Electronic devices and photography policy

This policy provides clear guidelines to monitor and limit the use of electronic devices and photography in Early Learning Victoria centres, to ensure child-safe practices.

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Early Learning Victoria has a duty of care for all children attending its centres.

Our practices safeguard children from child abuse and harm and prioritise their safety and wellbeing. Early Learning Victoria has zero tolerance for child abuse and actively promotes the Victorian Child Safe Standards. Establishing child safe practices for the use of electronic devices and photography is essential to safeguarding children in Early Learning Victoria centres.

1. Scope

This policy applies to children, families, staff, management and visitors of Early Learning Victoria centres. This includes volunteers, pre-service teachers and contractors or labour hire employees of Early Learning Victoria.

2. Policy statement

This policy establishes strong guidelines to monitor and limit the use of electronic devices and photography in Early Learning Victoria centres. This aligns with the National Model Code for Taking Images or Videos of Children while Providing Early Childhood Education and Care (the National Model Code).

This policy should be read in conjunction with the following Early Learning Victoria policies:

  • Child safety and wellbeing policy
  • Educational program policy
  • Family and community communications policy
  • Protecting children policy
  • Supervision of children policy
  • Privacy policy

2.1 Requirements

The National Model Code

The National Model Code and Guidelines have been developed to support approved providers to create a child safe culture when it comes to taking, sharing and storing images or videos of children at their services.

Early Learning Victoria adheres to the National Model Code under the National Quality Framework to ensure Early Learning Victoria centres promote a child-safe culture. The National Model Code guides the electronic practices of approved providers, staff, families, and volunteers while children are present at the centre.

3. Actions and procedures

Personal electronic devices

Early Learning Victoria centre staff are not permitted to carry personal electronic devices or personal storage media devices while children are at the centre. Staff must store personal electronic devices or personal storage media devices in their individual, secure locker at the beginning of each shift. Early Learning Victoria centre staff are permitted to access their personal electronic devices during their breaks without children present (for example, when in the staff room or outside the centre).

Educational program

Early Learning Victoria believes that safe technology use has a place in children’s learning. Technology can make learning more interactive and engaging for children and support in the process of interest-based learning by providing powerful research tools. Moreover, images and videos can be used by educators to capture evidence of learning that may be shared with families and allow children to re-visit their learning (see the Educational program policy).

All images and videos of children are deleted annually, at the end of the year.

Essential identity photographs

Early Learning Victoria must collect a photograph of each child upon enrolment and annually following for safety and identification purposes.

Early Learning Victoria-issued electronic devices

Early Learning Victoria centres have a limited number of authorised electronic devices (including laptops and iPads). These are used to perform routine checks (such as noting nappy changes, sleep schedules and monitoring the UV rating) and to capture images for the educational program. All devices must be secured at the end of each day and remain at the premises.

Essential phone use

Early Learning Victoria centre staff should inform their families and friends, and their children’s schools or child care providers, of the centre’s contact details for personal emergencies.

An Early Learning Victoria employee must obtain a written exemption from their centre director to carry their personal device while children are present. Instances that may be authorised include:

  • a personal health requirement – for example, for blood sugar monitoring
  • disability – for example, if a personal electronic device is used as an essential means of communication
  • family necessity – for example, having a family member with a serious illness
  • a local emergency or technical outage – for example, anticipating a bushfire evacuation text notification.

In cases of exemption, and with the employee’s consent, centre directors should notify other staff about arrangements for the employee’s personal electronic device. The reason for the exemption does not need to be shared. Centre staff with an exemption to carry their device must not use their personal device to take images or videos of children.

Emergencies

Staff are permitted to use their personal electronic devices during an emergency to communicate with emergency services. This includes situations involving a lost child, an injured staff member or child, or a lockdown or evacuation (see the Emergency management and evacuation policy).

Excursions

Staff are required to bring at least one Early Learning Victoria-issued mobile phone on excursions to ensure they can be contacted (see the Excursions, incursions and regular outings policy and procedure).

External support professionals

Early Learning Victoria centres may have external professionals who support children with additional needs. External professionals must seek written permission from the nominated supervisor and the child’s parents or carers to capture images, videos or audio at the centre. Any media taken should only include the child they are caring for and should only be used strictly to support their duties.

Public use of images

Early Learning Victoria may engage a professional photographer to capture images or videos featuring children at the centre. These images may also be used on Early Learning Victoria (or related Department of Education) public platforms, including social media, websites and email communications.

Families will be informed in advance, and a parent or carer will need to provide written consent for their child’s image to be included and published (see Attachment 1).

Occasions when a professional photographer may be engaged include:

  • to take child portraits and class photographs
  • for special events – for example, centre-based special events
  • for public content – for example, to use in social media, on the Early Learning Victoria website or on the Department of Education website.

Early Learning Victoria may receive requests from other government departments, agencies or ministers to provide images featuring children at the centre or wish to use images that include children in promotional materials. Early Learning Victoria will inform families in advance, and a parent or carer will need to provide written consent for their child’s image to be included and published (see Attachment 2).

Early Learning Victoria will consider privacy implications and implement strategies to limit the inclusion of children in these images.

Special events

Centre directors are responsible for determining whether photographs or videos can be appropriately captured at special events. They are also responsible for informing parents in advance if there will be images captured and where those images will be used (see Attachment 3).

Centre directors will consider the context of the event and communicate this decision in advance to families. No images or videos captured by families at a special event are permitted to be published on social media, websites or other online platforms.

3.1 Responsibilities of families

Families are responsible for:

  • ensuring they do not take any images or videos of children, including their own child or children, during the educational program
  • ensuring they check with their centre director before taking images or videos at a special event
  • ensuring they do not upload any images or videos taken at a special event to social media
  • providing consent when Early Learning Victoria wishes to engage a professional photographer and/or publish images, videos or recordings that include their child (see Attachment 1 and Attachment 2)
  • providing or denying consent for their child to be photographed by an external organisation at a special event (see Attachment 3)
  • providing consent for a support worker to photograph or record their child, if relevant
  • communicating to staff if their child needs to use a personal electronic device – especially if their child has additional needs.

3.2 Responsibilities of staff

4. Resources

Legislation and standards

  • Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010
  • Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011
  • National Quality Standard, quality area 2: Children’s health and safety
  • Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014
  • Health Records Act 2001
  • Child safety and wellbeing policy
  • Educational program policy
  • Emergency management and evacuation policy
  • Excursions, incursions and regular outings policy and procedure
  • Family and community communications policy
  • Incident, injury, trauma and illness policy
  • Protecting children policy
  • Records management policy
  • Staff code of conduct policy
  • Supervision of children policy
  • Visitors, volunteers and students on placement policy
  • Privacy policy

Links

Attachments

Definitions

Authorised electronic devices: Devices owned, managed and distributed by Early Learning Victoria that support learning, documentation, and administrative functions.

Inappropriate images or videos of children: Any visual or audio content that is not directly relevant to the child’s participation in the educational program.

Personal electronic device: Any device that can take images or videos (including mobile phones, digital cameras, tablets, laptops and smart watches).

Personal storage media device: A hard drive or online application that can store images or video recordings (including cloud storage, SD cards and USB drives).

Recordings related to educational program: Images and videos used to document children’s learning. Recordings should limit capturing the identity of other children nearby and must not be used for any other purpose.

Special event: An activity or event that takes place outside of the educational program (including performances and holiday celebrations).

Education

Updated

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