A large number of schools have CCTV in a number of locations. Last week there was a major problem in a school in Salford – reported in the Manchester Evening News http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1181082_school_cctv_seized_after_kids_filmed_changingThe information commissioner’s office has issued a statement regarding this, which is here along with links to the full guidance notes for CCTV
Jonathan Bamford, Assistant Information Commissioner, said:
“CCTV should only be used for a pressing need. It is perfectly reasonable for a school to use CCTV to help secure its premises, but it shouldn’t be left switched on capturing images of school children changing during the day. When a school is staffed and children are on the premises, cameras will not generally be required for security purposes. Organisations that do capture images using CCTV are required by law to adhere to the Principles of the Data Protection Act. Guidance for organisations using CCTV is available fromhttp://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/topic_specific_guides/cctv.aspx”
