Photography and Filming Policy

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILMING POLICY

WildHearts Group (“the Group”) works with children and young people through our Schools Programme.

In doing so, we recognise our obligation to ensure they are protected when taking part in the Group’s events and activities – specifically those where photographs and videos may be taken.

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.

This policy sets out the overarching principles that guide our approach to photographs/videos being taken of children and young people and the safeguards we put in place to protect them.

Legal Framework

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of UK legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children. Summaries of key legislation and guidance is available on NSPCC Learning (https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/).

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.

To Keep Children And Young People Safe We Will:

always provide notification in advance where an event or activity will involve photography and filming
always explain what images will be used for, how they will be stored and what potential risks are associated with sharing images of children
wherever practical, seek explicit written consent from a child and their parents or carers before taking and using a child’s image
making it clear that a child has the right to not have their image taken and shared
never publishing personal information about individual children other than first names and / or their school,and only then when there is a clear need to identify them
make 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)
known or suspected abuse or misuse of images of children must immediately be reported to the senior lead for safeguarding.
reduce the risk of images being copied and used inappropriately by:
- only using images of children in appropriate clothing (including safety wear if necessary)
- avoiding full face and body shots of children taking part in activities such as swimming where there may be a heightened risk of images being misused
- using images that positively reflect young people’s involvement in the activity.

Photography And/Or Filming For Personal Use

Parents, carers, spectators or children themselves may wish to take photographs or filming at our events for personal use. Guidance about image sharing should be communicated in the event programmes and/or announced before the start of the event. This should include:

reminding parents, carers and children of their right not to consent to their image being taken
asking for photos not to be shared publicly on social media or asking people to gain permission from children, their parents and carers before sharing photographs and videos that include them
recommending that people check the privacy settings of their social media account to understand who else will be able to view any images they share
reminding children, parents and carers who they can talk to if they have any concerns about images being shared.

Photography And/Or Filming For The Group’s Use

Use of images

The Group may use photography and video taken for the following purposes:

To promote the work of the Group
To enhance materials and resources used by the Group in undertaking its activities
To market the products and services of the Group

Media of children must never be sold for commercial gain or licenced to third parties for any use other than those listed above.

Safeguards

Children, young people, parents and carers should always be made aware in advance that photography and filming is part of the event or activity. We must work closely with the schools and other organisations attending to identify any potential concerns
and to ensure that there is appropriate communication regarding how concerns can be raised before or during the event or activity.

If we hire a photographer and/or videographer (‘contractor’), we will seek to keep children and young people safe by:

providing the contractor with a clear brief about appropriate content and behaviour
ensuring the contactor wears appropriate identification at all times
never allowing the contractor to have unsupervised access to children
never allowing the contractor to carry out sessions outside the event or at a child’s home
immediately reporting concerns regarding inappropriate or intrusive photography/videography to the safeguarding lead.

Children or their family may withdraw consent for an image to be shared at any point. Nevertheless, by attending an event and accepting the terms of this Policy, it is acknowledged that it may not be possible to delete images that have already been shared or published – for example in printed brochures.

Photography And/Or Filming For Wider Use

If people such as local journalists, professional photographers (not hired by the Group), partners 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 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.

The Group will verify these details and decide whether to grant permission for photographs/films to be taken.

We will inform children, parents and carers that an external photographer will be present and ensure the photographer/videographer is easily identifiable, for example by issuing them with a coloured identification badge. We will ensure they are properly briefed of anyone who does not give consent.

If we have any concerns that someone unknown to us is using their sessions for photography or filming purposes, they must immediately be asked to leave.

If Consent To Take Photographs Is Not Given

If children, parents and/or carers do not consent to photographs being taken, we will respect their wishes. We will agree in advance how they would like to be identified so the photographer or videographer knows not to take pictures of them, and ensure this is done in a way that does not single out the child or make them feel isolated.

We will never exclude a child from an activity because we do not have consent to take their photograph.

Storing Images

Photographs and videos of children must always be stored securely, in accordance with our data security policies and data protection law.

We should minimise retention of hard copies of images and ensure these are kept in a locked location. Electronic images must be saved in a protected folder with restricted access. Stored images must be reviewed at least every 5 years and deleted if it is no longer considered appropriate to retain them.

Staff and volunteers must ensure that images of children are never stored on unencrypted portable equipment such as memory sticks and mobile phones.

Related Policies And Procedures

This policy statement should be read alongside our organisational policies and procedures, including:

Safeguarding
Code of Conduct for staff and volunteers.

Contact Details

Senior lead for safeguarding

Name: Compliance Officer
Phone/email: compliance@wildheartsgroup.com