Dubai schools are placing greater emphasis on photography and filming rules as smartphones and social media make it easier for images of children to be captured and shared within seconds.
For parents, school performances, sports days, graduations and other milestones are moments they naturally want to preserve. But schools say those memories need to be balanced against the privacy, dignity and safety of every child who may appear in a photograph or video.
Some schools have introduced clear restrictions on photography by parents and visitors, while others are focusing on consent, responsible sharing and educating families about their digital footprint.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
The message from schools is not to stop parents from recording their children's milestones, but to ensure that images of other children are not inadvertently captured or shared without permission.
Parent photography banned unless authorised
Dewvale School in Dubai has adopted a clear no-photography and no-videography rule for parents and visitors on school premises unless specifically authorised.
“There is greater awareness around the need to protect children’s privacy, particularly as photographs and videos can be easily shared on social media,” principal Seema Umar said.
Umar said the policy was intended to protect children rather than prevent families from creating memories.
“The purpose is not to restrict parents, but to ensure that every child’s privacy, dignity and safety are consistently protected,” she said.
The school provides authorised opportunities for parents to capture significant moments, while ensuring that children without consent are not inadvertently photographed or recorded.
If an unauthorised image or video includes other children, parents or visitors will be asked to delete it immediately and not share it. If it has already been circulated, the school will request its removal and follow safeguarding procedures.
“We take this seriously because every child’s privacy must be respected,” Umar said.
She said the school wants families to see privacy protection as a collective responsibility rather than simply another school rule.
“We want parents to understand that this is not simply a school rule, it is a shared responsibility to protect the privacy, dignity and safety of every child.”
Schools urge parents to focus on their own child
At GEMS Al Barsha National School, principal and CEO Michelle Thomas said schools are increasingly conscious of the challenges created by smartphones and social media.
“Smartphones make it incredibly easy to capture and share images instantly, and social media means that an image taken at a school event can potentially reach a very wide audience within minutes,” she said.
The school has clear expectations around photography and filming at assemblies, performances, sporting events and other occasions where large numbers of children may be present. Its own use of images is also guided by permissions provided by families.
Thomas said the issue was about respecting the choices families make about their children's images and digital footprint.
“Our message is therefore not ‘don't take photographs’; it is ‘please be mindful of who else is in your photograph and how that image is used’.”
Parents are encouraged to focus on their own children wherever possible and not post identifiable images or videos of other people’s children on social media or public platforms without appropriate permission.
Thomas, who is also a parent, said schools understood why families wanted to preserve important milestones.
“These are important memories, and we absolutely want families to celebrate them,” she said.
But she stressed that once an image is online, control over where it goes can become difficult to maintain. This is why digital citizenship is increasingly part of safeguarding conversations with school communities.
The response to concerns is intended to be proportionate. Thomas said there was a distinction between another child appearing incidentally in the background of a family photograph and someone deliberately photographing or filming children other than their own.
“If a concern is raised, a member of staff will speak privately with the parent or visitor, remind them of the school's expectations and, where appropriate, ask them not to share the image or to delete it.”
Reminders on consent and privacy
In Abu Dhabi, schools are also reminding parents about consent and UAE child-protection requirements.
Shining Star International School Principal Abhilasha Singh said parents understand the school’s confidentiality agreement and receive the institution’s photography rules in the annual welcome mail.
“Parents are informed about the country’s rules on child protection and safeguarding laws. Parents are informed that sharing photographs without consent may constitute an offence under UAE law,” she said.
For schools, the common thread is clear: parents should be able to celebrate their children's achievements, but that celebration should not come at the expense of another child's privacy.
Thomas added, “Ultimately, we want parents to capture the joy of their child's school experience while remembering that the child standing next to theirs has exactly the same right to privacy.”