Primary School using random parent to take photographs of P1 instead of using a company

[James1981]

Is it just me, or is this weird?

I definitely won't consent to this.

The father isn't charging for the service and as far as I'm aware only does photography as a hobby. We don't even know his full name.

Also, most schools are not allowing non essential people in the building due to the pandemic. Photography is not essential.

Vanessa George had a DBS....

And licensed to work with vulnerable people/children

Surely they'd DBS check anyone working in school like they usually do?

To do anything with kids at our school, at all, you have to have DRB

Even if it was a person from a company you don’t know where the photos will end up. The person could still use them for nefarious purposes.

Whether it is an individual or person working for a company are bound by GDPR and the school’s photographic code. Either are both as likely to breach this (if case if motivation was there the company person might be more likely as more opportunities!).

It comes down to you individual risk level, either you are happy for photos to be taken by non-school staff or not. Company or parent doesn’t really come into it.

@borageforager

At our school justajot we do charge for them, £2.50 a print, it is a PTA fundraiser.

Bloody hell, wish ours did! DS has just had his photo taken at school, it's about 17 quid for the most basic package where you get a couple of photos and maybe a bookmark thrown in at ours!

DBS only checks a person hasnt been caught so its not really much of a help, but he isnt going to be alone, and the pictures are the same pictures anyone could legally take outside in the street, not like its a swimming club or something.
Companies stick all the photos up on a website quite often anyway

The parent will likely know quite a few of the children anyway and may take photographs of the ones who play with their child on playdates. I'd be less worried about someone I knew than a photographer I didnt know coming from some random company picked because they were cheapest.

Thank you for responding. Where do you store the photographs?

I take them with my own camera as the school ones are about 10 years old and low resolution, the school memory cards don't work in my camera so they bought me the one I asked for and it stays in school at all times, the photos go straight into a secure area on the school servers.

As I am employed by the school that is the only way I am prepared to do it for them, no member of school staff should ever be willing to take photos of the children on a personal camera with a personal memory card or with a school owned memory card which goes home. It only takes one parent with a grudge to make an allegation.

Surely the school should volunteer the info of who he is, the fact he has been DBS checked, the fact he has agree to use GDPR and what will happen with the photos afterwards?

Its not anxiety, or worry, or paranoia. Its following safeguarding procedures, and its ridiculous of them to force parents to ask them to do their job.

It depends on the schools safeguarding policy of course but most would not require a one off supervised visitor to have a dbs check.

If all parents have consented to thr children being photographed then the photo can happen. Just like all the other photos of chdren that go in prospectuses, on school websites etc. He shouldn't share it for the wrong reasons but the consent is ready in place.

If you don't want others having photos of your child I suggest you withdraw consent.

@randomer

1. However did we cope in the past?

1. Ian Huntley had a DBS.

2 - no he didn't.

Huntley is the reason we have the DBS system now. The predecessor of DBS was CRB, which only disclosed convictions and cautions. Huntley had none. There was however lots of intelligence about him, allegations, prosecutions which went nowhere. That's why the system was changed - to allow police to disclose intelligence in these situations.

The OP though seems to have her knickers in a knot more about who has access to the images after they have been taken rather than the actual photography process though. All could be solved with a quick call to the school office asking what the plans are for storage/retrieval/printing rather than immediately leaping to the conclusion that all and sundry will have access to all the photos, which will also be plastered all over social media.

I might sound like a stuck record but HE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE DBS CHECKED.

A one off visit does not fulfil the frequency requirement. The school will ensure this person is supervised by a DBS checked member of staff at all times. This is standard.

I taught a sewing afterschool class in my kids' school last year. It took forever for my DBS to come through. Until it did, I taught in a classroom area while the teacher sat in a corner on the computer catching up on work. That's all perfectly fine and normal.

YABVU.
What an excellent idea.
Imagine the ££££ this would
a) raise for the school each year, and

b) save each and every parents each year.

What a genius idea. Wish my dcs' school had thought of this.

Twitter !?!?
Why on earth do you think he would put them on Twitter ?

If a paedophile were tying to get photos of children's heads, toothless grinning away in school uniform, they could just as well set themselves up as a professional photographer.

Gosh, that is such a great idea, but now I understand why some schools are reluctant,

I forgot about the professionally offended.

What a sad world.

They will have a DBS certificate and will have had to sign stuff to say that the images can't stay in his possession for longer than whatever the proper time period is.

You are very much within your rights to get the school to verify that these facts are actually true.

If not, it's bloody weird and he should be escorted off the premises sharpish.

@James1981 please speak to the school, we can only assume things. If you are not comfortable that's fine. In your job I think it's reasonable not to take things at face value, you have probably seen/heard things we would never like to experience
The school should have given more information to parents

My child's school used to have a parent who was a photographer come in to take family day shoots, some of the money for the sale of prints would go to the school PTA. But parent's were always present at these shoots.

It's probably not a "random" parent though, is it?

Do you really think that the school would mess about with things like safeguarding, DBS checks and GDPR?

The professional school photos of my children have always been a great source of mirth and expense.

But OP I totally understand your concerns.
Frankly, I’m shocked by some of the naive responses.
I don’t assume there’s a paedophile around every corner, but I always want to know that every effort has been made to ensure the safety of our children.

Clarify with school.

@Asterion

It's probably not a "random" parent though, is it?

Do you really think that the school would mess about with things like safeguarding, DBS checks and GDPR?

by the title, I thought the school was picking a genuinely random parent at the school gate and telling them to take pics 😂

What the OP meant was to use a PARENT... Shock horror.

OP- do you ask the name of the photography company and check them out before hand usuallly? I certainly don't. School usually send a note saying photos will be next week and then you get a link sent to purchase from so don't know who's taking the photos until after the event.

Just reminded me about a Dad at my ds’s school when he was little. The Dad fancied himself as a photographer and at pick up time he used to take photos of younger siblings playing in the playground - my friend had twins and he was forever taking pics of them. He did the same thing at Sports Days. Everyone was too polite to tell him to pack it in. This was only about 8 years ago!
Sorry not the point of the thread at all.

@bettsbattenburg & this is how it should be done - glad for your own sake you aren’t as naive as many of people on this thread!