Recording bad behaviour and the DPA

[sparkeh]

So we have a case that we could do with some advice on.

 

For a while now we have been recording a child's extreme bad behaviour to gather evidence for a permanent exclusion. At the exclusion meeting the parents complained that they hadn't given permission for us to film this. They had actually signed out permission letter so dropped the issue.

 

This has opened up the question now, if we have another case of extreme behaviour and need to gather evidence, and the parents have not signed the permission letter, are we not able to film them? Or is there something that exempts us in this situation?

[witch]

I think you might be opening a can of worms if you did.

Much better to send out a school-wide letter stating that the children WILL be filmed for "various things" and that the parents specifically have to object.

Then you are covered if this should happen again

[elsiegee40]

And if the behaviour recorded had been on cctv rather than actual filming?

 

I have chaired more than one exclusion panel with cctv footage as evidence. No complaints and the footage clearly showed, in two cases, violence that was a straight PEX.

 

We also have a learning observatory with cameras. It's usually used for filming sample lessons to use to demonstrate good practice, but equally can be used to help with coaching a teacher who has class control problems of their own or a particular student's making

[TechMonkey]

I think you might be opening a can of worms if you did.

Much better to send out a school-wide letter stating that the children WILL be filmed for "various things" and that the parents specifically have to object.

Then you are covered if this should happen again

 

But will this not fall foul of the new GDPR rules that opt-out is not good enough any more?

 

I would think that a recording that is a record of an event wouldn't need permission, it isn't being broadcast or publicly made view-able. You would have to update your policies, to state this may happen and who may view it under what circumstances, but it isn't like you are filming him to public shame him on social media. May be worth looking at the rules and regs in relation to CCTV and training, that is the closest analogy I can think of. I would also imagine that you would have to tell parents that this is possible, so add it to the school handbook or pupil contract, but I wouldn't see it needing Parental permission.