Teachers taking photos outside of school

[Always2022]

Hoping that somebody on here might be able to throw some light on a subject for me. Does anybody know the legalities of a Headteacher taking a photograph of a student after school and outside of the school grounds? I think she was hoping to catch out my ds (16) who is currently suspended for walking out of a class (not for anything violent, but he's clashing with his teacher and has very low tolerance at the moment). He was returning some trainers to a friend after school (outside of the grounds) and turned around to see the Headteacher taking photos of him! My instinct is that it can't be legal but I'm struggling to find the definitive answer to this via their policies on their website.
If anybody has any thoughts or even better knows what the legal standpoint would be, I'd be really grateful if you could comment on this post. Thanks in advance.

he's clashing with his teacher and has very low tolerance at the moment

What a strange way to look at things.

Maybe the Head has a low tolerance for your son at the moment and therefore should be allowed to behave however they want?

No?

Why are you allowing your son to see his friends during the day while he’s suspended from school?

How are you managing him at home?

Letting him turn up at the end of the day to act like a big man to his friends will only contribute to his poor behaviour and lack of accountability.

Letting him turn up at the end of the day to act like a big man to his friends will only contribute to his poor behaviour and lack of accountability.

This.

He shouldn’t be out during or very close to school hours, he’s not on a bonus holiday, he’s been excluded. You’re focusing on the wrong issue.

I think you need to challenge your attention in to your sons behaviour and attitude rather than the teachers actions. Sounds very odd that your sons get suspended but then has the need to go to the school to drop something off. Sounds to me that he is wanting to agitate the whole situation.

Sorry OP, I agree that you're focusing on the wrong issue here

It's absolutely standard that suspended pupils should not be out in public during school hours, which your son was. And especially should not be in the vicinity of school, which he also was. This should be outlined in the letter you received informing you of his suspension.

I suspect the HT has taken a photo to compile evidence against your son for breaking these rules and it will be brought up in the reintegration meeting.

You should be giving your son a rocket up the arse not complaining that the school are doing their job.

@RedToothBrush Thank you for response - it's very helpful. It has come across as intimidating as we have followed the rules with regards to the suspension and our gut instinct is that the school would rather him not be there. There is a lot of back-story but the crux of it is low-level misbehaviours due to circumstances that are taking a long time to sort out. It's not the photograph as such, it's the methods by which they are trying to catch him out.
Again, thank you for your response. Much more constructive than some of the folk who have offered unhelpful comments.

Unless you live next door to the school how can you/DS have been following the rules?

How long has he been suspended for?! If he's been hanging round school premises more than once during his suspension he's massively taking the piss, with your apparent blessing.
What are you playing at?

@HipsterCoffeeShop Just to clarify, I'm not gunning for the school. My post was about feeling uncomfortable about the HT taking photos specifically of my son - I'm quite sure other parents would feel the same. It would seem that my post has come across as a parent who can't/isn't concerned about dealing with her son's misbehaviours. I understand that nobody knows the back-story so I can forgive peoples' incorrect assumptions although I was hoping for a tad more open mindedness. Thank you all for taking the time to comment. I can assure you that my dh and I are doing everything in our powers to work through this really difficult time with our son.

@Johnnysgirl He's been suspended for 3 days and he wasn't hanging around the school - I dropped him off about 15 minutes after school had ended so that he could return somebody's trainers as we live out of town.

our gut instinct is that the school would rather him not be there

If he's behaving in such a way that he's causing enough of a problem that he needs to be suspended then, yes, the school probably wouldn't have him there in an ideal world. I'd imagine the vast majority of the well-behaved student body would also prefer for disruptions not to be there and impacting on their education. But that's not an option so, as it stands, the school will end up having him back and everyone will continue to put up with the things he's been doing to get suspended in the first place.

I'm confused about the changing focus of your concern. First it was about the legality, then about a teacher taking a photograph, then not about the photograph really but just them trying to catch him out. It sounds like you're making excuses and creating distractions rather than addressing the key issue at hand: your son's inability to conduct himself in the correct manner in school.

They're not supposed to be hanging around the school if they're suspended.

