Security of Information
Only store information that is directly relevant to the children and young people currently in your care. All the information stored should be in accordance with the requirements of this policy. Firstly, ensure that you follow the Council’s good practice guidance when it comes to your password.
Good Practice for Use of a Password:
- Do not write your password down and do not share your password with anyone.
- Change your password if you suspect that it has been compromised.
- Passwords should contain a mix of letters, special characters/punctuation and numbers.
- Do not use passwords which are easy to guess, such as your name, pet names, favourite football team, etc.
- Do not use word or number patterns like AAAbbb, Qwerty123 or 12345ABCD.
- Do not use birthdays and other personal information such as addresses or phone numbers.
Storing Confidential Information
Hard copies of written information e.g. Children in Care paperwork or individual recording about children and young people must be stored securely in the lockable box provided by the Department. Diaries should be used to record appointments, meetings, reviews etc. not for detailed information about individual children. Evidence produced for foster carers’ portfolios must be suitably anonymised and the portfolio stored securely. Confidential information relating to children and young people must not be given to or accessed by anyone else, unless agreed by the appropriate officer; for example, Social Worker, Team Manager or Head of Service
Storing Confidential Information on a Memory Stick
To ensure that suitable security measures are in place, all documents must be stored on the encrypted memory stick provided which must not be accessible to anyone else and must be stored in the lockable box provided by the Department when not in use. Information must not be stored on your computer. Advice on how to encrypt a memory stick and how to use a memory stick can be found in Appendices C and D respectively.
Transfer of Information
Do not use the internet based email such as Hotmail or Gmail to transfer any confidential information. Either print a paper copy and hand it to your intended recipient or if you have a requirement to e-mail a document you must use the Secure File Transfer (SFT) solution.
Secure File Transfer
The Fostering Central Engagement Team will create an account for you - see guidance on how to send and receive documents via the SFT. There are numerous ways in which a foster carer can communicate with their social worker and other foster carers, including text messaging, WhatsApp, emails and online forums. Foster carers are reminded that personal and/or confidential information should not be discussed using these mediums.
Good Practice for Sending Electronic Documents
Ensure that you follow the Council’s good practice guidance when it comes to sending electronic documents:
You should:
- check the message and think how the person will react to it, or how you would feel if you received it, before you send it;
- make sure you use correct and up-to-date e-mail addresses;
- file mail when you have dealt with it and delete any items that you do not need to keep.
You should not:
- print out messages you receive or send unless you need a hard copy;
- send an e-mail that contains indecent, inappropriate, offensive or profane content; use jargon, abbreviations or symbols if the person who receives the e-mail may not understand them.
Digital Photos
Electronic files must be closed after use and written information should be locked away. Digital photos of children or young people who are or have been in your care must be saved to the encrypted memory stick provided and deleted from the memory of the camera / phone used to take them; they can be printed for display around the home, but must not be uploaded to photo-sharing sites on the internet or put on Facebook or any other social network sites.
Deleting Information
Information relating to young people held on electronic media must be securely disposed of when it is no longer required, please consult with the Fostering Central – Engagement Team for guidance (via ICT). When you are due to dispose of your computer you must ensure that no data remains on the device, and it must therefore be cleaned. Unfortunately, it is not enough to just delete the files as this does not irretrievably remove them from the system. Whilst Staffordshire County Council cannot recommend specific products, the following applications are leaders in secure deletion software; Media WIPE, Blanco and Drive Erase Pro. Solutions such as these will permanently erase files and overwrite data so they cannot be recovered.
Access to the Internet on Devices Other than PCs
The following is not an exhaustive list, but includes points to be aware of and sensible precautions to take to avoid unsupervised access to the internet on devices other than PCs
- Modern games consoles can access the internet in the same way as computers and be used for browsing the web. Games consoles can connect to wireless networks, therefore it is sensible to ensure that if you have a wireless enabled router it is protected with a password to prevent unwanted connections.
- Games consoles will still work if they are not connected to the internet, but they will not be able to download updates or play multiplayer games online. If in doubt you should prevent any wireless internet access by setting a password for the network that only you know. This is usually a simple process to achieve, but if in doubt consult the manufacturers guidance issued with your router or modem.
- Try to ensure that you know what is connected to your network; ensuring that the ports on any routers are kept hidden away or checked regularly for any unwanted connections should help to prevent unwanted internet access.
- Try looking at the website for the manufacturer of your Router or Modem, many of them provide FAQ sections and areas with advice on how to best protect young people online.
- Modern mobile phones can often connect to the internet via a 3G, 4G or GPRS network. Often this access is part of a phones standard contract and can be difficult to disable. The newest generation of smartphones often have the ability to connect to wireless networks to facilitate free internet access; this means that there is a high likelihood of fast, unfiltered internet access being available to young people with modern phones.
- Preventing phones from connecting to the internet is often tricky and only possible with the help of the network operator or contract provider for the phone, if in doubt ask them for help.
- Just because some games consoles and mobile phones can connect to the internet does not mean that they have to, they will still work without internet access.
- Regularly check for other wireless networks that may be available, sometimes neighbours do not have passwords on their wireless connection. Enabling wireless devices that are close enough to connect to the internet.
Training
All foster carers with a computer in their household should attend our training (B)e SAFE – Embrace Modern Media training details can be found in the training catalogue or contact the Fostering Central – Engagement Team for more information.
Additional Support - Buddies 4 FC set up by Staffordshire Foster Carers they are happy to give support and advice around internet safety; http://www.buddies4fc.org.uk/
E Safety information is constantly being updated. Foster Carers are kept informed via the Newsletter, the Foster Carers Forum, Training Events and Support Groups. It is very important that you ensure your information on E Safety is current. If you are in doubt please discuss this with your Fostering Social Worker.