Data, photos and online learning

For children to learn how to go online safely they need positive input from both school and home.

On this page:

How we take care of data:

• What is personal data?
• Consent: when and for what
• Photos in particular
• Taking care of other personal data in school

Safe online learning

• in school
• at home

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How we take care of data

What is personal data?

Personal data is anything that allows a person to be identified.

Consent: when and for what

There are some things that the law allows us to do with personal data without asking for your consent; there are some things we are allowed to do because we have entered a contract, and there are other things which we are only allowed to do if you give us your consent.

​​​Examples where the law says we WILL NOT need to seek consent:

• Taking photos of your child to record their progress and development and sticking these photos in their Special Book as part of our internal assessment. This is a public task as it allows us to fulfil our function as a school.
• Sharing child protection concerns and records with the appropriate people or agencies.
• Submitting data to the Department for Education, where we have a legal obligation.

Examples where the law says we WILL need to seek consent:

• Displaying photos of your child on the classroom wall or on their name card, where other children, their families and visitors might see them
• Posting a photo or video which includes your child on Class Dojo, the password-protected learning platform which is only accessible to current families and staff and which we use to extend learning outside the school
• Using your child’s image to advertise the schools or to illustrate our work, in our school prospectus, on our school website or on leaflets.

When a child joins one of our schools we ask their parent/carer for consent for the things we do frequently. We ask again when something unusual happens.

You can change your mind about what you have consented to at any time. You can also ask to see any photos we have taken at any time. Please do this by emailing the school.

Photos in particular

Photos we take in school

• We make sure the child is happy to be photographed, and only go ahead with their permission at the time
• We only take images of children in suitable dress
• Children shown in public-facing materials including displays in school are never identified with more than their first name, and usually not by name at all
• Digital photo file names/tags do not include names to avoid accidentally sharing them
• Staff are not allowed to take photographs or videos on their personal equipment.

Photos you take

Your child wants to see you looking at them, not at your phone.

At some events in school we do allow you to take photographs or videos, however you must focus on your own child. When you do this there is a strong possibility that other children will also be visible or audible, and therefore no such content should be shared publicly:

• there may be cultural reasons why this would be inappropriate, or legal reasons why it would put a child in danger
• you need formal consent from the parents/carers of those children before you can do this legally
• online photos and videos do not simply disappear when we delete them from our accounts: be good adult role models by not oversharing (or storing up embarrassment for your children’s later lives).

Live streaming, whether public or private, is never permitted in school, so don’t use any streaming platforms or ‘live’ features (e.g. Facebook Live) to stream events/circumstances as they occur. You may be asked to leave the premises or an event if you do this.

Taking care of other personal data in school

Our privacy notice sets out the laws that tell us what we can do with personal data with and without consent, and how we keep it safe.

Our policies page is where you find the full Online Safety Policy, which will tell you even more about online safety at the Forest Alliance of Nursery Schools; you can also read other relevant policies (e.g. Safeguarding or Behaviour) there.

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Safe online learning

In school

Children and adults only go online in school occasionally, and when they do, it is together with a grown-up, to follow up on particular questions or subjects that link to their learning. The school takes every reasonable precaution to keep children safe when they do this and to prevent them from accessing inappropriate materials:

• children only ever access the internet with an adult; never by themselves
• online access is filtered by the London Grid for Learning firewall.

On very rare occasions these precautions may fail, however the schools cannot be held responsible for the nature and content of materials accessed, which can sometimes be upsetting. The schools will do everything in their power to support children if this should happen.

At home

We use the online classroom Class Dojo to share stories, activities and things we have made. If the schools have to close for any reason, this is how we do remote learning.
Children need a safe and appropriate place to join in a video call either on Class Dojo or with a different educator. When on any video calls with school:

• make sure your child is fully dressed
• where it is possible, blur or change the background
• it would be better not to be in a bedroom but where this is unavoidable, the child shouldn’t be in bed, and the camera should point away from beds/bedding/personal information.

If you arrange for your child to have private online tuition:

• check that the tutor is registered/safe and reliable – take references, ask to see their DBS (criminal record) check, and investigate the safety features on the platform they propose using 
• remain in the room
• make sure your child knows that tutors should not arrange new sessions or online chats or exchange private messages with them
• tutors are teachers, not friends, and that means that the tutor should not tell them or ask them for personal information
• the only acceptable secret is a surprise: one that will be shared at a known date and occasion; encourage your child to tell you if a tutor (or anyone) says something is a secret never to be told.

Home networks are much less secure than school ones. online safety, lesson 3 on this website suggests ways to protect your family.

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