Introduction
St David’s Fostering Service is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Notice explains how we use the information you give us and the ways in which we protect your privacy.
Any amendments to this policy will continue to be in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation 2018. The Data Protection Act 2018 and Regulation can be reviewed at The Information Commissioner’s Office web site at www.ico.gov.uk.
Context
St David’s Children Society is a registered Fostering Agency and a Registered Charity (Registration Number 509163) and a company limited by Guarantee (Registered Cardiff 1546688). St David’s Fostering Service is the brand name of the St David’s Children Society’s foster service.
Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 St David’s Children Society is the ‘data controller’ and is responsible for ensuring personal data held about you is used for the purposes set out in this notice.
St David’s Children Society, Lambourne House, Llanishen Business Park, Cardiff, CF14 5GL
Telephone: 02920 667007
Email: info@stdavidscs.org
Website: www.stdavidsfosteringservice.org.uk
Why do we collect your information?
We collect and use your personal data in relation to your position as a foster carer, as a member of the foster carer household, or due to your application to become a foster carer. The law requires that we collect this data.
Before we can approve you as a foster carer, we must assess whether you are suitable to look after children and young people. This means we collect and record a lot of personal information about you, your family, and people in your household. The law requires we keep this information for a number of years.
We will only use your information to fulfil our legal obligations as a fostering service and will collect personal information from you in order to:
- Assess your suitability to be a foster carer.
- Match you with children who need to be fostered.
- Support and supervise your activity as a foster carer.
- Review, at least annually, your continued suitability as a foster carer.
- Maintain you application if approved as a foster carer.
- Meet legal obligations and fostering regulations.
We need to process data to ensure that we are complying with our legal obligations such as to carry out criminal records checks to ensure that individuals are permitted to undertake the role in question.
What information do we collect?
St David’s Fostering Service collects and holds personal data which you share with us as part of an enquiry into fostering, as part of the fostering assessment process and to support foster carers and child once a placement has been made. This information can come from you and from a range of people in your lives, such as friends, family, ex-partners and referees. Additional information is gathered from external organisations such as GP’s, consultants, DBS and local authorities.
Information collected as part of a foster assessment
Throughout assessing suitability most information will come from you or the sources your provide and will include (not exhaustive)
- Information about your identity – full name, title, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, marital status, date of birth, gender, etc. We will verify your identify by asking for see your passport, National Insurance Number, marriage certificate (if applicable), proof of address and driving licence.
- Data about your background – such as childhood, personality, family and other relationships (including current and past marital status/relationships), qualifications, skills, education, experience, employment/voluntary history, finances, address history and previous fostering/adoption experiences.
- Details about your lifestyle – such as household accommodations, community, support networks, your schedule (working hours).
- Information about medical or health concerns – including whether you have a disability for which we need to make reasonable adjustments.
- Details about your capacity/suitability to be a foster carer – i.e., caring for children, providing structure, resilience, working with others, diversity and safer caring.
- Details about any complaints and concerns or investigations in which you may have been involved – this includes any warnings issued to you and related correspondence.
We also collect ‘Criminal Record Data’, including details of any spent convictions, cautions or warnings. You will be asked to give written consent to us taking up Disclosure and Barring checks, medical checks and personal and other references. We are required to hold this information on your case record.
The social worker will explain the assessment process to you and show you any relevant forms which need to be completed to capture information.
Information collected regarding approved foster carers.
If you are an approved foster carer the personal information we collect, and record, includes.
- Financial Data – including bank details, unique tax reference, national insurance number.
- Criminal Records Data – including details of any spent convictions, cautions or warning will be updates at required intervals.
- Personal Information – we will continue to collect information, including records, about the children placed with you and how you care for them, the training you undertake, any changes in your health or circumstances, and any complaints or allegations about you, and information about emergency contacts.
- Annual Review process – includes information gathered and reports completed by you, your supervising social worker, your children, the children placed with you, their social workers and the reviewing officer. This information is presented to fostering panel.
- Supervision – you will have regular supervision with a St David’s social worker and this information will be form part of your case record.
As part of the post-approval process, we also process ‘Criminal Record Data’, medical checks and other checks that may be required to assess your ongoing suitability to foster. You will be asked for consent for these checks and we are required to hold this information in your case record.
