School used DD to advertise private businesses without our knowledge.

[m011y]

Sorry, new to MN and posted under staffroom, but should have been here. AIBU.
DC school has a 'business club'. We are not part of the club and as far as I can work out its a networking organisation for parents of small businesses. Financial support of the school is not a prerequisite to joining. The business club produces a termly magazine, mostly of advertising stuff, which is also uploaded to a website. This week the magazine came home with photographs of our DD in her school uniform holding placards promoting private businesses. We don't know the businesses or their owners and didn't consent to this. We agreed (signed the form)that DC could be photographed and appear on the school website/prospectus or around the school, but this is , in our opinion, entirely different from using our DD to promote private businesses, some of which don't even support the school financially. We are furious and have emailed the club and the head and are waiting a reply. AIBU?

There is a photo consent form in my DCs' school too, but the policy is to run any proposed use of photos by parents just in case there is some change of heart.

Since the Business Club is associated with the school but not strictly speaking 'the school' or 'a school activity', then I think you have a case. Look at your consent form again. If you can afford it, get a solicitor to send a letter telling the school not to post your DD's photo online and if it's already done, get them to take it down. Tell them to wipe all files with her on them, and tell them not to use any images of your DD again except for school promotional material only.

I agree with your concerns about the implied support of the businesses involved here. I think the school and the club are taking advantage here.

Does your DD attend a private (fee paying) school OP?
If so, this kind of mutual back scratching between school & private companies is all too common.
The companies involved may not PAY hard cash to the school for the free advertising but there will be some deal going on... discounted stock/ services/ sponsorship etc...

Welcome to the corporate world of education.

If the wording of the consent form doesn't include 'affiliates' or 'sponsors' (you don't know if they might stretch individual donations to mean Business Club sponsorship) of the school then I think you should be given a serious hearing.

Herbcake, the exact wording requests permission to use photographs in school publications, the website and around school. It also says that occasionally outside agencies may take pictures of the children and once those pictures are released the school has no jurisdiction about how they are used. Previously we were asked to sign an additional consent form for a class photo to go in the local paper.But to use my M&S analogy, M&S could never take some pictures of DC at school (my kids or anyone elses children) and then use them as part of an advertising campaign without my consent.

Pengggwn the photos were taken in school time. We knew nothing about it.

battleax If there was some benefit to the school (like thousands of pounds, not hundreds) I still would not be happy, but at least there would be some net gain. My primary grievance is the use of my DD in advertising. We would never agree to that.

YANBU

InspMorse its a local state school.

Pengggwn the photos have already gone out in the mag to 200 families. the damage is done.

YANBU

I would be very angry if my children were being used to advertise businesses for other parents and agree with you. If Richard Bransons kids were at school and he joined the business club would my kid suddenly be advertising for Virgin.
We agree that our kids can be in school photos. That is all. That means only photos to do with the school and endorsing the school. Nothing else.
I would be at the school demanding it get sorted.

That's the trouble with general consent forms. You don't get given a copy of what you've signed (I tend to scan / take a photo of what I sign), and they last six years. Can you remember the details of something you signed six years ago? They also can be used for things that you wouldn't have considered.
I think in your situation I would be withdrawing consent, and asking the school to ask for one-off consent everytime they want to do something

It also says that occasionally outside agencies may take pictures of the children and once those pictures are released the school has no jurisdiction about how they are used.
VS.
M&S could never take some pictures of DC at school (my kids or anyone elses children) and then use them as part of an advertising campaign without my consent.

Is 'M&S' not an 'outside agency'? Unless they have defined 'outside agency' you should not assume your consent form precludes photos taken for advertising purposes by anyone the school invites.

You should always strike through this sort of clause in a consent or just don't sign if this is included.

Academy trust state school OP? Same would apply there too.

Actually even good old LEA schools ( few that remain) beg for sponsors nowadays.

I hate the way education is going.

BTW, YANBU. The school needs to explain themselves to you.

State school? Wow

Without knowing the detail of the consent that you signed it will be difficult to know whether the school have breached the DP principles, but for arguments sake, let’s assume that they have. The photo has been published and circulated 200 times without consent, there are no other personal details included and the OP can’t point to any damage to her or DC. Presumably the school don’t have form for multiple DPA breaches. If the school confirm that they are not going to publish it any further and apologise then that is the best that they can do. Withdraw your current consent, then you won’t need to worry about lines being crossed in the future.

Pengggwn.......the problem is the photos have already gone out in a magazine. I can only ask that they don't upload to mag to the business webpage, I can't make 200 families bring the photos back.

Smithy84.....I have the consent form, we kept it on file. I know what it says.

Mathanxiety -Unless they have defined 'outside agency' you should not assume your consent form precludes photos taken for advertising purposes by anyone the school invites. We did. By outside agency I thought they meant the local paper or even the local TV station reporting on or promoting the school.If you, your child, your house is going to be used for advertising thats an entirely different ball game, usually with a load of terms and conditions and financial renumeration. To be clear, we don't want financial renumeration. If we were into touting our DD in advertising it would have to be companies we passionately believed in, not the local curry house, lovely as its curry might be.

inspMorse CoE school. not an academy.

Yabu. You signed the form. The school will be getting a benefit and sounds like your dd has done a great job for them to choose her. I don't get why you're cross, is it because you're not getting any money and the school is? It's not like she's modelling for monsoon or something, though if she's good maybe she could!

If you don’t want pictures of your child on social media etc (understandable), why then consent for her to be photographed for publications etc. The way the clause is written, IMO means they can use a photo of your child for bloody anything, they could in theory use the same photo of your child doing whatever activity for the next 19 years. I usually remove consent for this sort of thing, because the pictures could easily end up anywhere.
Either withdraw your consent and state you no longer want her on such publications, or withdraw her from the club. There isn’t anything you can really do, they have your explicit permission and it does state that outside agencies can use the photo.
Do people really pay much attention to these newsletters aside from a cursory glance? No ones going to remember that your dd was holding a sign about x business.

Is this really worth all this fuss and debate?*

I guess it is if you are the sort of person who files a consent form for having photos taken! Who has time for that sort of stuff?

Pengggwn DD is my first child at school. There is A LOT that goes on at school that really surprises me, so I was just checking to see if my anger was justified or if I'm just overreacting and 90% of other parents actually think this is fine.....if the response was the latter then I'd obviously take a much softer tone with the school. Thank you for all your responses.

YWNBU to calmly query the detail of the consent form you signed and thr club.

YABU to be furious.

Pepsipolarbear the school isn't getting ANY benefit, the businesses are getting benefit. The school gets no money, and we don't want any money. Its an oversubscribed state school, its not like even advertising the school will get more pupils.

ImAMarshmellow she isn't in the club and neither are we as parents. Its a networking club for parents (who happen to have children in the school)of small businesses.

I’m surprised at the responses here. I would be very annoyed if I found out businesses had been taking up class time taking promotional photos using my kids. That’s inappropriate.