Guidance on Photography

Guidance on the Collection and Use of Images

This guidance applies to the collection and use of images of any identifiable person, whether they are a pupil, teacher, other employee, governor, visitor, or parent.

For the purposes of this guidance, an image is considered any still or moving picture of a person who can be identified.

When a school captures an image of a person, whether via camera, CCTV, video, webcam, or mobile phone, and that person is identifiable, the image is considered personal data. This means that the image must be processed in line with data protection principles. 'Processing' includes any actions taken with the image, such as recording, using, or sharing it.

At Meldreth Primary School, we often allow parents to take photographs and videos at school events, following the guidance from Cambridgeshire County Council. We kindly ask parents to respect the privacy of others and, as part of this, we request that photographs featuring children other than their own are not shared online.

We provide parents with a copy of our policy that outlines how we handle digital images:

Staff inform and educate pupils about the risks associated with taking, using, sharing, publishing, and distributing images. Pupils are encouraged to understand the risks of sharing their own images online, particularly on social networking sites.
Staff are allowed to take digital/video images to support educational purposes but must follow school policies on sharing, distributing, and publishing those images. All images must be captured using school equipment; staff personal equipment may only be used in exceptional circumstances, such as on residential trips, and must be agreed upon in advance with the Headteacher.
Pupils must not take, use, share, publish, or distribute images of others taken in school without obtaining their permission.
Photographs published on the school website or elsewhere will be carefully selected and comply with best practice guidance on using images.
Pupils' full names will not be used on the school website or in any public pages alongside their images.
Parents have the right to refuse permission for the school to publish their child’s photo or video on the school website or in local media. If parents do not wish their child’s image to be used, they should notify the school in writing. Unless the school is informed otherwise, we will assume parents/carers are happy for their child’s image to be published.