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I take lots of pics of my mindees (as im sure we all do) to share with parents, upload to learning journeys, for my own reflection and for ofsted purposes too. I understand that because i am signed up to the ICO i can do this and i also have parents signed permission for me to take photos and how they are happy for me to use them. However what about photos of mindees that have left? Can i keep these to say, show OFSTED?
Good question. I think you'll get a lot of answers along the lines of "delete everything" thus reflecting the ignorance and moral panic about so-called "safeguarding and data protection".
I wpould start with first principles. If the family/child is one you could show to be friends (oft the case with CMing) and you can show that to be the case, then check with mum and only store and use photos in a no -business way. i.e. In 'personal' folders on pc, etc.
Since you mention Ofsted, let's assume you mean purely business use. Be aware that Ofsted inspectors are rarely interested in ex-minders, though it can happen. eg. I held onto a former mindee's Learning journal to show an inspector the work we'd done specifically leading up to starting school. I got parents signed consent, and it was a very specific purpose: 'school readiness' had just become the latest Ofsted obsession, but my 4yo's had all left and I wanted some evidence of all the work I'd done with them.
I strongly suggest you check ICO's basic 8 principles of data protection. If you can show you're fulfilling these, then you're ok. Photos are now classed as data, so it's about being able to show you have a legitimate reason to keep them, and that you aren't holding excessive amounts unnecessarily.
Not exactly the same question, but.....
Many CMs put a photo of a leaver with their records when they archive them.
Ofsted are very vague about holding data on ex-mindees, using terms like "for a reasonable length of time." IMHO, that could mean indefinitely. I base this on the fashion for accusing frequently innocent people of "historic abuse", etc. In any case, we all know that mindees can raise insurance claims twenty years after leaving our care. Add to that, the fact that Ofsted will not operate any 'statute of limitations' in terms of back-dated complaints.
I prefer to play it safe and keep evidence that I've always provided top quality care.
You can keep photos with parents written permission and ICO registration as confirmed here - Confusion over rules for photographs | Nursery World.
However, new data protection rules are coming in next year and they will tighten upwhat we can and cannot keep so 'watch this space' and let's see if anything changes...
Also, parents can change their minds and withdraw permission at any time.
Hope that helps :D