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Getting information from schools
Department of Education guidance says schools and local authorities can set their own policies about when photos can be taken, and on releasing associated information for publicity, but that it will require the consent of pupils’ parents or legal guardians.
Guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on photographs being taken by a local newspaper of a school awards ceremony says it will not breach data protection law ‘As long as the school has agreed to this, and the children and/or their guardians are aware that photographs of those attending the ceremony may appear in the newspaper’.
The ICO’s guidance also says schools do not breach the Act by releasing exam results to the local media, and that in general, as a school has a legitimate interest in publishing results, pupils or parents or guardians do not need to consent.
The guidance is on the ICO’s website here: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/schools/
NB: The ICO emphasises that this guidance has not been updated since the introduction of the Act in 2018. However, it states that, while there may be some ‘subtle differences’ between this and guidance reflecting the new law, it considers the information in its current form is still useful to journalists and media organisations, and that the guidance will be updated soon to reflect the changes (although this has not yet happened).