To have filmed my ds1s preschool nativity play even though

[Nooneelseisallowedafergus]

We were expressly told no filming.

I did zoom in on just him ( as much as was possible ) and only filmed a few short clips, not the whole event.

I felt I would have really regretted not having captured the memory, and my son loves watching himself on film, and has already enjoyed watching the clips and singing along to the songs.

And I just don't see how a video of fully clothed children would be satisfying viewing for a peadophile. With this vein of thought surely we should start making our children wear burkas.

...but yet sell the production cd for £5. Where is the child being protected in this instance???

Any vulnerable children could have been positioned at the edges so that they are easily edited out/not filmed.

Not at our school, I'm on the board, if 100% written permission is not given, then the filming doesn't go ahead, we brought this in a few years ago, this was implemented a few year ago, when their was a big media upheaval with it.

Our school still cite child protecting as a ex social worker this is balloons also.

This. Exactly. If people weren't so blasted entitled about "rules don't apply to me", then this wouldn't such a huge risk. I guess perhaps those that don't like the rule and do it anyway should take a long look at themselves and realise that they ARE the reason this rule exists.

So you're allowing the vulnerable children to participate, but limiting how they can participate. It's okay as long as they're on the outskirts of it all. How charming.

I cannot for the life of me understand why people find it so difficult to understand.

Clearly you misunderstood what I was saying.

I was explaining how the school who was selling DVDs could be doing so without compromising child protection, not making a suggestion.

There has to be a balance when deciding on these rules, and I don't think a blanket ban on pictures is fair to everyone.

School Christmas plays, especially nativity plays, are special for parents and its perfectly understandable that they should want to film them. It's not the filming of the plays that's a problem, it's the fact that they might be put on social network sites. But let's face it, most parents can be trusted to take a film and then keep it private, I don't see why we shouldn't be trusted.

I don't want my children's school to treat me like an idiot. I have enough common sense to work out that I have no right to put pictures of other people's children on the Internet whether or not they are at risk, so why should I be prevented from filming my own child at a special time in their childhood?

Our school allows filming, but the head asks that any pictures or films be kept private, and that is enough IMO.

Schools should do a performance that is allowed to be filmed and one that isn't if they have a child that requires extra protection.

so the ruled dont apply to your son then he is a special child yabu and wrong to flaunt school rules about filming because you wanted to capture a memory

rules*

OP I think YANBU and these rules infuriate me. We are expected to forgo a proper memory and record of these special events because of hysterical rules.

1. Paedo mania. I really don't understand what is so enticing to a paedo about a school play. It's a bunch of kids being kids. On that basis we she never let our children into a public place during daylight in case a paedo looks at them? If it's being able to replay the recording in private that's the issue then sky+ and many cbeebies programmes would do exactly the same job.

1. Child protection. How many estranged families of abusive threatening parents that require their location to remain secret are there in each school? The average must be less than 1 per school. Therefore special rules should be put in place where these exceptional cases are, rather than a blanket ban for spurious reasons. If there is real and present danger then a ban on filming school plays seems wholly inadequate anyway.

1. As mentioned above I'm unsure why you wouldn't want these images of your child made public but if that's your view then don't let them be in the performance!

1. Rules are rules. I'm not sure that teaching a child to blindly follow rules is necessarily a good thing. Are all rules right because they are a rule? My school had a "girls are not allowed to play football" rule. But everyone's entitled to parent moral codes as they see fit.

I genuinely think that schools and kids clubs feel duty-bound to take this ridiculous approach to filming and photos without actually having properly examined WHY and IF those rules are needed.

If you don't like a rule, you challenge it in a sensible manner. You don't just ignore it.

OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos Mon 10-Dec-12 08:00:19

"It's not the filming of the plays that's a problem, it's the fact that they might be put on social network sites. But let's face it, most parents can be trusted to take a film and then keep it private, I don't see why we shouldn't be trusted. "

Isn't this a strange response to an OP that specifically states that the poster chose to ignore the request made to the school and where subsequent posts made it clear that she had no idea of the child protection issue? And on a thread where other posters have stated that they think it's their right to put pictures up on facebook?

This thread has made it perfectly clear that not all parents can be trusted. The school has no way of policing what happens once those cameras and phones have left the school hall: the only thing they can influence is what goes on under their noses.

herethereandeverywhere Mon 10-Dec-12 08:51:24
"OP I think YANBU and these rules infuriate me. We are expected to forgo a proper memory and record of these special events because of hysterical rules.

