School photos consent: refusing public website but child excluded from events

[Rachirooo]

I'm interested to hear from primary school parents who don't post pics of their children in school uniform on their own social media, but do allow the school to post pics of them on their website and social media?

I'd love to see what my child has been up to at school. These pics used to be in a private section of the school website that we had to log in to. I didn't mind that and loved seeing the pics. The school have now removed this section of the website so any stranger can view pics of the kids. Now it feels like the kids are just being used for free advertising rather than informing us of what they're up to in class so I've removed consent.

They also post frequently with the days of the events so it's really easy for a predator to work out the school timetable, when they go to forest school etc. I think it's a safeguarding issue.

My child is now excluded from any event where pics might be taken and he gets upset, as do I, that I don't get to see what he's up to at school. He definitely feels singled out and I feel like I'm going overboard. I know that's my doing by removing consent but it does seem unfair when the website used to work so well.

He's going to be in a choir competition soon and I won't get to see anything.

Maybe how our school website used to work is unusual and most parents don't get to see what their primary age kids are doing at school?

Do any other schools break down the consent. Eg, I don't consent to website/socials/newspapers but I consent to pics up on the wall in school etc.

Our school blue faces of any child without permission for eg school concert, and send them out via email. They had a professional photographer in to take some pictures for the school website but don’t routinely publish photos to err of the children.

He should not be excluded from any event or activity. Either the photo should be take in a way that doesn't show him, or his face shold be covered (it's common to plonk a smile emoji over the face.

I'd love this. It currently feels like if you don't want your child to be used for advertising, you don't get to see anything.

I've had a look at other school websites and they sound like yours. Most schools don't add day to day pics to the public facing part of a website.

You can’t have it both ways. The school have enough to do without faffing around blurring faces or finding out which child has paranoid parents and can’t be included in the photos.

If you don’t want him in the photos then it makes sense he can’t take part 🤷‍♀️

I'm not sure it's normal to get photo updates of what your DC are doing at school? We don't get to see any photos of what DC have been up to at school except the ones on the school's public Facebook page. As we haven't consented to DC appearing in those, we only see the members of the class whose parents have consented.

DC are not excluded from the activities themselves though, that's a dick move on the school's part. They just take pics as normal while the activity is taking place and then only upload the ones where all the DC in the pic have permission.

Are you having a bad day or something?! haha

They generally ask him to move out of the way for photos to be taken. He's at an age when this is starting to bother him. IMO they should just do as you say and work around the kids doing their thing.

They had a library opening and an MP came. My son had to stay in the classroom.

No, it doesn’t. Schools cannot exclude a child just because they can’t have their photo taken. The answer is don’t take photos or don’t upload photos with those children. It is not too much work, it’s literally part of the job of caring for kids.

You realise that any children in care, adopted, from split households with one dangerous parent, “looked after” children etc… all of those kids won’t have permission for photos and the school excluding them from activities is discriminating against some of the most vulnerable children who probably need the enrichment activities more than anyone. It is absolutely idiotic to suggest that no photo means no activity. Completely idiotic.

@Rachirooo What conversation have you had with the school? They cannot exclude your child.

It’s fine to ask him to move out the way of the photo. It you’ve removed permission then you can’t expect separate photos of him to be emailed to you and then have him removed from the group photos. He absolutely needs to be allowed at all activities but you need to accept that you won’t see any photos of him.

Thank you.

My original issue was that the form they sent out originally to me (and probably everyone else) was for a different school in the group. So I said I didn't want to sign it. I asked for a few times for a new one with the correct info which they didn't send.

I also asked if there was a way to break down the consent. I wouldn't post pics of my son on my own socials in uniform so why would I allow my school to do that, especially when they're so uncontrolled with it. There may be other things I would allow though. eg, printed pics up on the wall at school.

The issue has just been brought up again this morning really. They've emailed me as he's going to be in a competition and they're wanting me to agree to pics of it going on socials. So I've replied with my concerns.

They constantly tell me how well he is doing at school and how kind/ polite he is, yet he never gets a certificate on a Friday. The only time he's ever got one is when he won the TT rockstars competition. He's 7 and got the most points out of all children in 3 schools so they were forced in to it. I know I sound like a pushy parent, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't get these certificates because they can't take his picture. I probably sound rediculous but they like to promote it and they wouldn't be able to if he ever got one. It's a small school and other kids get them repeatedly. His confidence is being really bashed by this and I feel like I'm going to have to give in.

I’m involved with kids activities on a voluntary level and I think I’ve nailed the no photo thing which can get highly complicated and confusing. I sticker children who aren’t allowed in photos (just plain yellow sticker) then I covet their face in the published photo. This saves me constantly checking permissions and reduces an error.

Breaking down over rhe permissions as you suggest is too complex and open to error. I’d meet with the school and suggest a better way of doing it.

I don’t share my kids in my social media but I don’t mind my children being on the school website or on social media for the school.

But there are always parents who don’t want kids photos shared and they need to find a better way of managing it.

The consent form they sent out was actually for a different school so I'm pretty sure they'll be posting most photos illegally anyway. That's why I refused consent originally. They just didn't send me a new form.

But yes, if they can't break down the consent, I know it's my own fault.

Nope, great day thanks ☺️

If you could ‘break down consent’ and 300 children had different criteria for when and how they could appear they’d need to employ someone full time to manage it!

I felt a bit like you at first, but realised life is too short. Unless there’s an actual safeguarding reason (a dangerous dad or something) then let it go. No-one really cares your son goes to that school or is going to kidnap him or download his photos to lovingly gaze at. People generally just don’t care!

In my daughter´s school we have our classroom google sites, which is private. That´s where they take pics and show us what they are doing in class etc.
Then the school has instagram and the website and only kids whose parent´s have approved their photos are included. My daughter appears from time to time, but no kid appears continuously. Other kids appear sideways or slightly blurred background. I have never heard of anyone being excluded like yours is. They need to manage this better.

Do you mean excluded from the photo or excluded from the activity? It is very difficult and stressful to blue dot children, when it's a while school activity, it different members of staff are uploading photos.

If you have refused consent then they can’t take photos of him.

it’s very unlikely the certificates thing is linked to the photo consent. This is very easy for a teacher to do and forget someone - just email in and say he is feeling demotivated and what does he need to do to get one?

he shouldn’t be excluded from events because of this but they can ask him to move out of the photo.

This sounds amazing!

The purpose of these events is to enrich the children’s education, not to be able to publish photos of them. If it’s too much work for the school to work out who has given consent and who hasn’t then they need to stop posting photos, not exclude children from taking part.

Our school publicly posts loads of photos of any slightly unusual school things. So a special PE lesson, dress-up days, an art project everyone has worked on showing their individual work etc. If anyone doesn’t have permission to be in it they have the emoji sticker added but the photos are all open to anyone who finds that part of the website.

It isn't OK for them to exclude him entirely but you would have to accept any photos are in the public domain. They aren't going to take photos and publish them seperately with emojis on the public set and uncovered in another private one.

What are you mainly afraid of OP?
I understand why children who are adopted, or have a violent parent, in foster care etc should not be photographed, but what is your specific fear?

Well if you would have been happy to sign up with the correct form, I’d just let him be in the photos and email the school with explicit permission.

It’s a bit of an admin task to manage this type of thing and schools are often low on admin capacity and a bit illiterate with IT stuff but they could be doing a better job. There are better ways.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of my child at primary school that I haven’t taken myself at sports day or whatever. My school never does this at all.

I honestly don’t know what your average person thinks will happen if it comes out that their child attends St James Primary or something.