Personal Data
The personal information we collect from you will be used solely for fostering purposes. This is to assess if you’re suitable to be approved and to remain approved as a foster carer. From the point of your initial enquiry, during the fostering assessment processes, and while a child in placed in your care we will collect and hold personal information.
Sensitive Personal Data
Data Protection Law recognises that certain categories of data are more sensitive than others. These are known as special categories of personal data and include information about a person’s health, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, and genetic and biometric data.
We do ask you for some of the information that is classified as special categories of data, as this is needed as part of a foster carer assessment. The legislation and guidance around fostering assessments guides our data collection on these matters. The purpose of this data collection is to enable the completion of robust assessments which are in line with fostering legislation and requirements.
Information we hold about your family, including children
In assessing you to be a foster carer, and in working with you when you are a foster carer, it is necessary for us to have personal information about others in your family and/or living in your household. Most of this information will have been provided by you as part of your assessment or in supervision after you are approved, or by them directly, or very occasionally by others.
We collect personal data about family/household members of those wishing to become foster carers; this includes:
- Personal Data such as their full name, gender, date of birth;
- Information about their background and identity such as previous fostering/adoption experience, lifestyle.
We may ask them for a reference, which will contain their personal opinion about the person applying to foster with us. Adult members of the fostering household will also be asked to give written consent to us processing Disclosure and Barring Checks and other checks that may be relevant (i.e., Local Authority Checks).
How do we collect information?
Much of the personal information we hold will have been provided by you, such as when you;
- Enquire about our services/ request information about becoming a foster carer
- Complete an application to become a foster carer;
- Take part in the assessment process (i.e. have conversations with your assessing social worker)
- Take part in supervision session or other meetings and training.
- Communication with us via phone, email or letter.
Other information will come to us from third parties during the assessment such as criminal record checks, medical assessments or from personal referees, employers, local authorities, but only where you have given consent for us to approach them.
Is St David’s Fostering Service allowed to collect this information?
St David’s Fostering Service collects personal information about prospective foster carers and approved foster carers because the processing of this personal data is necessary for purposes of effectively assessing the individual as a suitable and continuingly suitable foster carer. The specific laws we follow to do this include,
- Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
- The Regulated Fostering Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2019
- The Fostering Panels (Establishment and Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2018
We also take into account any relevant subsequent guidance related to these laws.
Data protection laws states that we must have a valid lawful basis in order to process your personal information. We will process you information on the lawful basis of,
- ‘legitimate interest’. This means that to enable us to process your request to become a foster carer, and then to support you and the children placed with you once you have become a foster carer, we need to collect and process personal information.
We have a legitimate interest in processing personal data before, during and after the end of the fostering relationship. Processing data allows us to
- Maintain accurate and up to date records and contact details (including details of who to contact in the event of an emergency)
- Operate and keep a record of any complaints, concerns or investigations to ensure acceptable conduct throughout your role.
- Ensure effective general business administration.
- Provide references on request.
- Respond to and defend legal claims.
- Respond to requests from regulatory bodies, i.e., CIW.
When using legitimate interest, we make sure we balance the legitimate organisational interest against your rights, making sure we only use your information in way, and for a purpose, that you would reasonable expect and does not intrude on your privacy.
- Consent
- Will be obtained when contacting third parties, i.e., referees.
- Will be obtained for sharing fundraising and marketing information.
- Legal Obligation
- In certain circumstances, we may process or disclose your information because we are legally obliged to.
- Contract
- Following approval, we will enter into a fostering agreement with you and data will be processed as necessary for the performance of the contract.
When we need to collect special category (sensitive) personal information, we rely upon reasons of Health and Social Care purposes (Article 9(2)(h)), Explicit Consent (Article 9(2)(a)), Substantial Public Interest (Article 9(2)(g)). When we collect criminal offence information (i.e., DBS check) we rely upon Health or Social Care “processing is necessary for health or social care purposes” (Schedule 1, part1, paragraph 2(1)) and consent “the data subject has given consent to the processing” (Schedule 1, part3, paragraph 29).
How is data used and who will see it?
Following an initial enquiry and during your assessment your data information will be shared with internal staff. During assessment we will share information with relevant individuals, agencies or organisations to verify the information you have provided. This will include contact with;
- Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS),
- the Local Authority in which you reside,
- present employers,
- financial checks,
- and if applicable schools and nurseries.
