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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think the school should have informed me DD was going to be in the newspaper?

148 replies

StickersStickers · 08/09/2021 19:28

A friend called me today to tell me DDs photography was in a local newspaper. She was chosen as she’s the youngest in the school and her and an older pupil presented flowers to someone who visited the school. It’s a very cute photograph, and I remember signing a disclaimer saying they could take her photograph etc. But AIBU to think I should have been told? Not even about permission, I don’t usually get the paper and i wouldn’t have knows if my friend hadn’t called me.

OP posts:
NoSquirrels · 08/09/2021 20:33

@MyBadHabitsLeadToYou

Do you really think the schools have the time to do this?

You see this a lot on school-related threads. I can honestly say it doesn’t reflect my experience with my child’s school in the slightest. They’re always emailing/messaging on seesaw/posting on Facebook to keep the parents aware and up to date. It’s a big big school as well.

It takes two seconds to engage and send a quick message and it makes such an enormous difference.

A big, big school has proportionately greater resources and capacity than a smaller school. Extra admin staff for starters- it’s only ‘two seconds to engage’ if you’re already logged in/logged on/not supervising sick kids/calling parents about missed lunches/all the other stuff office staff do in a day.
Notebooksarefabulous · 08/09/2021 20:34

I dont see how signing a permission slip agreeing to photos tallies with randomly discovering your childs photo in a newspaper.

You agreed to their photo being taken not to it being printed and published beyond the school. I would be surprised and a bit peeved too.
It would only have taken a minute to put a note in her book bag.

MyBadHabitsLeadToYou · 08/09/2021 20:35

It’s generally the teachers themselves. As far as I know anyway. I have no reason to believe there are additional admin staff manning the seesaw accounts through the day. They have three ladies in the office 🤷🏻‍♀️

NoSquirrels · 08/09/2021 20:37

@Notebooksarefabulous

I dont see how signing a permission slip agreeing to photos tallies with randomly discovering your childs photo in a newspaper. You agreed to their photo being taken not to it being printed and published beyond the school. I would be surprised and a bit peeved too. It would only have taken a minute to put a note in her book bag.
Depends on what you signed. Check! There are levels of permissions.
Princessdebthe1st · 08/09/2021 20:37

This is precisely why I have always refused permission for photos for my daughter (who is now 15) because the permissions asked for were so wide, effectively they could use the photo anywhere and for any reason. I wouldn’t actually have a problem for them being used for internal purposes but there wasn’t an option to choose what you would agree to. Therefore I said no to everything.

GreyhoundG1rl · 08/09/2021 20:38

@Princessdebthe1st

This is precisely why I have always refused permission for photos for my daughter (who is now 15) because the permissions asked for were so wide, effectively they could use the photo anywhere and for any reason. I wouldn’t actually have a problem for them being used for internal purposes but there wasn’t an option to choose what you would agree to. Therefore I said no to everything.
Well, op clearly didn't 🤷🏻‍♀️
Kanaloa · 08/09/2021 20:39

At a small school like yours I think they could have put a note in her homework book, just saying she had her photo taken and it might appear in the newspapers.

In reception I used to get all sorts of notes in my kids home books, and I’m sure they would have noted something like this. And from the sounds of it as she was presenting flowers it was her picture specifically, it’s not like they would have had to let everyone know, in which case it could have been included in a news email.

NoSquirrels · 08/09/2021 20:40

@MyBadHabitsLeadToYou

It’s generally the teachers themselves. As far as I know anyway. I have no reason to believe there are additional admin staff manning the seesaw accounts through the day. They have three ladies in the office 🤷🏻‍♀️
I’m not sure updating ‘your child might be in a photo in the local paper’ is what Seesaw is for, though?

This sort of stuff - that parents see as terrible lack of info and engagement - is usually down to lack of resources, priority and communication (whose job is it to tell the parents about the photo op?)

GinIronic · 08/09/2021 20:41

You may have signed a disclaimer for the school to take photos for the school - this is not giving consent to share with third parties. I would complain.

