Confidentiality And Disclosure Of Data

The Trust has a right to monitor emails, phone-calls, internet activity or document production; principally in order to avoid offensive or nuisance material and to protect systems from viruses. Use of the School email for personal correspondence is not allowed. Many staff have access to the internet on their computers. This facility is for School use only. Inappropriate usage of School equipment could result in disciplinary action being taken against an employee. Passwords and access to computer systems are to be kept confidential.

Duty of Care to Children and Young People

Trust employees are expected to act in an open and transparent way that would not lead any reasonable person to suspect their actions or intent. Employees in School are in a position of Trust and have a duty to protect young people from discrimination and harm and to maintain appropriate professional boundaries. It is equally important for staff to avoid behaviour that might be misinterpreted by others in order to protect both young people and themselves. Staff are required to read and understand Trust policies on child protection.

Time recording

The timely and accurate recording of all work-related activities is critical to EPT’s business operation, ensuring that the time spent by you on your work activities is allocated correctly so that we have an accurate picture of the costs of the service we provide.

Collections for charities and fundraising

EPT is keen to assist legitimate charitable and community activities, provided that they do not interfere with the operation of the business. To ensure that this does not happen and that the cause or activity concerned is genuine, any such collections and fundraising activity must receive the prior authorisation of the headteacher.

Right of search

To safeguard you and ensure that there is no abuse with regard to the removal of EPT property or equipment, EPT may reasonably request to search any employee or the contents of bags/parcels coming into or leaving the premises. Such searches are random and do not imply suspicion in relation to any individual concerned. Any search will be conducted with respect to privacy, by a member of the same sex, in the presence of another person and you will have the right for another independent witness to be present. Any employee found in possession of EPT property without the appropriate permission will be subject to disciplinary action, and where appropriate, EPT may notify the police and / or other relevant statutory authorities.

All employees at the School and the Trust come into contact with a significant volume of data and information in relation to pupils, staff, Trust activities and many other matters. There is an obligation to read and to observe the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and any relevant updates to Data Protection Policies including the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Staff should not disclose sensitive information about the Trust, its employees or the local authority to other parties, for example, parents, colleagues or social media such as Facebook. There are particular exceptions to this; for example, disclosure of suspected or alleged abuse of a pupil to Child Protection Officers; discussion with a person accompanying or representing an employee in a formal meeting or disclosure under the Whistleblowing procedure. All communication with the media must be directed through the Trust.

There are circumstances in which staff are obliged to release pupil data, for example, parents seeking information about pupil progress or other colleagues in the Trust.