So what do you mean by It's not the photograph as such, it's the methods by which they are trying to catch him out?

But a Headteacher, taking a photograph of a student, outside of the school at a time when all the other students are flocking out of school..

But now you dropped him off 15 minutes after school ended, by which time most kids would be gone.

So was it school kicking out time or not?

@HipsterCoffeeShop It wasn't during school hours - it was around 15 minutes after school had ended but I can see that it would have been better to wait until the children had all left the area. And as much as I wish a 'rocket up the arse' would fix all ills, it doesn't. It's a fine balancing act but we are working extremely hard to do the right thing.

@noblegiraffe Yes it was around 15 minutes and yes there were still lots of kids around - it takes a while for them to all disperse. I realise now that not being out during school hours is intended to avoid contact with other kids.

If there is a fixed penalty or possible prosecution for parents failing to comply with the suspension then evidence is needed. Nobody is 'trying to catch him out'.

Legal in a public place. I'm not sure if it's a legal requirement to use a school device rather than a personal phone, or whether that's just best practice. I would be a world of shit at school if I had any photos of kids on my personal phone
(even if they were just of the kids doing a cool experiment etc- we have to use school phones/ipads )

ds (16) who is currently suspended for walking out of a class (not for anything violent, but he's clashing with his teacher and has very low tolerance at the moment

You seem quite relaxed about this @Always2022 ? Your DS should be keeping up with his schoolwork, and getting some therapy/behaviour modification for losing control of his feelings in school to the extent that he is suspended from classes.

If your son has been suspended for 3 days, why was it so urgent he returned to school to drop off some trainers to a friend? Could they not wait? Could you or DH not take them to the other child's house?
Seems a really odd thing to do when your child has been suspended.

Absolutely Jonnysgirl
It's absolutely typical that issues with students are overtaken by talk about exactly how it was dealt with rather than what the real problem is.
It may not be ideal, but what's the big deal? If I were you OP for your son's sake, I'd make sure the headteacher doesn't become the story.

OP has said there is a back story, and perhaps she doesn't want to go into details over the internet - which is up to her. She asked a specific question relating to the issue of taking a photograph.

If it was my kid's trainers I would need them returned; not all kids of multiple pairs of trainers and not having trainers for sport detriments the other child involved.

@onlyconnect I hear what you're saying - thank you for your opinion.

@KetoSlawrus Thank you for being objective and supportive here. I do feel a bit bombarded with these comments but I can also see where people are coming from. You're absolutely right that I didn't want to go into details because it's much too much information to expect people to read - it was more about getting a handle on the general perspective - I'm in such a spin about this horrible situation that keeping perspective is a struggle at the moment!

Thank you for your comments everybody - some have been helpful (others not so) but suffice to say, if you put something onto a public forum you can expect strong opinions back so that's on my head.
It's never nice to learn about kids being suspended and believe me, I am reeling with this experience - I don't think I was told off once during my years at school but my son seems to be having a very different experience - something that we are working on with all our energies.
Not that I have to justify myself, but I can assure you that I AM focussing on his behaviour and have been working on this for a very long time.
I'm not proud of the fact that he has managed to get a suspension and it has afforded us a great deal of time to work on the reasons behind it and use it as a learning opportunity.
In my experience, using the "rocket up the arse" approach pushes the kids further away and makes them more angry and less likely to engage maturely with adults.

I'm not asking for your blessings, was just trying to get some perspective, which has been generously offered.
It looks like I should have been more careful about my son meeting up with a friend after school and can see now that the HT was clearly building up a case against him. Something she has a right to do but it does feel slightly extreme considering that this was the first time he had seen his friend since the suspension and in fact the suspension finished on this day. This is NOT about complaining to the school and I'm suddenly realising how I have made things worse by letting him see his friend at the point that I thought it was acceptable to do so - that is on me.
Thank you all again for your time in commenting, especially those who have helped me to see a different perspective.

Why did your son have to return the trainers at that precise time at that precise place? Surely you knew that was against the rules. I don't see why you wouldn't just drop them off yourself or take them to the other child's house? You're creating issues that were easily avoided.