We will also share information with those individuals you have nominated as personal referees, and if applicable, contact ex-partners. We will ask your consent to have a medical examination by your registered medical practitioners who will then send a written report to a designated medical advisor who reports to the Fostering Service. If we feel that further enquiries from medical specialists are needed, we will contact you to ask for your specific consent to obtain further health information. This information is needed so we can be as sure as we can that you will be able to care for a child and these checks support our understanding.
At the end of an assessment a social worker will complete a Form F Report which contains all information gathered during an assessment. The law requires that assessment information (Form F Report) must be considered by a Foster Panel. This information is heavily protected to make sure information cannot be seen by anyone else.
Post approval, you will be placed on out vacancy list alongside other families awaiting placement of a child or young person.
In exceptional circumstances (child protection/safeguarding concerns), or when we are required to do so by law (court order, witness summons, or complaint from governmental authorities), data may be shared with external parties in accordance with our statutory responsibilities. We are also obliged under statutory duties to provide information to external fostering and adoption agencies if an application is made, by you, to them.
We are signed up to the Welsh Governments Standards in respect of information sharing. More information is available WASPI – Welsh Accord on Sharing of Personal Information.
How long do we keep your information?
- All data provided at initial enquiry/attendance at information workshop will be held for a period of 18 months or as deemed necessary.
- All data provided at initial visit will be held for a period of up to 18 months or as deemed necessary.
- The law expects us to keep your information for 3 years if you withdraw your application or your application is unsuccessful.
- The law expects us to keep your information for 10 years from the date at which your approval is terminated by either yourself or the agency.
Referee information is held in line with the fostering assessment in relation to the retention periods stated.
Children’s information is held for 75 years after the child turns 18 years old.
Feedback and Evaluation Information
Any feedback or evaluation forms should be destroyed after 10 years.
Case studies will be retained as deemed necessary by the agency or destroyed up on request by the case study participant.
Photographs/Videos
St David’s Children Society request ID photographs from foster carers – fosters need to be aware what these photos are being used for and why and consent to this. Staff are reminded that consent must be obtained from all individuals and cannot be assumed if only one party consents.
Videos of foster carers will be produced with the express consent of all parties and will be stored and shared in accordance with the permissions obtained.
Keeping your data secure
The information you provide is subject to rigorous security measures and procedures to make sure it can’t be seen. We have put in place appropriate physical and electronic measures (including Cyber Essentials certification), security policies and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure personal data we store from unauthorised access, improper use, alteration, unlawful or accidental destruction or accidental loss.
- Prospective and approved foster carer information is securely stored, this is done through saving your information on the “CHARMS” database which is fully GDPR compliant.
- Your information at all other points of your foster carer assessment with St David’s Children Society will be saved on our secure IT systems and on our secure Servers.
Only authorised personnel will have access to your personal information. All personnel who have access to your personal data are contractually obliged to respect the confidentiality of your personal data.
Contacting us to access to personal data
- Unless subject to an exception, you have the right to request a copy of the information held on you by the Fostering Service.
- The right to request a copy of your personal data
- The right to request corrections of data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date (unless the information is third part or gathered as part of a safeguarding process.
- The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for data to be retained.
- The right to request that the data controller provide the data subject with his/her personal data and where possible, to transmit that data to another controller where applicable.
- The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office.
- We have a separate policy on Subject Access Requests for this process. A Subject Access Request is free of charge. Should a request be manifestly unfounded, excessive or repetitive the agency maintains the right to charge a ‘reasonable fee’ or to refuse to respond with full explanation.
If you have any other questions or concerns about our privacy statement and practices please contact us at info@stdavidscs.org
What if I am unhappy?
You can find out more about your personal data rights by going to the Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website at https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/.
For further independent advice about data protection, and your personal data rights, you can contact:
Information Commissioner’s Office – Wales
2nd Floor, Churchill House
Churchill Way
Cardiff
CF10 2HH
Tel: 02920 678400
Fax: 02920 678399
E-mail: Wales@ico.gov.uk
Web: www.ico.org.uk
Changes to this policy
This policy was last updated in May 2024. We may update the terms of this policy at any time, so please do check it from time to time. We will notify you about significant changes in the way we treat personal information by sending a notice to the primary email address you have provided to us or by placing a prominent notice on our website(s)
