Photos and Images

This page explains how decisions about photographs are made, how consent is managed at different ages, and the safeguards we have in place to ensure that any images used by our schools are handled responsibly and securely.

Background

The Greater Manchester Education Trust (GMET) follows UK data protection law. This includes laws about how schools collect, store and share information, for example:

• UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK-GDPR)
• Data Protection Act (DPA, 2018)
• Data Use and Access Act (DUAA, 2025)
• Academies Act (2010)

Our schools are academies, which means some rules are a little different to local authority schools. However, all GMET schools must follow the same data protection laws to protect pupils, parents and staff.

Photos Used Inside School

• Where permission is needed, this is normally collected when a child joins the school
• From Year 9, students can usually decide for themselves
• Safeguarding checks are always applied

Photos Used Publicly (for Example, Website or Social Media)

• Parents/carers control image permissions up to the end of Year 8
• From Year 9, the student’s choice is normally followed, in line with UK law
• We never publish children’s full names with photos

To keep students safe online, GMET:

• Uses low‑resolution images to reduce the risk of misuse
• Prevents images from being easily downloaded
• Removes hidden information from image files
• Trains staff on what images are safe to use
• Regularly removes older images from websites

Photos Taken by Outside Organisations

Any organisation that wants to take photos or collect information in our schools must:

• Get permission from the Trust first
• Make sure the right consent is in place
• Follow all safeguarding and data protection rules

Photos of Visitors (Including Parents/Carers)

• Visitors are asked to sign in via our electronic visitor registration system and record an image at sign in – for safeguarding purposes
• Photos of visitors after this point will only be taken in consultation with the visitor, or by a pre-arranged agreement
• Staff taking photos will endeavour to make it clear when a photo is being taken

Concerns:
If anyone has a concern about an image being used in school or publicly, they should get in touch with the school in the first instance. Every effort will be made to address concerns or remove images as quickly as possible.