MyBadHabitsLeadToYou · 08/09/2021 20:43

Jesus NoSquirrels it wasn’t a criticism. I was just saying it’s not my experience

SylvanasWindrunner · 08/09/2021 20:44

I think it would have been nice to tell you so you knew to buy copies! My mum still has like five copies of the time I was in the local paper because I'd won some sort of quiz Blush

Ionlydomassiveones · 08/09/2021 20:44

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at the poster's request.

MyBadHabitsLeadToYou · 08/09/2021 20:44

SeeSaw has a messenger function. Who’s to say what it’s for/not for? The teacher sent a class message when their drawings were going to be in the paper. It’s not worth overthinking.

HelloDulling · 08/09/2021 20:48

They won’t have known. Honestly, it’s very unlikely the paper sent a photographer unless the guest was the Duchess of Cambridge. The school sent photos to the paper, and were as surprised as you that they were printed.

BraveBananaBadge · 08/09/2021 21:01

@Notebooksarefabulous

I dont see how signing a permission slip agreeing to photos tallies with randomly discovering your childs photo in a newspaper. You agreed to their photo being taken not to it being printed and published beyond the school. I would be surprised and a bit peeved too. It would only have taken a minute to put a note in her book bag.
Surely this. Isn't it a GDPR issue?

When we take photos at work we have to make sure the person knows explicitly what they're being used for, signs a consent form, and they can request we take it off our files at any time. If we wanted to use it again, we'd ask again so they know. We might be a bit OTT with that but I wouldn't dream of doing it any other way now.

TractorAndHeadphones · 08/09/2021 21:02

How would they know whose photo would turn up and when? Newspaper wouldn’t have told them unless it was a specific event (like a royal visit) or similar, but you’d have known about that.

RussellK · 08/09/2021 21:02

As a headteacher, I'd say it does depend on the disclaimer. If you signed to allow this, that's their procedure. Our disclaimer is that the school takes and uses photos (eg the website), but that we seek parental permission if we're giving the photos to anyone else (usually a newspaper). If she was named under the photo, that may be a GDPR issue (her image + name = data) if this scenario isn't covered in their GDPR statement, and potentially moves from something they've been a bit sloppy about to something they really need to get their act together on. Approaching the school on a "I'm really concerned that another parent might kick off about this" is perhaps the right way to approach them?!

Sparklingbrook · 08/09/2021 21:03

The papers sent a photographer when mine were in school (mid 2000s) and a reporter to take all the details usually. Then they would go away and depending on the local news that week there may or may not have been the picture in there. The school didn't know at the time which, if any would go in.
If it was printed there was an option to buy from the paper.
Every September all the Reception class photos from every school in the town get printed in a pull out section too.

bizboz · 08/09/2021 21:06

You could ask to see a copy of the consent form that you signed. Ours has options for agreeing to photos to be used in school only, on the school website and in press/publicity. You can tick any, all or none and these are recorded on the system and lists are issued as to which children do not have permission for the various photographs.

moynomore · 08/09/2021 21:06

Why do people care about stuff like this? Just enjoy the photo and save it for when your daughter is older. I can't believe what some people get worked up about.

GreyhoundG1rl · 08/09/2021 21:08

Op isn't concerned about their permission to use the image, she's annoyed she wasn't given a personal heads up.

Sparklingbrook · 08/09/2021 21:10

@moynomore

Why do people care about stuff like this? Just enjoy the photo and save it for when your daughter is older. I can't believe what some people get worked up about.
No idea. I have a box of newspaper clippings somewhere with all the school pics that appeared in the local newspaper over the years. DS2 was on the front of a school prospectus for a few years and I found it recently, I didn't know until it came out that he's be on it..
GreyhoundG1rl · 08/09/2021 21:12

DS2 was on the front of a school prospectus for a few years
I'd have loved that...

JustLyra · 08/09/2021 21:15

For that kind of photo it wouldn't have been a hardship for the teacher to mention it. It's not like it's something that would have involved multiple different groups of children.

The majority of schools I worked in over the years would have given the parents of the two children a heads up.

MyBadHabitsLeadToYou · 08/09/2021 21:15

I agree. All this ridiculously complicated data protection legislation - Christ who caaaares who has my fucking email address