Generation of children growing up hidden from public due to 'health and safety fears'

Children are being hidden away from the public because a culture of “oversensitivity and overreaction” means schools are afraid to laud their achievements publicly, a head teachers’ leader has warned.

Instead of celebrating the success of their pupils, head teachers believe they must keep them out of the public eye for reasons of “safeguarding”, David Hanson, chief executive of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools, told his annual conference in Brighton today.

“Safeguarding of children’s welfare is meant to be a liberating process: it is designed to provide some clarity for schools on best practice and how to keep pupils safe in order to open up a world of opportunity,” he said.

However, he added: “Much like other regulatory frameworks like Health and Safety or the Data Protection Act, we are starting to notice a culture of oversensitivity and overreaction, which is becoming prohibitive as opposed to liberating.

“Schools are becoming so cautious about exposing children to any form of media that a generation of children could grow up without being publicly celebrated for their achievements.”

At present, schools have to get parental permission before any pupil can be identified or photographed by the media. In more publicity-conscious schools, heads get a blanket approval from all parents for publicity, asking those who do not want it to register an objection.

At some schools, parents have also been barred from taking pictures of their own children in plays and on sports day.

Mr Hanson said: “The digital world we live in is being seen as so beyond control that it is often considered better to keep children away from all forms of media.

“This is something that is affecting the education sector as a whole, not just prep schools, and it is borne out of fears that cannot be adequately defined.

“This is totally out of kilter with what is happening elsewhere in our culture of social media where parents are uploading countless photos of their children to the Internet without a full understanding of the longevity of these images.

“Children were part of the wider community and when they achieved ‘something tremendous’, it should be celebrated in the school newsletter, local paper and the school’s news website.

“To tell them that their names and identities must be kept hidden away gives children the impression that no adult can be trusted and that saddens me deeply,” he added.

He added: “Parental consent should be the pivotal point on whether or not the name and image of the child can be used by the media. Parents should always have the absolute right to say no, if they want to."