Early Learning School Mobile phones and telephone policy

Early Learning School Mobile phones and telephone policy

1. Introduction This policy supports aspects of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the revised EYFS (September 2014) to have a policy regarding the use of mobile phones and cameras in the School. It covers steps to be taken on the use of mobile phones and cameras, in order to protect young children in the school/school. The aim of this policy is to make clear to all staff and parents/carers how the use of mobile phones and cameras in the school will be managed. Staff must be consistent in their approach to the use of mobile phones and cameras in our school in order to protect our children and keep them safe. Personal mobiles, cameras or video recorders cannot be used to record classroom activities. ONLY school property can be used for this. Photographs and recordings can only be transferred to and stored on a school computer to be printed. It should be noted that smart watches are considered to be covered by this policy. 2. Visitors A visitor is considered to be a person who is not directly employed by Berkshire. This includes Parents, carers, family members and friends collecting children. It also covers contractors, workmen, peripatetic and agency staff. 2.1 Parents/carers and visitors are requested not to use their mobile phones on the premises. This is strictly monitored by all staff who will remind parents/carers and visitors of this requirement. 2.2 Where parents/carers or visitors consistently fail to adhere to this request they will be required to leave their mobile phones in the office until they leave the premises. 2.3 Any contractor who is working on staff operating under a lone working policy that requires them to contact their office periodically during the day, will be allowed to use their mobile phones in the ELS office, or use the school s landline ONLY. 2.4 Visitors may only use their mobile phone in the ELS office or off-site. 3 Staff Staff includes all teaching, kitchen, maintenance and any other temporary staff working on site. 3.1 Staff personal mobile phones may only be stored and used in the office or staff room. Staff have lockers in the staff room where staff can safely leave their phones, or they can be left with the management team in the office. 3.2 Staff must ensure that the telephone number of the school is known to immediate family and others who may need to contact them in an emergency. This is the responsibility of the individual staff member.

3.3 For outings/trips, staff may take personal phones for use in case of an emergency. They may not be used to make or receive personal calls. Where this instruction is not adhered to, staff may be subject to disciplinary action. 3.4 Members of staff cannot bring their own camera/video/dvd recorder/tablet devices or other equipment capable of taking pictures or recording into the school. 3.5 The vast majority of staff who take photographs of ELS pupils, do so for understandable and acceptable reasons. However we must ensure that we have some safeguards in place to protect our children. We seek consent for photographs to be taken or published (for example on our website), we only use the child s first name with an image and ensure children are appropriately dressed. Photographs and recordings of children will only be taken using ELS cameras or ipads for valid purposes such as recording their development and participation or for displays within the school. 3.6 Photographs and recordings of children will only be used for the purposes that the parents/guardians have agreed to. See Appendix for consent form. 3.7 All school cameras must be securely stored in the ELS office overnight and retrieved in the morning. Teacher ipads must not be left unattended and photos must be deleted after being uploaded to the school intranet. It is noted that photos taken in the Tapestry assessment package do not remain on the ipad so this is considered to be preferable to using the ipad camera. 3.8 Photos should be downloaded weekly from the cameras and stored securely on the intranet. 4. The use of cameras Under the Data Protection Act (1998) photographs and videos of adults and children are regarded as personal data and must be respected as such. Safe practice is communicated to adults within the school The school; Has written consent from parents for photographs of their children to be taken and used Verbal consent is not considered acceptable. Has written consent from adults employed in the school for their photographs to be taken or used Consent includes permission to store / use images once a child has left the school- eg. for brochures, displays etc. Parents are informed of the timescale for which images will be retained. Permission is obtained when the child joins the school but parents may inform the school in writing if they wish permission to be rescinded. Parents are informed of the purposes for which images may be taken and used eg. displays, website, brochures, learning journeys and portfolios, Images may be displayed in public areas around the school to demonstrate activities and learning. If trainees / students not directly employed by the school wish children s images to be included in portfolios, parental permission will be sought

The press have special permissions in terms of Data Protection and may wish to name individual children to accompany a photograph. The school will always inform parents of this and obtain written permission from parents for this Taking Photographs / Video The staff designated to take images of children are all teachers and Assistant Teachers directly employed by the School Photographs/videos are only taken using equipment provided by the school. Personal equipment is not used. When taking photographs/ video children s right to refuse to be photographed is respected Photographs will never show children who are distressed, When taking images care will be taken to ensure that certain children are not continually favoured Subjects are appropriately dressed and not participating in activities that could be misinterpreted. This would include for example considering the angle of shots for children engaged in PE activities or sitting on the floor. Certain areas of the school are off limits for taking photographs, eg. toilets, cubicles etc. Close up shots are avoided as these may be considered intrusive. Shots will preferably include a background context and show children in normal classroom situations. Parents Taking Photographs / Videos Under the Data Protection Act (1998), parents are entitled to take photographs of their own children on the provision that the images are for their own use, eg. at a school production. Any other purpose is a potential breach of Data Protection legislation. Parents are informed that they should only take photographs of their own children and that they need permission to include any other children / adults. Parents are reminded, at the start of each performance of sporting event, that publishing images which include children other than their own or other adults on Social Network sites is unacceptable, unless specific permission has been obtained from the subjects. Parents are encouraged to be considerate when taking photographs, eg. Not obscuring the view of others or being intrusive Storage of Photographs / Video The school ensures photographs are securely stored and not removed from the school If images are stored on USB memory sticks or Teacher ipads they are encrypted or password protected Only authorised staff have access to photographs / videos stored on our equipment Authorised staff are responsible for deleting photographs / video or disposing of printed copies (eg. by shredding) once the purpose for the image has lapsed Authorised staff ensure images are disposed of should a parent withdraw permission. Staff never send images by emails except using the school network Publication of Photographs / Videos Consent is obtained from parents for publication of children s images, eg. on a website. Photographs are only published online to secure sites.

When publishing photographs care is taken over the choice of images to ensure that individual children / adults cannot be identified or their image made available for downloading or misuse, Full names and / or other personal information never accompany published images. The school takes care to ensure that children s images are not displayed on insecure sites eg. personal Social Networking Sites. Staff are aware that full names and personal details will not be used on any digital media, particularly in association with photographs Staff recognise and understand the risks associated with publishing images, particularly in relation to use of personal Social Network sites 4 Monitoring and review It is the responsibility of the Early Learning staff to follow this policy. Senior managers will carry out monitoring on the Early Learning School as part of the whole school monitoring system.

Appendix Photography Consent Form Dear Parents / Carers PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL From time to time we may need to use photographs or moving images for information or promotional purposes, for example in local newspapers, prospectuses, fliers, displays, in our ELS newsletters and on our School s social media site etc. Photos may be stored and used once a child has left the school- eg. for brochures, displays etc. Photos used for this purpose may be retained for up to five years Images may be displayed in public areas around the school to demonstrate activities and learning. Parents are reminded that Under the Data Protection Act (1998), parents are entitled to take photographs of their own children on the provision that the images are for their own use, eg. at a school production. Any other purpose is a potential breach of Data Protection legislation. Permission should be sought to include any other children or adults in photos. Publishing images which include children other than their own or other adults on Social Network sites is unacceptable, unless specific permission has been obtained from the subjects. PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL I give permission for the picture of my child in a photograph or other moving image to be used by Berkshire for information or promotional purposes. Name of child:.(please print) Date of birth of child: Signature (parent/guardian): Date: