Many authorities feel that it is best not to identify children on websites. Some schools will not have pictures of children on their websites. I feel that this is a little harsh – what is a school without kids? And what about the pride felt by children and their relatives on seeing the photo? A compromise is to have photographs of children in groups – without names on the caption – although individuals may be named in accompanying text. If an individual is shown then their name should not be included in the caption or the accompanying text. On the other hand photos of children – often including names and sometimes localities are published in local newspapers. Ultimately this is a decision for the school community to make and it should be a matter of board policy – maybe as a part of a larger technology policy. Once this policy is in place it is easy for the web manager to ensure consistency.Teachers and other Privacy Issues
Similar decisions need to be taken with publishing of teacher’s photographs and other personal information. Schools will also need to decide how much information to publish on staff members. Is it necessary to publish all teachers’ email addresses? Should private telephone numbers be published or is it better to stick with the switchboard numbers.
If school newsletters are to be published on the website they may need to be edited to ensure that privacy and confidentiality policies are adhered to.
