Gosfield Community Primary School. Building a love of life and learning. Use of Photograph and Video policy

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1 and learning Use of Photograph and Video policy

2 Photographs taken at school events can be a useful tool in promoting the school to the community as well as a celebration of school life. However, we recognise that there are child protection and data protection issues surrounding the use of photographs, and the safety and wellbeing of our children is of paramount importance. This policy sums up our approach to safeguarding children and recognising their rights and those of their parents in terms of privacy. Written permission is sought from parents in advance for all use of photographs in school publications or the school website. The Headteacher keeps a displayed list of all replies, so that a current list is kept of permissions received or withheld. This covers the use of photographs for publication on the school website and in local publications. In addition, where other requests are made (e.g. a local charity seeking to use its own photographs including our children for publicity), parental permission will be specifically sought. We are aware that for some of our children, publishing their photograph could compromise their security. NO PHOTOGRAPHS OR VIDEO MATERIAL ARE ALLOWED TO BE USED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT FIRST BEING CHECKED AGAINST THE PERMISSION LIST. Restrictions and selection of images Where permission has been given for photographs or video to be used, the school is responsible for careful choice and presentation of photographic material. This applies both to security of identity and suitability of images used. With this in mind, a) children s names and personal details will not appear in conjunction with their photograph. Care will be taken when saving images to file that children s names are not included in the file name. b) Only images that the Headteacher considers appropriate and which appropriately represents the range of activities the school provides and the values it adheres to will be published. No images will be used which could be considered to put any child at increased risk. Through this policy we aim to respect young people s and parents rights of privacy and minimise the risks to which young people can be exposed to through the misuse of images. The policy takes account of both data protection and child protection issues. Author Headteacher Page 2 of 5 Review date March 2016

3 Data Protection Photographs and video images of pupils and staff are classed as personal data under the terms of the Data Protection Act We will not use images of identifiable individuals for school publicity purposes without the consent of either the individual themselves or, in the case of pupils, their parent, guardian or carer. In seeking consent we will ensure that parents are clear why we are using a child s image, what we are using it for, and who might want to look at the pictures. Images are stored on the school s curriculum network in a central photo store, so that children can access their own images. This can only be accessed from within the school. Photographs taken for school publicity and celebration are also stored within the school s admin network, access to which is password-protected. Photos of children who have left the school will be deleted from the curriculum network. We note that according to the Information Commissioner s Office, the Data Protection Act only applies to official school photos. Parents, friends and family friends may take photographs and films of their children at school events, for family use. We ask parents intending to film an event to sign a register, which is then filed in the school office. Photographs taken by the media are also usually exempt from the Act, but it is our usual practice to ask permission from parents before specific photos are published, e.g. in the local newspaper, particularly where the newspaper insists on including children s names with their photograph. Where professional or non-professional photographers are employed at school events, they will be asked to adhere to the requirements of the Data Protection Act and our guidelines on the use of images. In particular, such photographs may not be disclosed to any other party unless specifically required to do so in order to fulfil the requirements under the contract, or where written permission has been given by the school. The photographer will be responsible for keeping his own records as evidence that he has carried out the above. Author Headteacher Page 3 of 5 Review date March 2016

4 Child Protection We will only use images of children in suitable dress. The Head Teacher and Governing Body will decide if images of some activities such as sports or arts are suitable without presenting risk of potential misuse. Any evidence of the use of inappropriate images, or the misuse of images, will be reported to the school s Designated Teacher for Child Protection, the Local Authority, Social Services and/or the police as appropriate. Individual pupils will not be named in conjunction with their image and we will never use an image of a child who is subject to a court order. We will also ensure that children s names are not saved in the title of the image. Photographs and video on the school website The prime purpose of any website is to provide information, for prospective as well as existing pupils and parents. Photographs and videos contribute to the celebration of the life and work of our school, including through publication on our website. However, the school s duty to keep our children safe applies to our website as well as the physical environment. We will ensure that no individual child can be identified or contacted via the school website. All staff must be aware of rules relating to use of photograph and video images. These will regularly appear as agenda items on staff meetings. Any child without permission will be indicated on class teacher registers. Currently children do not upload to the website; again, if this changes, there must be clear guidelines to ensure that their uploaded files are checked for safety, e.g. that they do not contain personal details with photographs. Photographs and the Virtual Learning Environment Children are encouraged to use VLE with confidence and independence. We recognise that they may want to upload a photo of themselves on to their VLE desktop. We will ensure that during every session in which VLE or the internet is used in school, children will be taught the importance of keeping themselves safe on the internet and the dangers to avoid. We will also ask them to be vigilant in reporting any misuse to an adult in school. We aim through this strategy to equip pupils as safety-aware internet users. Author Headteacher Page 4 of 5 Review date March 2016

5 Policy review This policy will be reviewed as part of our three-year policy review cycle, or as guidelines and requirements change. Approved by the Curriculum Committee on. Signed Chairman Ratified by the Governing Body on Signed Chairman of Governors Author Headteacher Page 5 of 5 Review date March 2016