Data Protection Help

[Guest]

ok im doing my CCLD level 3 and for my child development prodject i need to have a data proection poilcy. I have been reading the fair proccessing notice what someone posted o nthe resources section

 

my question is are childminders regiested under the data protection act ?

 

 

as it seems pointless in having a data prcetion poilcy if my mum(childminder) isnt regiested under the data protection act , and she dosnet know if she is regiested under it

 

and also in the CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY which im read which i got off here under Member donated policy examples it says  The pre-school is registered under the Data Protection Act and will not pass any information on to other organisations.

 

my mum has phoned up about it (kirkless) but everybody is on hoilday

[Guest]

Hi there. What you will need to do is ring the Helpline;

ICO (Information Commissioner helpline)

helpline is open between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.

 

08456 30 60 60

01625 54 57 45

 

Fax: 01625 524510

 

They are really good at answering individual questions and I have always found them really helpful.

Give it a go!

[Steve]

Hi Hannah -

The decision as to whether or not to register (or notify) under the data protection act is individual to each organisation or setting, and depends on whether or not (and how) you process personal data.

 

The policy you downloaded from the FSF library is, as you mention, an example. When you make use of any of the policies available here you do need to make sure that all areas of it are applicable to you. For example, if an outdoor policy contains a reference to a pond and you don't have a pond in your setting, you would need to make sure that reference is removed. Similarly, if you do not decide to register your setting details, you would take out the reference in your policy. The policy example is definitely NOT driving what you do or don't do in your setting, and it's very important to understand this when making use of any policy samples available here.

 

A few general tips: It used to be the case that only data held electronically required notification - however this has now changed and it may be that you fall into the category of organisations required to register (In case you're concerned it's not expensive - around £35 I think). However, there are many exemptions (for example if your organisation only keeps personal records in certain circumstances for standard admin purposes.

 

There's a self assessment guide here which may help you decide whether or not you need to notify. I'd agree with you that the people best placed to help and give you advice specific to your setting are your local authority.

[Guest]

ok thanks for the infomation - so do most childcare settings have to register? i mean the only recoards we have are that of the childrens and thier development books which i do with them (EYFS)

 

 

and about the poilcys i know to change the mto suit my settings as i have used a few before and hcanged the mto suit my setting i work with my mum as a childminder

[HappyMaz]

There's a self assessment guide here which may help you decide whether or not you need to notify.

Thanks for this Steve - another thing off my 'to do' list! The website is really good - lots of information/booklets to read etc. You can do the whole notification thing online - then you just print out the declaration form, and the direct debit form if you choose to pay this way and then post the whole thing off to them.

 

If only everything in life was so simple...

 

Maz

[Steve]

It is a nice straightforward site isn't it? A good page to start with for anyone else looking for notification information is here.

 

Hannah, I'd guess that probably most smaller settings aren't registered as they keep simple paper records for purely admin purposes. But I'd still go through the self-assessment if I were you, and given that it is such a small one-off fee it may help to put your mind at rest?

[HappyMaz]

Hannah, I'd guess that probably most smaller settings aren't registered as they keep simple paper records for purely admin purposes. But I'd still go through the self-assessment if I were you, and given that it is such a small one-off fee it may help to put your mind at rest?

I thought it was an annual registration fee of £35 Steve - I certainly had to fill in a direct debit form...

 

Maz

[Inge]

yep, annual payment , they send a reminder if not paying by direct debit

 

Inge

[Steve]

Oh, whoops. Sorry. Thought it was one off. I guess it has to be a periodic payment or they'd have no means of weeding out extinct organisations.

 

While we're about it though, perhaps I should remind people to ignore all those despicable organisations that try to scare you into registering via them - charging a big markup and making it sound like they're official. There don't seem to be as many of them around now, but Helen used to get worrying official looking letters quite regularly. And apparently sometimes they used to actually call at people's settings to try to force them to register on the spot.

 

Parasites! ('scuse me...)

[HappyMaz]

Parasites! ('scuse me...)

If you're auditioning for a job fronting one of those Roger-Cook-type consumer programmes Steve, you've got my vote! You could do it in your spare time - no probs!

 

Maz