GDPR and Fathers Day

[casey]

Every year at my primary school some of the year groups put Fathers (and Mothers) day messages in the local paper.

It's free and the children seem to enjoy it and it's an unusual ICT lesson.

 

However this morning one of the teachers asked me if the children should be doing this in light of the dreaded GDPR.

 

The children put in their first name and (manadtory) the first and surname of their parent/grandparent/carer, plus their message.

 

Anybody got any opinions or could point me to where I could find guidance?

 

TIA,

 

Casey

[MrBitey]

I'd be wary of doing this activity now, I'm afraid. The local paper are getting close to being a data processor if you are doing this as part of school activity. Also I'd be wary of safeguarding issues too (just in case any of the fathers shouldn't be in contact with the children). Why not use you school website to display some fathers' day massages. Children could design them using a graphics program and they only need to say 'To my Dad' from Bobby etc. They could even create animated GIFs? Basically, Privacy by Design makes me think that if it seems like a marginal call data security wise then don't do it!

[hardtailstar]

Why not use you school website to display some fathers' day massages.

 

Thats a whole different issue!

[crispybits]

fathers' day massages.

 

I think we're into safeguarding here rather than GDPR :-P

 

As part of an actual lesson I think we're in a grey are as MrBitey stated, however I think you could get round that by saying "the local paper are doing the thing - any student that wants to join in and send a message can come to the ICT suite at break, lunch, or after school and send one." That way it's not the school that are doing anything, kids are coming in and doing it voluntarily during their own time.

 

I might see it as an opportunity to discuss data security with the kids if I were a teacher tho - show a real world example of something that's easily thought of as harmless and some of the potential negative side-effects.

[MrBitey]

Thats a whole different issue!

Oops!

[witch]

Why not just have "To Daddy, from Luke" or whatever? The child will be able to point out theirs from the list and yes, there might be more than one Luke, but does that really matter?

[casey]

Why not just have "To Daddy, from Luke" or whatever? The child will be able to point out theirs from the list and yes, there might be more than one Luke, but does that really matter?

 

Unfortunately the format for the free ad is very fixed.

 

It requires the surname of the parent (which is the order they are displayed in the paper) and a first name.

 

Then at the end of the message is the child's first name.

 

 

Thanks to all for the replies. The school has decided not to do the ads this Fathers Day.

 

Maybe next year we will have things clearer, or even as MrBitey suggested we could put some messages on our website.

[jenatddm]

Sounds sensible decision, and worth noting in case others are doing similar, nothing changes on this under GDPR. (Now UK Data Protection Act) compared with Data Protection Act 1998. This type of activity using that level of personal data, should only ever have been done on a parental consent basis. BR.