To ask school to remove photos

[WillowCraft]

We decided not to put any photos of our children on social media until they are old to enough to consent to it themselves. We don't have them on our facebook pages and have asked family not to either. The reasons for this are privacy mainly, although there is also a safety aspect - though this is not the main concern.

My son started school last week and I requested no photos on social media or the school website. Now the school have posted several pictures of my son on Facebook - they are taken from behind or the side so don't show his face but it's still recognisably him as several people have commented to me. The photos are of a small number of children - 2 or 3 - not as part of a larger group.

I feel they shouldn't have done this and feel inclined to ask them to take the pictures down - however unfortunately this school is constantly putting stuff on Facebook - the whole of last year's reception class were on there most weeks, often with their work and their name showing. I am worried that if I say no pictures that my son will feel singled out and will never be picked for anything - he will never get a leading role in the school play for example, and will have to stand to the side every time they take photos - which is at least weekly.

I do think the amount they post on facebook is completely inappropriate, I would be happy with photos on a password protected page visible only to parents but not open to the public. I would be less happy but ok with occasional photos as part of a large group on SM. I really hate the idea that anyone who wants can track my child's progress through primary school!

Has anyone experienced similar and what did you do?

Well, that just goes to show how wrong it is for schools ( and parents )to post photos online. Some children obviously believe that their parents/ teachers are only proud of them if they take a photo and post it online. That's not a healthy attitude to grow up with.

Great point @Nicesalad

Also, please can parents learn more about closed or private accounts on social media and any website that isn’t the school one.
They are not private, especially as an admin has to enable someone to join a group- who checks that to ensure it’s only parents/carers? The platform owns the images and it’s only private until someone decides it isn’t. The images and all your information is stored and owned by the platform whether you’re in what you think is a private group or not.
The platform own the right to use it (i.e. commercially, sell on for data harvesting, gain financially based on users and user activity) not the school or the LEA.

It’s unfair to parents, children and teachers who publish the images, to not be clearer regarding publication on all third party platforms.

The only people that can recognise the back of your son’s head are people you know, hence why they contacted you. If I saw it, I wouldn’t know who the hell he was. With that in mind, some paedo would also have no idea.

It was a picture of the back of a child's head. Presumably with other children on it. It is about whether the child can be identified or not.

This is difficult.

What did you sign when the child joined the school about photos? There must have been something... Check.

So - in terms of the photo of your child with back of the head - that is normal practice in schools for safeguarding. I think YABU to go in asking for that to be removed as your opening point to the school.

If you want your child not to be in any photos then they are going to be removed from group photos regularly at school and they will not understand it. I don't think the school would exclude him from plays, sports days though - but they might take group shots with him and then one without him.

Or they might take all photos without him, so they can't possibly make a mistake. But he won't like that.

It does sound like the school doesn't need to put all this on facebook.

I would suggest that you approach this by giving it a couple of weeks, getting information together, reading the policies, going to any parents meetings, talking to the PA and joining the PA. Then with the PA come up with a suggested improved approach and talk to the school.

Legally this comes down to the question of "reasonable expectation of privacy", which I would have thought while a pupil is at school they (you) would expect.

You could also argue that they are using his image to promote the school (aka Advertise) which would need consent.

I would definitely say something as you didn't give them permission. Tbh at this point I would remove all consent for the child's photo to be taken at school at all.

I do occasionally post photos of my younger two on Instagram or Facebook (not my older one who has expressed now he hates having his photo taken) but these are on my personal friends only locked down accounts. Even though I post these occasional images I would not be happy with a school posting photos to a Facebook page. It's a safeguarding issue for a start.

In our school parents give/refuse permission for photos to be used in different ways (fb, media, school publicity, displays etc). It’s interesting that the number of parents who refuse fb permission then call the school furious that their child has been ‘excluded’ from the pictures on fb celebrating the football win, world book day, visit to farm etc. 🤷‍♀️

I think if you are uncomfortable with it then definitely speak to the school. If it is literally the back of his head and you can’t see the side of his face, then it may not be as bad. But I understand why you may be uncomfortable.

I’ll be opting out of having my child on school social media as I have family issues don’t wish an abusive family member to know he exists. It can be for any reason and people should respect that.

Of course yanbu.

You have a right to decline photos and a right to request deletion of these images. The school can argue if they think they have the right to publish.

Don't be embarrassed about your position. Parents do different things wrt social media.

