Why do schools have "chosen" children? 🙄

[SameKidsAgain]

My dc is on a school residential atm and the teachers are constantly posting updates of them on fb but only pics of the same kids who are chosen for EVERY school photo opportunity. I don't get it. I'd really like to see some other children (including mine!) enjoying themselves too...but it's always the same ones over and over again, every year and every term for every topic. It's so bloody annoying and unfair, like those handful of elite children represent the whole school year 😡. Well they don't.

We have a lot of children whose parents haven't given permission for their photos to be shared on social media. Could it be this?

I was talking about this the other day. There was a competition performance a few years ago and they picked pupils to be on the stage introducing their school. I muttered to dh "It'll be Bob...it's always Bob" (name changed) it was Bob!
Now they are st secondary heard two mums chatting about an out of school club and 'Bob' is still the chosen one. It's a shame. They are lovely kids don't get me wrong but there are a lot of lovely kids that equally deserve a chance.

Yes, we have the same at our school. In our case it's because the child's mum (actually there are 3 siblings) is very, very difficult. I assume it's just easier if by 'happy coincidence' her children are always 'chosen'.

I too just knew that these particular kids will be photographed again, and low and behold, there they are. I think out of 90 kids they can't be the only ones who have given permission to allow photography.

Even in the school year play, all the same kids got the main parts and have their pictures on the school website. All the other children who had meanial parts and one liners and who went to a lot of trouble to dress up aren't even on there. It's so fucking obvious there are favourites. Makes me quite sad and angry.

It is annoying but it can be down to the child sometimes. I went to a presentation thing at school and a photographer from local paper came in and started to ask teacher about taking a photo. One girl had her jumper off, her hair brushed and was in front of him smiling before he finished talking. I found it quite funny but some parents were a bit shocked at how pushy she was.

Have you ever tried to persuade a teenager to have their photo taken? (Other than for Snapchat of course) It may not be that those children are chosen, they may be the only ones who volunteer!

I guess these residential photos have kind of made this whole stupidity even clearer now. I'd like to see other kids for a change.

In my experience it seems to be the teachers' own kids who tend to get picked like the boy who ALWAYS wins the prize for best World Book Day costume: yeah, his mum rummages through the dressing up box at the school!

No they're not volunteering! They are being photographed unbeknown doing work or are posing alone with no other children around. The school play ones they were all made to stand on stage once all the other "crappy" children had gone back to class.

At our school, it seems to be the ones with pushy parents and/or the ones who have siblings at the school. Honestly if you could bet on who would appear on the school website and win the school 'competitions', I would be rich.

I swear with some HTs its because certain kids' pictures reflect a particular image of the school the HT wants, and those pics go straight into all the school media advertising, posters, website, etc.

I worked with an HT like this once and a parent looked around the school who had a very cute little one with a visible SEND. The highly anti inclusion HT promised her the moon on a stick if she'd send her child there, I was spitting. I knew if the child came there it would be at the front of every school picture for the next seven years as a 'Look At Us Being Wonderfully Inclusive' signal. Thankfully the parent saw straight through him.

Yep same in our school, always the same ones, probably for the reason rumbling mentions, because these kids have "the look" the school are after.

I know these kid's parents are involved in the pta, and they're all chummy with the teachers but even then, why leave out other children on purpose?

Rumbling, I really hope that's not the case because if it is, then our school is promoting white, blonde hair and blue eyed only

Yes, I know what you mean. It's not too bad at DD's school but there is an activity she does and there are about 20 girls who take part in things. The leader's niece is nearly always in every single photo. If 50 photos are uploaded of the activity then guaranteed that 75% of them feature the DN either on her own or with one or two other dc.

It's infuriating. We have all paid for them to take part and I would quite like to see what my DD is doing too!

When my DD did her Y6 residential many years ago, the school made a point of ensuring that each child was photographed several times so that all parents could see what their DC were doing, and enjoying themselves. Sure, some DC were in more photos than others but not noticeably so. Seemed a fair way of dealing with it to me.

Samekids argh. I'd definitely be pointing that out to the SMT! Urgently!

Timely thread for me. Having spent most of today sorting through over 500 photographs professionally taken of the children in my school and being left with only 82 that I can actually use, I'd be pretty annoyed if a parent complained about the photos I have chosen for the website and publications.

I went from 500 to 82 by:

Taking out all the photos that include children whose parents said "no photos at all"
Then taking out all the photos that include children whose parents said "no photos online" but ok for printed photos.
Then taking out all the photos that include children whose parents never bothered to complete and return the forms.
Then taking out all the photos where children are incorrectly dressed.
Then taking out the photos where children are pulling faces or making rude hand gestures.

It left me with 82 photos I can use... AND the photographer cost us over £200.

(Oh and parents, while I'm here, please, do us all a favour. If you've told the school that they can't use any photos of your children, please tell your children - so they don't jump into every photo opportunity thereby rendering it useless...)

If it's quantifiable, say 4 out of 5 photos had the same 3 kids, I would say something on the fb page.

Mild passive aggressive "Loving the photos can we have some more please"

Blunter Are there any photos of the other kids?

Or if you're feeling brave and very arsey "OMG did only 5 children go on the trip? the teachers must be having an easy time OH SHIT what's happened to mine he hasn't been home for days"

LtEve, these aren't professional photos though. They're photos taken by the teachers of specific children who have been photographed every year. They know what they're doing.

Huldra, I've been tempted to write something, especially when pics of 2 or 3 children are being captioned with "Yr X love doing X and Y"...er, no, Billy, Tilly and Buster love doing X and Y. Our kids have been put out of shot incase they smear the lens with their ugliness 😡.

I'd have to comment I think - or get someone else to.
Oh lovely another 25 pictures of annabelle, still none of Dave.

Amongst other things, I used to do the marketing for a secondary school. We only want the aesthetically pleasing pupils who tick a certain demographic. Eg it would not have been prudent to have too many pupils of an ethnic origin with a poor stereotype in a predominantly middle class white area. It really was a case of go find me an X,Y,Z or specific gender, to balance up photos, because you have to have an ethnic balance.

People associate tall, attractive, clean cut with success. Easy on the eye 'sells'. If I'd put a load of teen males with hoodies and attitudes socialising in the playground, no one would send their child to the school. Put a load of little blonde girls laughing with their hair blowing like a shampoo advert and bingo! Teen males with attitude were used in sports shot.

Ditto on results day. Pretty girls and Asian boys released to the press - they conform to the population demographic.

I would post asking if your son is still there - tongue in cheek!

I think there's a bit of overthinking going on here.

my daughter is just back from pgl camp and had one photo of her@ there is 120 kids that went. I am assistant treasurer and volunteer at every pta event. my child is still never more that a shepherd in the school play! there is definitely children that appear in every event and DVD. am I bitter 😢

It's weird isn't it because I remember this being the case when I was at school - well before social media etc!! There were always a few 'chosen ones'.