Policy on Photography


The Parish of Tilehurst, St Michael

PHOTOGRAPHY POLICY

St Michael’s Church, Tilehurst works with children and families as part of its activities.  This includes activities such as Sunday School, Messy Church and family services (e.g. All Age Worship).  It does not apply to occasional offices such as weddings and baptisms.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to:

  • Protect children and young people who take part in St Michael’s services, events and activities, specifically those where photos or videos may be taken;
  • Set out the overarching principles that guide our approach to photos/videos being taken of children and young people during our events and activities;
  • Ensure that we operate in line with our values and within the law when creating, using and sharing images of children and young people.

This policy statement applies to all staff, volunteers and other adults associated with St Michael’s Church, Tilehurst.

Legal Framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England.

We believe that:

  • Children and young people should never experience abuse of any kind;
  • We have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children and young people and to take, share and use images of children safely.

We recognise that:

  • Sharing photographs and films of our activities can help us celebrate the successes and achievements of our children and young people, provide a record of our activities and raise awareness of our organisation;
  • The welfare of the children and young people taking part in our activities is paramount;
  • Children, their parents and carers have a right to decide whether their images are taken and how these may be used, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation;
  • Consent to take images of children is only meaningful when children, their parents and carers understand how the images will be used and stored, and are fully aware of the potential risks associated with the use and distribution of these images;
  • There are potential risks associated with sharing images of children on-line.

We will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

  • Always asking for written consent from a child and their parents and carers before taking and using a child’s image;
  • Always explaining what images will be used for, how they will be stored and what potential risks are associated with sharing images of children;
  • Making it clear that if a child or their family withdraw consent for an image to be shared, it may not be possible to delete images that have already been shared or published;
  • Changing the names of children whose images are being used in our published material whenever possible (and only using first names if we do need to identify them);
  • Never publishing personal information about individual children and disguising any identifying information ( for example the name of their school or a school uniform with logos);
  • Making sure children, their parents and carers understand how images of children will be securely stored and for how long (including how we will control access to the images and their associated information);
  • Reducing the risk of images being copied and used inappropriately by:
    • only using images of children in appropriate clothing;
    • avoiding full face and body shots of children taking part in activities such as swimming where there might be a heightened risk of images being misused;
  • Using images that positively reflect young people’s involvement in the activity.

We will develop a procedure for reporting the abuse or misuse of images of children as part of our child protection procedures.  We will ensure everyone in our organisation knows the procedures to follow to keep children safe.

Photography and/or Filming for Personal Use

When children themselves, parents, carers or spectators are taking photographs or filming at our events and the images are for personal use, we will publish guidance about image sharing in the event programmes and/or announce details of our photography policy before the start of the event.  This includes:

  • Reminding children, parents and carers that they need to give consent for St Michael’s to take and use their images;
  • Asking for photos taken during the event not be shared on social media if they include other children;
  • Reminding children and parents and carers who they can talk to if they have any concerns about images being shared.

Photography or Filming for St Michael’s Use

We recognise that our group leaders may use photography and filming as an aid in activities such as music or drama.  However this should only be done with permission from the Group Leader on behalf of the PCC and using our equipment.

Children, young people, parents and carers must also be made aware that photography and filming is part of the programme and give written consent.

If we hire a photographer for one of our events we will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

  • Providing the photographer with a clear brief about appropriate content and behaviour;
  • Ensuring the photographer wears identification at all times;
  • Informing children, their parents and carers that a photographer will be at the event and ensuring they give written consent to the taking and sharing of images that feature their child;
  • Not allowing the photographer to have unsupervised access to children;
  • Not allowing the photographer to carry out sessions outside the event or at a child’s home;
  • Reporting concerns regarding inappropriate or intrusive photography following our child protection procedures.

Photography or Filming for Wider Use

If people such as local journalists or students wish to record one of our events and share the images professionally or in the wider world, they should seek permission in advance. They should provide:

  • The name and address of the person using the camera;
  • The names of the children they wish to take images of (if possible);
  • The reason for taking the images and/or what the images will be used for;
  • A signed declaration that the information provided is valid and that the images will only be used for the reasons given.

St Michael’s will verify these details and decide whether to grant permission for photographs/films to be taken.  We will seek consent from the children who are the intended subjects of the images and from their parents.  We will inform the photographer of anyone who does not give permission.

At the event we will inform children, parents and carers that there is an external photographer present and ensure they are easily identifiable.

If St Michael’s is concerned that someone unknown to us is using their sessions for photography or filming purposes we will ask them to leave and (depending on the nature of the concerns) follow our child protection procedures.

Storing Images

We will keep hard copies of images in a locked drawer and electronic images in a protected folder with restricted access.  Images will be stored for a period of 12 months.

We will never store images of children on unencrypted portable devices such as laptops, memory sticks and mobile phones.

St Michael’s does not allow staff or volunteers to use personal equipment to take photos and recordings of children.  Only cameras and devices belonging to St Michael’s should be used.

Related Policies and Procedures

This policy statement should be read alongside the Church of England safeguarding handbook and our Safeguarding policy which can be found on our website:
www.stmichaeltilehurst.org.uk/safeguarding.htm.  

Safeguarding Lead:  Sally Cairns  tel: 0118 9414161

We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.

This policy was implemented on  …………………………………………………………

This policy was last reviewed  …………………………………………………………….

Signed:  ………………………………………………………………………………………

Dated:  ………………………………………………………………………………………