CCTV and surveillance in schools


The use of surveillance cameras has been an issue in schools for a number of years. These are also becoming more commonplace in further education colleges. As in the care sector, their installation has been justified on safeguarding grounds, but there are concerns about the way in which they are being used to assess the conduct of staff. 


There has been a major expansion of surveillance systems in schools in recent years, which also includes fingerprinting of pupils. These are used in biometric systems, for example, to confirm identity and eligibility in school libraries and for free school meals. Research released in 2014 by civil liberties campaign group, Big Brother Watch, showed that four out of 10 secondary schools now use biometric technology (fingerprinting) as a means of identifying pupils — with nearly a third failing in their duty to seek parental consent before introducing the system.

Big Brother Watch estimates 1.28 million pupils have been fingerprinted. The figures are based on Freedom of Information (FOI) request returns from 1,255 schools. A 2012 report, based on data compiled from FOI requests to over 2,000 secondary schools and academies in England, Scotland and Wales, showed that over 90% had CCTV installed. On average each school had 24 CCTV cameras. Over two hundred schools had CCTV in toilets and changing rooms (www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk).


The NASUWT teachers’ union released the results of a survey at its annual conference in April 2015, in which 8% of teachers reported having CCTV in their classrooms. Where CCTV was installed, the reasons given were generally related to ensuring pupil and staff safety and monitoring pupil behaviour. However, in 7% of cases, monitoring of teacher performance was given as a reason for its introduction.

Where CCTV was installed, 84% of teachers reported that the CCTV is constantly filming/recording; 54% of teachers stated that the recordings were monitored by senior management; and 49% reported that it was used to form negative judgements about teachers.

Twenty eight per cent of teachers considered the CCTV an invasion of professional privacy, while 14% saw it as being just there to spy on teachers. 


The NASUWT survey report also included comments from teachers about the use of CCTV. In one case a member of staff was discussing a matter privately in a staff room, but was then called in front of the headteacher and asked to discuss her concerns, with quotes taken from her private conversation. In another case, a member complained that when a colleague was suspended for a false allegation by a pupil: “The head chose to ignore the evidence on camera despite having told us that the CCTV was installed for our safety”.


In addition to CCTV, NASUWT has expressed concerns about the use of electronic recording systems (e-performance) for classroom observations (see below). 


NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said it was clear that while technology such as CCTV and e-performance had important benefits, they were being misused and abused as part of a wider culture of “monitoring and surveillance masquerading as classroom observation.” 


“As well as being professionally demeaning, the additional stress this places on teachers is unacceptable”, Keates said. 


The teachers’ and lecturers’ union ATL has produced a policy statement and guidance on the use of CCTV and surveillance in schools, which can be found on its website at: www.atl.org.uk/help-and-advice/school-and-college/CCTV.asp. The policy statement says that while it is “unrealistic to expect there to be no use of surveillance CCTV in school grounds and buildings”, it is equally “plainly unacceptable to allow free rein of the use of CCTV in schools, especially in sensitive areas such as classrooms, changing rooms and toilets.”


It also states that it is “unacceptable for any school, of its own accord, to engage in covert surveillance of any type.”


The ATL guidance expresses “serious reservations about the use of CCTV in classrooms, especially for performance management purposes or in capability procedures, where any use should be resisted.” It stresses that access to images should be tightly controlled and that they should not be retained for any longer than necessary. CCTV should not be introduced without extensive consultation, seeking the views “of all those who are subject to surveillance — teachers, pupils and, significantly, their parents” — and responding to these views accordingly.


Guidance from the NUT teachers’ union on photography and CCTV in schools can be found at: www.teachers.org.uk/node/12542.


The NUT guidance says that CCTV can be a useful resource for schools provided there are requisite safeguards. It states that: 


• the purpose of the CCTV system should be for school security and/or monitoring pupils’ behaviour;


• the process for disclosing data about individuals should be transparent and available to all staff; and 


• CCTV cameras should be positioned outside classrooms/computer suites “which will ensure that there is no potential for misuse, i.e. covert surveillance of staff.” But if management in a school do not consider that siting a camera outside a classroom/suite will be sufficient to prevent theft or vandalism, further written assurances should be sought by the union rep, “that the CCTV will only be activated when the room is not being used for teaching and that any footage will not be used for staff disciplinary purposes.”


The general union Unite, which represents support staff in schools, also opposes the use of CCTV in classrooms, changing areas and toilets, and CCTV footage being used for the purposes of performance management and capability. It calls for cameras and corresponding notices to be visibly displayed and for covert surveillance to be forbidden. Where CCTV is used in disciplinary proceedings, this should only be in conjunction with other evidence.