POLICY CONTENT

Our School is committed to creating and maintaining a child safe environment where children are safe and feel safe and their voices are heard about decisions that affect their lives. Child safety is embedded in our organisational leadership, governance, policies and procedures and culture.  

Children have the right to be protected from the misuse of photographic and video images whilst at the School. To ensure the privacy of children and families is respected, our School will only use photographs of children to support their learning and to record individual developmental progress with written authorisation from parents/guardians. 
 

NATIONAL QUALITY STANDARD (NQS)

QUALITY AREA 2: Children's Health and Safety

2.2	Safety	Each child is protected.
2.2.1	Supervision	At all times, reasonable precautions and adequate supervision ensure children are protected from harm and hazard.

QUALITY AREA 5: Relationships With Children

5.1.2

Dignity and rights of the child

The dignity and rights of every child are maintained.

QUALITY AREA 6: Collaborative Partnerships With Families and Communities

6.1.2

Parent views are respected

The expertise, culture, values and beliefs of families are respected, and families share in decision-making about their child’s learning and wellbeing.

 

PURPOSE

We aim to ensure the collection and use of photographs or video of children complies with privacy laws and related legislation. We are committed to creating and maintaining a child safe environment by adhering to the Child Safe Standards. 
 

SCOPE 

This policy applies to children, families, staff, management, and visitors of the School. 
 

IMPLEMENTATION 

The displaying of photos provides children and families with a sense of belonging. Photographs allow children to see themselves at play, are a topic of conversation for children and parents, allow families to see their child at play, and convey the message to children that what they are doing is important. However, it is fundamental to respect the rights of all children and families to privacy and ensure child safety is embedded in our policies and procedures. 
 
The Approved Provider, Nominated Supervisor, Responsible Person will ensure: 

• we are maintaining children’s safety and respecting aright to privacy 
• families provide written permission/consent for photographing or recording video of their child by the School (see: Enrolment form on SmartCentral) 
• processes are in place to ensure families who speak languages other than English understand the requirements within this policy and the enrolment form 
• every child in our care is protected from any exploitation of photographic and video images of themselves taken whilst they attend the school 
• children participate in decisions affecting them including permission to have photographs taken of them 
• personal information about the child’s surname, age or any other information that reveals their identity is not published 
• that photographs taken by educators support the children's learning and record children's individual progress 
• photographs recorded at the school as part of a normal day are taken using a digital camera or school owned electronic device and are only taken by members of the staff team, or by practicum students with written parental permission 
• at no time are staff permitted to bring in a camera/electronic device from home or use their mobile phone to take photographs, videos, or audio recordings of children whilst being educated and cared for 
• that the school seeks written permission from families for their child to be photographed when an outside photographer/agency is contracted to take photographs for marketing purposes or to take individual and group photos once a year. Only children who have written permission from their parent/guardian will be included in any photography  
• that the school notifies parents of the purpose of taking photographs such as use on the School’s website, advertising flyers/brochure, parent handbook and Social Media Policy 
• parents are aware that photographs or images may be taken of their children by other parents at various times of the year (e.g. during an end-of-year production or other event). Should parents not want their child photographed at any time, they must provide written notification to the Approved Provider or Nominated Supervisor at time of enrolment or if their decision for consent changes 
• this record will remain private and confidential to staff only 
• that the children of parents/carers who do not wish their child to be photographed or videoed are provided with other activities when an outside photographer/agency is engaged  
• parents/carers have the choice to withdraw consent for their child to be photographed or filmed in certain circumstances 
• photographs, video or other recordings of children are securely stored 
• photographs/videos are taken to: 
  • support the individual learning of each child for their formal record 
  • record children’s work and activities within the school environment.  

Families (Parents/carers): 

• will complete the School’s enrolment form at time of enrolment and provide written notification (Yes/No) to the Nominated Supervisor/Responsible Person if they do NOT want their child to be photographed or their photo published in any form. 
• will be invited to record their child's inclusion in group events and celebrations through the use of photographs or video on the understanding that they will not publish any material on the Internet, including on their personal social media, as the school has no control over these images once they are in the public domain. (see Social Media Policy) 
• will be requested to provide written permission/consent for educators, students or volunteers to take photos of their child/ren for assignments as part of their children services/university course 
• will be requested to provide written permission/consent for individuals visiting the School to take photographs of their child/ren (e.g. professional photography for marketing, school photos etc.) 
• are aware they have the choice to withdraw consent for their child to be photographed or filmed in certain circumstances 
• written notification is required if parents/families do NOT want their child included in photography opportunities which may include: 
  • photographs taken to be used in each child’s portfolios as these may contain other children 
  • video of children taken for the children to be able to watch themselves at play.  These videos may be made available to all families to view at various times. 
  • when children/families are provided with a photo of their child to take home- these may include images of other children in the photo 
  • when children are invited to take photographs or video either with digital cameras or tablets with story-making apps to support language and literacy development. Hard copies of these may be printed and made into a book produced by children. These will remain within the school but may be viewed by families and visitors.  
• be provided with clear information about how to make a complaint and our complaints handling processes.

 

SOURCE 

Byrnes, J., & Wasik, B. (2009). Picture this: Using photography as a learning tool in early childhood classrooms. 
Childhood Education, 85. 
Child Protection Act, 1998. 
Education and Care Services National Regulations. (2011).  
Guide to the National Quality Framework. (2017). (Amended 2020). 
Guide to the National Quality Standard. (2017). 
NSW Government. Office of the Children’s Guardian Child Safe Standards (2020). 
Privacy Act 1988 
Revised National Quality Standards. (2018). 
Victoria State Government Department of Education and Training (2020). Child Safe Standards: Creating a safe environment