Confidentiality and Data Protection Policy

Staff working in the Student Services Department will not pass on personal information about clients to anyone outside of the department. This is subject to the following exceptions:

• Where a member of Student Services staff has the express consent of the client to disclose the information.
• Where a member of Student Services staff would be liable to civil or criminal court procedure if the information were not disclosed.
• Where a member of Student Services staff believes the client or a third party is in serious danger.

In any of these circumstances the Student Services staff member concerned will normally encourage the client to pass information to the relevant person/agency. If there is no indication that this has happened or is likely to happen, or if the crisis or danger is sufficiently acute, the member of staff may pass on the information directly.

Consent to disclose information will be sought from the client, if at all possible.

The Nursery has an additional Child Protection Policy outlining issue of confidentiality and children.

Liaison and Correspondence
With the express permission of the client it may be appropriate for a member of Student Services Staff to liaise with, or write to, a third party – for example a personal tutor or General Practitioner. In the case of telephone calls the purpose of the call, and the nature and extent of the information to be given, will be agreed with the client prior to the call. In the case of letters, clients will agree the contents and wherever possible read the letter before it is sent. 

Record Keeping and Data Protection
Service areas within the Student Services Department record basic information on students (for example name, course, contact details, and their biographical information) for administrative purposes. This information may be held on paper and / or electronically and is used to make appointments and to produce anonymous statistical information about the use of our services as required by the College.

Case Notes
Case notes may record the points raised by the client and the information given by the staff member of the relevant Student Services section. Agreed action to be taken is also recorded with details of follow up action and correspondence.

Case File
In addition to case notes a case file may also contain copies of any documents - e.g. letters, reference materials, and any other additional information - that may have been provided by the client or obtained for the purpose of giving accurate advice, and where applicable counseling. 

Access to Case Files
Under the Data Protection Act, clients have a right of access to all notes kept on them. If those notes contain references to other individuals these may not be available to the client, as protection is also granted to third parties. A member of Staff in the Student Services Department can be available to explain what is contained in the file and why. Some notes are abbreviated and may require clarification. If a client wishes to see their file they should ask the Student  Services staff member they have been working with in the first instance. Files are usually available within 5 working days of a written request.

Security
All case files are kept within the Student Services Department’s jurisdiction. Case files are kept for 6 years, 5 years in the Counselling Service, from the date of the last entry for legal reasons. After this time they are destroyed by method of shredding.

See further information on the College's Data Protection Policy.

This policy has been used with thanks to the Advice service at Thames Valley University, and the Advice and Counselling Team at Queen Mary, University of London.