The other BIG problem for a teaching staff is a lack of regard for the confidential and private issues of information about a child, a group of children, a parent or family, or program staff members.

There is nothing that can do more damage to the level of professionalism of a program than a lack of confidentiality.  Confidentiality means keeping child, parent, and program information private.  Disclosure of private information undermines the relationships between parents and the program; between staff members; and between teachers and children.  It destroys trust and self-esteem, crushes morale, disrupts the sense of community, and is simply unprofessional and wrong. The disclosure of some information is ethically wrong, while some disclosures may even be illegal!

Child information that is ethically wrong to share is a personal opinion about the child that has nothing to do with how his progress, needs, or behaviors affect his learning.  If there is a need for collaboration or assistance from a coworker with a factual observation or if a group of teachers and administrators are working together on class placement or assessment issues, there may be sharing of pertinent and factual information only.

Child information that is illegal!  to disclose without permission from parent or guardian is child health history, custody issues, and residential information.  It may also be illegal to take a child’s photograph without parent or guardian permission.

Family and parental information that is ethically wrong to disclose without express permission from a parent is family crisis status, family relationship information, ethnicity, gender, or sexual preference information, personal relationships with program staff, and any unfounded gossip or rumor concerning a family.

Family and parental information that is illegal! to disclose without express permission from a parent is address, phone number, identification numbers, income, health history, criminal background, child custody and marital or domestic issues.

Staff information that is ethically wrong to disclose is personal/family crisis, family relationship information, work related or job performance issues and salary information.

Staff information that is illegal! to disclose without express permission is residential address or contact information, identification numbers, and criminal background, if any.

Child Information  

• Always protect personal information about any child by getting a signed statement of permission to release from parent or guardian
• Only take photographs of a child with use of a signed statement of permission from parent or guardian and do not post photographs to social media
• Only share information about a child with coworkers when collaborating about a specific need

Parent Information                 

• Always protect personal family information from release to other parent, coworker, or to the public

Coworker                               

• Always protect and maintain the sense of program community by keeping personal, job performance, and salary information confidential
• Never share personal opinion about another teacher’s job performance with anyone but supervisory staff persons 

Keep it to Yourself – Lack of confidentiality is one of the biggest ‘deal breakers’ in the preschool business.  Practice a good work ethic by communicating openly and honestly with other staffers.  Share your strengths and weaknesses with your team teaching partner so you can share classroom duties, but NEVER share payroll information and try not to share negative personal thoughts on job performance issues outside your room, unless you are professionally collaborating about BIG concerns!

Next Blog: Confidentiality 2 – HOW?