1. Child protection. How many estranged families of abusive threatening parents that require their location to remain secret are there in each school? The average must be less than 1 per school. Therefore special rules should be put in place where these exceptional cases are, rather than a blanket ban for spurious reasons. If there is real and present danger then a ban on filming school plays seems wholly inadequate anyway."

I could think of several even in ds's small infants school- and I had no special insights into the school, so there may well have been more.

"4. Rules are rules. I'm not sure that teaching a child to blindly follow rules is necessarily a good thing. Are all rules right because they are a rule? My school had a "girls are not allowed to play football" rule. But everyone's entitled to parent moral codes as they see fit"

Yes, but it is also our job to teach them to distinguish between a moral code and a code of conduct pertaining to any particular building or institution. Or do you go into work and refuse to follow workplace rules because you are entitled to have your own moral code? Basically, if you teach your child that anything they happen to want is their moral right and that rules only apply to other people, they are going to find it very difficult to get any learning done.

I would be very proud of a child of mine challenged a rule on moral grounds. But I would be thoroughly ashamed if a child of mine believed that "I'm speshul" constituted moral grounds.

well if you dont understand after reading this thread, i feel sorry for you. If you cannot comprehend the very real dangers of idiotic, selfish, entitled parents ignoring the rules and filming when it isnt allowed, sticking it up on you tube and facebook for the world to see, then there really is no hope is there?
I do hope none of the rules put in place are ever there to protect your child, I would imagine people like you and the OP would be the first people starting threads about "how dare x ignore the schools rules and put my child in danger"

Oh for heaven's sake. How overdramatic. A "proper memory and record of these special events"?!?!?!?! The memory centre in your brain not working? Not able to simply take a snapshot of your child in costume AFTER the nativity/programme??

this my mum can remember me in a t towel sitting sulking in the nativity 36 years ago, you dont need to have video snaps of every bloody section of your childs life, OP are you intending to disobey all the school photography rules through out your child school career, you are as well to start as you go on eh.

precious parents get right on my wick

Years ago, there were no mobile phones, no videos, no cameras at the school plays. Parents sat and watched, applauded, took their kids home.

Despite all this lack of hardcopy, my mother remembers my very first performance at age 5 of Little Miss Muffet (I got an encore ). She remembers my brother's as a cat and my sister's as a rabbit. She'd never forget them, or her pride in watching us.

The world did not end because she could not film us, and the plays were so much better without some annoying pest ruining the performance and the kids' concentration by bobbing up and down to take photos. She remarked as much at my niece's play last year.

YABU but it looks like you've been told this already

Focus on watching and enjoying the experience as it happens. These years fly by.

These years fly by.

yip before she knows it her child will have left school and grown up and you really dont need all the photies and vidoes you really don't

Pity, pity. We're tax collectors. WE HAVE NO PITY!

Etched in my Dads brain.

I hope some of these parents get sued for copyright for videoing without a licence.

YABU but...

As long as the images are not made put on the internet, even by emailing to friends family, then I don't see how anyone's child is at risk.

our primary used to do a photo session in classrooms for nativity that seemed a better idea this was when dd2 was higher up the school though I can remember hers with the parents with the telescopic lens cameras flashing away I also remember parents taking pictures of their kid at 1 christmas concert and then leaving after they had been on !

I think that schools could explain why they don't want parents to film. I never even thought of child protection issues before, although I have been in that situation, not wanting my child to be identified by an ex... Of course, it makes sense, but if there is no explanation, then as a parent you can feel these rules are made purely because of potential paedos.

It is more common for people to post videos and photos on the Internet now and I myself feel very uncomfortable when other people take pictures and I am included in them and then they're posted on social media sites.

I think YABU, but perhaps you didn't fully realise the consequences...

I imagine schools do not go into details about WHY parents can't film because of the self-righteous arrogant prat parents that feel no matter what, the reasons aren't important, that their need to film precious baby's little play is so much more important. Just like on the thread, no matter what reason is mentioned, people argue it.

Yep.. sadly quite a few of them...

Exactly, people need to bear in mind that the school doesn't want to identify/highlight to the public at large, including parents, that any particular child is adopted/fostered/looked-after. There may well be children in the school where you don't know about their situation, rightly so. It is a bit of a contradiction that you have to try to protect them without going into too much detail why, but that's the way it is. Certainly in our school there are at least 2 families I know of in this situation - I would be surprised to find a school that didn't have any.

Unfortunately FB Twitter and the internet generally have made it much easier to find people and information.

because of the self-righteous arrogant prat parents that feel no matter what, the reasons aren't important, that their need to film precious baby's little play is so much more important. hmm Just like on the thread, no matter what reason is mentioned, people argue it.

Yep.. sadly quite a few of them...

And some where you have misunderstood the post.