During the 2024-25 academic year, we were doing what many schools do well: using social media to celebrate school life.

Across platforms such as Facebook, we shared regular stories featuring named pupils and close-up images. Engagement was strong and warmly received by families.

But alongside that success, a different picture was emerging, as awareness of digital safeguarding risks and misuse of online imagery began to grow.

Warnings from child safety organisations and the government about misuse of online images, plus updated 2025/26 guidance from ISBA (Independent Schools’ Bursars Association), underlined this and posed the question: if a child is instantly recognisable online, what potential harm could that create?

The risks are real. In a 2025 NSPCC survey, almost one in 10 UK parents reported online blackmail involving their child in 2026, while Tes recently highlighted the harmful implications of social media and artificial intelligence.

Removing imagery of pupils

As a school, we were ahead of this: starting in summer 2025, we recognised we needed to shift our safeguarding brand strategy to actively remove imagery featuring clear full-face, and high-risk imagery.

As we redeveloped the websites over the summer, we retrospectively removed all previous imagery from this platform.

To do this, we began with a cross-foundation audit led by marketing, IT and senior leadership.

We reviewed our website, social media channels, prospectuses, press coverage and parent portals, analysing search data to understand how external audiences encountered our content.

The audit helped define a clear operational approach: we would no longer use close-up or full-face pupil imagery in open digital spaces, except in exceptional circumstances with explicit consent.

Use of illustrations and contextual photography

Instead, we developed a visual framework that communicates school life without exposing identity. Illustrations, iconography, contextual photography and narrative-led design now carry our storytelling.

Where photography is used, staff follow practical capture guidance: distance shots, group huddles, side or back profiles, silhouettes, out-of-focus imagery or close-ups of achievements rather than faces.

We also introduced image governance processes that prioritised prevention, revising consent frameworks and delivering staff training.

The emphasis was confidence: how to communicate vibrancy and achievement safely.

Our storytelling now highlights staff expertise, curriculum insight and pupil outcomes rather than recognisable individuals.

Cultural change was as important as technical change. Staff were accustomed to using close-up images because they had always worked well.

The transition focused on reframing authentic storytelling. A rugby huddle photographed from behind can convey belonging just as powerfully as a posed team photograph.

Proactive responsibility 

Parents and staff were overwhelmingly supportive. Families recognised that the change reflected broader concerns about online safety. Several parents said they felt reassured that the school was taking proactive responsibility.

While the marketing team invested in new design approaches, outcomes showed that safeguarding and engagement are not competing priorities.

Social impressions increased despite fewer posts. LinkedIn engagement rose as we elevated thought leadership.

Most importantly, open day attendance increased by more than 20 per cent, and applications at one senior school rose, against national trends. Responsible communication strengthened trust.

Perhaps the most profound impact has been internal, with teachers now pausing before capturing images. Safeguarding is no longer confined to policy documents; it is embedded in everyday decision-making.

If there is one message for school leaders, it is this: move beyond asking whether you have permission to share an image and ask whether sharing it is necessary. Consider the child’s long-term digital footprint. Ask how an image might be repurposed outside your control.

That reflection can transform practice.

Russell Langley is external engagement director at Loughborough Schools Foundation

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