Permission for parents/carers to film or photograph on educational premises
It is accepted that parents/guardians should, under normal circumstances, have reasonable opportunity to take photographs, digital or video-recordings of activities or significant events involving their child/children. Schools will provide reasonable opportunity to parents/guardians such as is consistent with:
- the safe management of the event or activity
- health and safety considerations
- copyright implications
- welfare of all children or pupils involved
- any COVID-19 restrictions
Circumstances involving the taking of photographs or video-recordings
Photographic images are now required for various reasons within schools. These extend to:
- personal identification and record keeping
- photography and video-recording for curricular purposes in connection with pupil performance and assessment
- extra-curricular activities such as concerts, sporting events and community events
- staff development or training of teachers and other council staff
- school websites
- school class or group photographs
- newspaper photography
The Council, including all schools and early learning settings, must process personal data lawfully.
The two most appropriate lawful bases for school photography or video recording are:
Public Interest Task (Article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation); and
Consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation).
Where a school considers the lawful basis for processing to be Public Interest Task (Article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation), a privacy notice (PDF, 226 KB) will be in place and available to parents and pupils.
Where a school considers the lawful basis for processing to be Consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation), consent must be obtained from parents / carers (for pupils under 12) or pupils themselves (12+, unless there are capacity issues) prior to photographs or videos being taken.
Prior written permission
In all circumstances where pupils or children are likely to be photographed or video recorded in schools or on Council premises, it is necessary to obtain the prior written permission. Records of such permission must be kept. For pupils under the age of 12, Headteachers will circulate all parents the standard Parental Consent Form which records parental permission for their child to be photographed or videoed on school or Council premises at the start of the academic year. Pupils over the age of 12 with capacity can consent to being photographed or video recorded themselves using the same Parental Consent Form (completing it at the appropriate section), and permission from the parent is therefore not required.
If prior written permission has not been obtained, pupils may not be photographed or video-recorded under any circumstances on school or other educational premises. Where pupils or parents have specifically indicated that no permission is granted, this wish must be respected. Parents have the right to withdraw this permission at any time, and should they do so, will be asked to confirm this in writing. Two years after pictures or videos are taken, they must be deleted by the school.
If it is a requirement for the SQA to obtain photographic or video recorded evidence of the pupil as part of a curricular activity eg PE, written consent would not be required as participation would be taken as consent.
Permission using Parent Pay
Schools can gather consent data from parents / carers using Parents Portal. The additional information from the 'Image and Copyright Consent Form for Perth and Kinross Council School Pupils' as directed on Parents Portal is displayed below:
Children and young people may have their photograph or video recording taken at school, on educational outings or at school events. On occasion, the media and professional photographers will visit the school to take photographs and/or video footage. Group and individual photographs give a flavour of school life and enhance the publications concerned. Children are also pleased to see their pictures used in this way.
To comply with the data protection law, where the lawful basis for processing photographs and video recording is consent, permission is needed before photographs and videos can be taken and used. Most pupils over the age of 12 can consent to their image being used, providing they have the capacity to do so. A person with parental capacity can give consent for the use of images for a child under 12, or over 12 without capacity. Where the lawful basis for processing photographs and video recording is public task, please refer to the relevant privacy notice for further information on this. If you require further information, please contact DataProtection@pkc.gov.uk.
Children and young people are never fully identified on websites, social media or on plasma screen displays. Two years after pictures or videos are taken, they will be deleted by the school. However, you should be aware that websites and social media are viewed by a world-wide audience and the Council cannot prevent pictures being copied and used by others.
If you are unhappy about your child's image being captured for the purposes outlined above, there will be times when he/she is asked to come out of a group or class picture, in order that the image can be taken.
You can update the permissions you have chosen in relation to photography and video recording by contacting the school. Consent can be revoked at any time by contacting the Head Teacher, preferably in writing.
The Council's Museum, Library or Archives may keep photographs/video recordings indefinitely for use by as part of their collections.
This consent form does not cover websites and applications used in the classroom or for suggested use at home. Parents/carers will be asked to consent to these on an individual basis, as required.
Perth and Kinross Council recognise that parents/guardians should, under normal circumstances, have reasonable opportunity to take photographs, digital or video recordings of activities or significant events involving their child/children. However, these are permitted only for private family use and must not be shared on social media channels. The reasons for this include safeguarding of children and young people as there are potential risks of images being modified for inappropriate purposes or allowing a child to be identified where this could place the child/family at risk. If you do not feel able to agree to the statement below limiting the taking and use of photographs for family purposes only, you will be prohibited from taking such photographs or videos in school.
Should you have concerns about images being shared by individuals, please contact the Information Commissioners Office or Perth and Kinross Council Child Protection Team.
How We Use Your Personal Information
The information provided by you will be used by Perth and Kinross Council to facilitate the taking of photographs/videos for the purposes stated above.
The council may check information provided by you, or information about you provided by a third party, with other information held by us.
We may also get information from certain third parties or share your information with them in order to verify its accuracy, prevent or detect crime, protect public funds or where required by law.
For further information, please look at our website Data protection, email dataprotection@pkc.gov.uk or phone 01738 477933.
Video / photography by public attending school events
It is accepted that parents/guardians should, under normal circumstances, have reasonable opportunity to take photographs, digital or video recordings of activities or significant events involving their child/children.
Schools cannot guarantee that other parents/guardians/family members in attendance at school events will not take videos/photographs of pupils and share these or upload them to social media platforms. However, we will ask for photographs taken during an event not to be shared on a public account on a social media platform, or ask people to gain permission from the parent or guardian of children under 12, or from young people themselves over 12, before sharing photographs and videos that include them.
If you have data protection concerns about images of children shared on a public social media platform, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office.
If you are concerned about the abuse or misuse of images of children, you can report these to the Council as part of our child protection procedures. Please find more information on our child protection pages.
Activities outwith the school
There are circumstances in which pupils may participate in activities outwith the school where these activities are not under the direct management or control of the school or educational establishment. In these circumstances, control of photography or video recordings is not possible, and parents who have indicated that they do not wish their child to be photographed or videoed will be advised prior to their child's participation in any such outside event.
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