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Pack 9: Confidentiality

Most voluntary sector workers understand this well, but not all volunteers are clear about this complex subject. Breaches of confidentiality can have serious implications for the organisation; ensure your volunteers get this vital training.
Author

Kay Curtis

Resources

Handouts, Activity Sheets & Case Studies

Experience Level Needed

Beginner

Access

Download and Online Access

Duration

3 hours

Price

£
50

What's included?

  • Session Timetable
  • Timed Activities
  • Trainer notes
  • Training material in PPT files 
  • Pre Course questionnaire
  • Training Evaluation form
  • Session extension ideas
  • Activity sheets
  • Case Studies
  • Achievement cards and certificates

Overview

Most voluntary sector workers understand this well, but not all volunteers are clear about this complex subject. Breaches of confidentiality can have serious implications for the organisation; ensure your volunteers get this vital training.

A three-hour training session on confidentiality

This is an excellent pack to assist in the delivery of a sometimes difficult subject, and is easy to tailor to organisations’ policies.

Objective

By the end of this session participants will:

- have explored the definition of confidentiality
- be familiar with their organisations’ Confidentiality Policy
- have applied the principles of confidentiality to their volunteering role and shared responses to situations involving confidentiality
- have discussed the implications of confidentiality for the clients, the volunteers and the organisation
- have formulated a ‘check list’ for confidentiality
- have demonstrated an awareness of Child Protection within their volunteering role – if applicable

This pack includes guidelines for information sharing and practical activities on handling confidentiality
WHY IT MATTERS

Why confidentiality training matters for every UK charity volunteer in 2026.

📅 Pack content last reviewed: April 2026
✍️ Authored by Kay Curtis · 30+ years' UK voluntary-sector specialism

The Confidentiality Training Pack is a complete trainer-led awareness-level session for UK charity volunteers — covering UK GDPR essentials, common-law confidentiality, when confidentiality must be broken (safeguarding, criminal disclosure, life-at-risk), and the practical day-to-day decisions volunteers face when handling information about beneficiaries, colleagues, and the organisation itself.

Volunteer confidentiality is a higher-stakes area than many charities realise. The Information Commissioner's Office applies UK GDPR enforcement to volunteer-involving organisations on the same basis as any other data controller. The Data Protection Act 2018 creates the legal framework. And common-law confidentiality — the duty not to disclose information shared in confidence — applies separately and additionally, particularly in befriending, advice, and one-to-one volunteer roles.

Confidentiality in 2026 also has to navigate the situations where it must be broken. Safeguarding overrides — where there is a risk of harm to a child or adult at risk, confidentiality cannot stand in the way of disclosure to the appropriate authority. Charity Commission safeguarding guidance is explicit on this point. Volunteers also need to understand the criminal disclosure thresholds — what to do when they become aware of a crime, when reporting is mandatory, and when it is discretionary.

This training pack gives your volunteers an awareness-level understanding of confidentiality that holds up in practice — covering the everyday handling of beneficiary information, the principled basis for confidentiality, and the situations in which it must be broken.
UK GDPR
Applies to volunteer-involving orgs
The Information Commissioner's Office enforces UK GDPR against charities and voluntary organisations on the same basis as any other data controller.
DPA 2018
UK Data Protection Act 2018
Creates the legal framework for personal data handling. Volunteers handling beneficiary information are subject to it whether they realise it or not.
SAFEGUARDING
Overrides confidentiality
Where there is risk of harm to a child or adult at risk, confidentiality must give way to safeguarding disclosure. The pack covers when and how.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Quick answers from buyers like you.

QIs this pack about UK GDPR specifically or wider confidentiality?
Both. The pack covers UK GDPR essentials as they apply to volunteers (lawful basis, data minimisation, retention, individual rights), the Data Protection Act 2018 framework, and common-law confidentiality which applies separately and additionally. Volunteers need to understand all three to handle information appropriately in practice.
QDoes it cover when confidentiality MUST be broken?
Yes. The pack covers the three main override situations: safeguarding (risk of harm to a child or adult at risk), criminal disclosure (mandatory reporting thresholds and discretionary disclosure of crimes), and life-at-risk (where there is immediate danger). It gives volunteers structured decision frameworks for each, not just principles.
QHow current is the legal content?
The pack reflects current UK GDPR (the version applied in the UK after EU exit), the Data Protection Act 2018, ICO guidance, and current Charity Commission safeguarding requirements. The pack is updated within your licence year when material changes occur — there have been ongoing developments to UK data protection law that the pack tracks.
QIs this for advice and befriending volunteers, or for all volunteers?
All volunteers, but with different depth depending on role. The pack scales — a fundraising volunteer needs basic confidentiality awareness; an advice or befriending volunteer needs the full content including the supervision-disclosure boundary and detailed override frameworks. The materials support both delivery depths.
QIs it better to buy this pack or the full library?
Confidentiality training works best alongside safeguarding, working safely, and the wider volunteer-management training. If confidentiality is your only training need, the £50 single pack works. For full coordinator and volunteer training, the £295 licence pays for itself after six packs and includes all 54+ resources for a year.
RELATED TRAINING PACKS

Confidentiality sits alongside safeguarding and the law.

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