Safeguarding
Image management is a critical part of safeguarding responsibilities now and in the future.
As a teacher of 20+ years, I understand that the wellbeing and safeguarding of young people is a top priority for educators. However, it’s essential that this safeguarding goes beyond the classroom and considers the data – particularly the often-forgotten usage and storage of images.
Publishing and storing photographs of children by schools raises several safeguarding concerns. These include:
1. Fluid Consent:
Life circumstances can change, so consents have to be fluid. Consents can be removed or changed at any point and this will impact the photos you are using and storing. It is important, therefore, that your systems allow you to quickly and easily identify any images that are no longer covered by consent – especially those on school social media.
2. External Threats:
Schools are increasingly at risk of cyber attacks, in which personal data may be accessed and misused by bad actors. This is the intersection of security and safeguarding.
3. Internal Threats:
No-one wants to mistrust their own staff, but we must be vigilant to every threat. Ecne’s auditing system means that you have a record, not only of what images are downloaded and used, but also the users who have done so, allowing you to identify and act on any suspicious activity.
4. Vulnerable Individuals:
It is undeniable that for some individuals’ images are a much greater safeguarding risk. Consider:
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Adopted, Looked After or At Risk young people and vulnerable individuals and families.
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Transgender or gender diverse individuals
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Victims of cyberbullying
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People suffering with body dysmorphia and/or eating disorders
5. Emotional and Psychological Impact:
Photos can be misused for inappropriate purposes, including cyberbullying or child exploitation. We have to be mindful of the images we choose to use and how these may be misused.
Children’s body image and self-esteem can change, resulting in them wanting previous images of themselves removed, causing emotional distress and anxiety.
Consents may differ for different platforms or uses. Using ObscureIT™, your photos are processed so different faces are blurred as needed. Unobtrusive but totally safe usage.
Auto-Anonymisation
Find photos easily with our PhotoNav™ technology. Filter by individual, group, clubs, event, bespoke tag. Know where all your images are at the click of a button.
Filtering
Students and staff consents recorded and tracked safely. Notifications for any changes and expirations. Links to ObscureIT™, for image reprocessing on consent changes.
Consent Management
All images and data are safely stored, protected by multi-layer encryption. Images are held in an access controlled, fully-audited network. In addition to backups and MFA.
Secure Cloud Storage
