To be upset that school gave newspaper my dd's address?

[browneyedone]

My dd (15) has had recent sportig success outside of school in and the school wanted to be kept informed. After I told them the results from the last competition the school stated they were going to pass it on to the local newspaper. So far OK, but what I wasn't expecting was for them to pass on the name of the road we live on (which is a cul-de-sac and amounts to a dozen houses) and for this to be published in the article. AIBU to think this is irresponsible of the school and the newspaper?

YANBU OP, I would be furious. But I've never understood why local newspapers publish identifying information like street addresses full stop.

Someone mentioned 192.com which I think only covers those registered on the Electoral Roll (so over 18) who are on the open register. You can opt out of the open register at your local Electoral Registration Office. You can also fill in a form to remove your details from the 192.com website here.

I'm sure when I did journalism training, about 20 years ago, we were told you either give the surname or the road - not both.

Worth checking the school's data protection policy too - I think that they are only allowed to use the data that they have collected - ie your dd's address - for the specified purpose for which it is collected, and so they may be in breach of this too.

When I worked for a local paper we would always print full names, ages and road names and usually pictures, sometimes in school uniform or with a mention of the school. I don't know what they do now. I find it unusual that the school would give that information, and in your shoes I would tell them not to.

You are right to be upset, but if you are concerned that your child will be stalked, then it's best for her not to be named or photographed in local or national media.

This is definitely a concern. I wouldn't be happy with people publishing my address (even just down to street level) in an article about me. If you personally need to know it for some reason I'll tell you, but no one casually reading a newspaper needs to have that level of information about me. They maybe didn't mean any harm but it's incredibly reckless.

DD2 is often in the paper because of an activity she does. None of the children involved have their address mentioned when they are in the paper, it's par for the course for adults but not for children.

Why is it "par for the course" for adults?

Contact ICO if unhappy.

I literally train people working in Media on safeguarding and tell them NOT to do this!

I work for a local paper and whilst we'd say "Jane Smyth from VILLAGE" or "TOWN girl, Jane Smyth" but never the road.

Unless court cases.

In the case of primary school children we often don't even use their names. It depends on whether they're being singled out for doing a good deed (ie: little princess trust hair cut) in which we'd use their name & area they're from.

Generally we'd say "this group of Y6 pupils enjoyed a day trip to xxxx where they met xxxx"

I literally train people working in Media on safeguarding and tell them NOT to do this!

What? Literally? I wouldn't sign up for one of YOUR Media courses!

browneyedone
Have had apologies from both parties and they have both said it won't happen again (but only for my dd). They both made it sound such a non issue - so mater of fact and everyday, that I was starting to wonder if I was over-reacting.

I'd say the response you've received is rather inadequate. Apart from anything else, the school has breached the Data Protection Act. They should make sure it doesn't happen again, to anyone. As others have said, it could be a safeguarding issue for some pupils. Very odd attitude form the school - given that they have to seek permission to use photographs and names (but not addresses) for their own purposes/publicity - they should be primed on this issue.

And it's an odd convention for newspapers - what value does it add to include somebody's road?

Thank you for all responses, it's good to get a sanity check. Will be talking to the head tomorrow about the school's policies. The cat is out of the bag for DD but hopefully they won't make the same mistake for another pupil. Will be spending the evening reviewing all the schools policies point by point.

Definite data breach-go on ICO website and complain.

I agree that there's absolutely no need for a child's address to be given even by street. Surely it should be Jane Smith of Riverside Primary at the very most.

I can't imagine they'd guess, unless you have a really unusual surname. It must have come from the school. And that's intolerably careless.

I work for a local paper. We don't routinely mention the name of the road that a child lives on but it very much depends on the story.

Child wins egg and spoon race at sports day? First name, surname, age, school.

Child wins spot at Oxford aged 10? We'd absolutely mention where they live.

A child's surname is part of their identity. We don't run stories without it (unless pictured as part of a massive group and nobody is named in the caption).

The news of Jane from Birmingham winning something is not the same as Jane Smith, 4, from Hill Road, Downton, Birmingham who goes to St Bernard's Primary School. We wouldn't bother running the former.

And I really wouldn't bother complaining to IPSO. You will be wasting your time. Complain to the school, if you wish. But IPSO won't be interested in a local newspaper properly identifying a child involved in a story.

Interesting point about the "jigsaw". I thought this about the reporting of the teenage Hartlepool murderers. A newspaper reported that Girl A's parents were together but unmarried, gave her dad's job title, used a particular adjective to describe her appearance, and divulged that she was an only child. All that would probably point to only a handful of girls of her age in Hartlepool. Obviously, virtually everyone in that town knows who she is anyway, but it was still interesting that her anonymity hadn't really been preserved.

I remember reading about the jigsaw thing in the context of the Ealing vicarage rape in the 1980s, where enough info was given to identify the victim, Jill Sewell(?), who ended up "owning it" brilliantly but should never have had to.

I've also worked in local press. As Thereall says we would only use street to identify defendant in court cases.

Find it odd to be used other than that - would expect it just to be xx of xx school. But if that is the paper's policy then it is def the school to blame for passing it on. If they said 'we asked browneye if her daughter could be in and she said yes' then the paper wouldn't have known any different.

So YABU to blame the paper but YANBU to raise with the school.

And Becky well there's a middle way isn't there? Which is Jane Smith, 4, from Downton, Birmingham who goes to St Bernard's Primary School. No need for road name, but yes do need to say area!

And this isn't a question of jigsaw identification - that's about other factors identifying someone who cannot be named for legal reasons eg in a rape case

Potential safeguarding issue: not impressed.

Scarlet They gave away the girls identities with a specific detail about a life event - very searchable and immediately revealed who they were. Hard to believe that wasn't deliberate, though!

Well yes you could leave the road name out, but I'd always put it in where possible. If someone loves in High street, and High Street is two miles long and has 1,000 houses on it then that's 1,000 people who might have an interest in the story who otherwise wouldn't have.