Schools in Dubai are increasing their focus on photo and video recording rules, as smartphones and social media make it easy to capture and distribute images of children in seconds. While parents naturally want to preserve memories of school performances, sports days, graduations, and other important events, schools emphasize the need to balance these moments with protecting the privacy, dignity, and safety of every child who might be in the frame.
Some educational institutions have introduced strict restrictions on filming by parents and visitors, while others focus on obtaining consent, responsible content use, and educating families about their digital footprint. The main message from the schools is not to prohibit parents from documenting their children's achievements, but to ensure that images of other children do not accidentally appear or get distributed without permission.
Dewvale School in Dubai has implemented a strict ban on photography and videography for parents and guests on school premises unless specifically permitted. Director Sima Omar noted that awareness regarding the need to protect children's privacy is growing, especially given the ease of sharing photos and videos on social media. According to her, this policy aims to protect children, not to hinder the creation of family memories.
The school provides authorized opportunities to capture significant moments while ensuring that children will not be accidentally photographed or recorded without consent. If unauthorized images or videos include other children, parents, or visitors, they are asked to delete them immediately and not share them. In cases of already occurring distribution, the school will request its removal and apply rights protection procedures.
Omar stressed that the school takes this issue seriously, as every child's privacy must be respected. She insists that protecting privacy is a shared responsibility of the family, not just another school rule.
At GEMS Al Barsha National School, Director and CEO Michelle Thomas stated that schools are increasingly aware of the issues raised by smartphones and social media. She pointed out that instant capture and the ability to quickly reach an audience through social media present certain challenges for schools. The school has clear requirements for photography and videography during assemblies, performances, and sporting events where many children may be present. The use of images by the school itself is also regulated by permissions granted by families.
Thomas emphasized respecting families' choices regarding their children's images and digital footprint. Her message is not 'do not photograph,' but rather 'be mindful of who else is in your photo and how that image will be used.' Parents are advised to focus on their own children and refrain from posting identifiable images or videos of other people's children on social media or in public places without proper authorization.
Michelle Thomas, being a parent herself, understands the desire of families to preserve important moments, but warns that control over an image becomes complicated once it enters the internet. This is why digital citizenship is increasingly included in discussions about rights protection within school communities. The response to such concerns should be proportional; Thomas distinguished between a child appearing incidentally in the background of a family photo and the intentional photographing of children who are not one's own.
In Abu Dhabi, schools also remind parents about consent requirements and UAE legislation on child protection. Director of Shining Star International School, Abhilasha Singh, reported that parents are informed of the school's confidentiality agreement and receive the institution's photography rules in the annual welcome letter. She clarified that parents are informed about the country's laws on child protection and that publishing photos without consent may constitute an offense under UAE law.
The common thread for all schools is this: parents should be able to celebrate their children's achievements, but this celebration should not come at the expense of another child's privacy. Thomas concluded that ultimately, the goal is for parents to capture the joy of their child's school experience, while remembering that the child next to them has an equal right to privacy.
