some information to enable our services to be delivered efficiently and appropriately to you. This information is made anonymous, so that only your workers will know it’s about you.
The following information is to help service users, parents and carers become more aware of what information is collected, stored, and shared about them and their family. We believe that you should know what information we collect about you and your family.
There is a variety of information we collect about people, and it usually falls into one of the following categories:
• Basic personal Information – e.g. name, address, date of birth, telephone number, email address, etc.
• More sensitive information – e.g. racial or ethnic origin, physical or mental health, or criminal offences, etc.
• Third party information – this information may come from other agencies or organisations.
• Statistical information – numbers of things e.g. the total number of WMRSASC clients or number of clients using certain services; this information doesn’t identify individuals.
WMRSASC workers will also usually fill out forms, take notes about the meetings they have with or about you/your family, and they may also write letters about you/your family, e.g. referring to another service.
We collect and keep information to help us better understand what you need, so we can plan and organise services to support you in the best way.
We may need to share information about you with other authorities, local and central government agencies, but we will only ever do this with your permission or for the following reasons:
• To protect you from harm, neglect, abuse, or significant threat.
• To help get you urgent medical treatment.
• To prevent or detect a crime.
The main reason for sharing this information is to enable you/your family to receive better integrated services.
All the information we store is held securely on our IT and manual filing systems, strictly following the GDPR guidance. It is treated as confidential and with respect and all our workers receive full training.
We take information sharing very seriously. All our workers and volunteers are DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checked and have a duty of care in accordance with our Data Protection policy. This includes respecting your right to confidentiality.
The length of time we keep your information may vary depending on the circumstances required by law.
We need your written agreement (consent) to share information about you. When we need to share information, we will ask for this from you directly or from a parent or carer depending on your age.
If you would like to see the information, we have recorded about you/your family; under the Data Protection Act 1998, you can request a copy. For help and advice about this, please contact your counsellor or advocate.