My kids were always no photos until age 16. Then they chose for themselves. I'm not the least bit bothered about the fact that other parents chose differently.

It does sound like the school doesn't need to put all this on facebook

No school ever needs to put any photos on Facebook.

It's about privacy. If the child is identifiable due to distinctive hair or other feature (for example birthmark) it isn't relevant that the facial features aren't shown.

For a child in the care system, the issue is not about a stranger identifying them from the picture. The issue is family members having information about the child due to seeing the pictures.

You should probably be aware that when you access Tapestry through a browser, you can both screenshot and also hold down (if on phone) or right click to download the photos and videos.

I am telling you legal standpoint. This is not my opinion. If I were this child's teacher I personally wouldn't risk including the child at all.
However, we haven't seen this picture nor do we know the child so we have no idea whether the child can be identified by this picture or not.
I have personally worked with a whole range of children, including a child who was in the witness protection scheme and was under a new identity, I know exactly what the risks are. (Someone said earlier staff in education. Wouldn't know this, we did, it was a safeguarding matter of which we had to be informed)

All the OP has to do is pass on her worries. This will be taken seriously.

“If the service is free to users, the users are the product”.

So many people that just do not grasp what this means, including sadly, LEA’s and safeguarding leads.

This debate will not age well.

In 10 years time, the tech will be better understood by the general public. The idea of schools using free, public platforms with no cyber security in place to host photos of children will be as abhorrent as no seat belts in cars is now.

This thread will one day be an embarrassing and ignorant relic of history.

I work in a school and when specific children aren't allowed to be photographed for the website etc, it's usually due to a safeguarding concern. I don't know of any who ask just because they don't want their child on the school sm. Could you not just allow your son to be in school pictures only? You say that your dc isn't allowed on sm until they can post thselves. Technically that is 13 years old - although rightly or wrongly most child have access long before that. How embarrassing and awkward for your ds to spend years - until he's a teenage - , standing aside while photos are taken. He will start to feel left out and his peers will probably question it as he gets older.
All that said, a parents wishes should always be respected and it's totally wrong Op that the school have included your child in tbe photos st all. It doesn't matter whether it's tge back or side of his gead, he shouldn't be there.

I know lots of lots of parents/friends who just don’t want their kids on social media.

I also know parents who don’t have social media themselves to ensure their wishes are kept.

Why is there a need for a photos of school kids on social media anyway? Not like schools need to advertise is it. Should be kept to a private app. No need to make kids feel left out as you describe.

The school were probably not thinking about the children in the background. If you're genuinely concerned that your child is identifiable then yes, contact the school. They will have no problem removing the picture at all.

We have many children who do not have photo permissions for many different reasons - none would ever be excluded from any event or play etc based on this!

If you can't see his face YABU. If you can and you haven't consented then YANBU.

FWIW I don't agree with you really and think you're being precious however there are genuine reasons why people may not want photos on there or are not allowed in certain circumstances so the school should definitely adhere to the request but I'm not sure that back of the head counts really.

If you look at my last paragraph, I say regardless of the reason Op's child shouldn't be there. End of as it's the wishes of the parents. I am not a fan of social media myself and didn't post pictures of my own son when he was younger. I aso agree that photos of children shouldn't be on a public facebook account.

You said someone he'll know in the future could find these pictures of the back of his head as a schoolchild, and that's a concern for you. Please explain why this would be an issue.

What on earth did you mean by "those who may know him in future", then @WillowCraft ??
Where is the safeguarding risk in seeing a photo of a person you actually know in real life when they were younger?
Particularly a photo of the back of their flaming head 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Given relatives have identified the child (as stated in the op), it is clear the child can be identified.

I agree the worries should be taken seriously. Individual teachers vary though.

My kids were never questioned by peers during the school years and they have friends who are now very jealous that my kids had privacy. There are plenty of teens/young adults unhappy about the amount of images of them online.

Well I could recognise my children by their hand or by their shoe on a picture. As would my family members who regularly help with school drop offs/pick ups. It doesn't mean from a legal standpoint point that would be considered identifiable.

Most people who dont give permission for pictures are fine with the emoji use etc.. but in this case the OP isn't and that is fine.

I agree that individual teachers do vary but I think the vast majority would just apologise and remove the picture.

It is an interesting converstion though. The only interactions I have had with parents about school images are to complain that their child is not included. I personally love to see my own children on pictures in. Their classroom with their friends enjoying learning. But it is a personal choice and that is fine.