The EYFS asks your safeguarding policy to cover the use of mobile phones and cameras in your setting. For childminders, who share photos with parents every day, this is one of the policies that matters most in practice.
What the policy should cover
- Which device. Photos taken on a phone or tablet used only for the setting, never your personal phone.
- Consent. What parents have agreed to: photos for them only, photos on display, or photos online. Ask for each separately.
- Sharing. Who sees photos, and that a child's photos are only shared with their own family unless you have consent.
- Group photos. Whether you share photos showing other children, and how.
- Visitors and other adults. That visitors don't take photos, and how you handle phones belonging to assistants or family members at home.
- Your own phone use. When you use your phone while caring for children, such as for calls to parents.
- Social media. What, if anything, you post.
The September 2026 EYFS also asks you to have regard to the screen use guidance, so it's worth putting your approach to screens in the same place. My screen time guide covers that.
How it looks in your contract
From a GoChildmind contract
Phones and photos. I take photos on a phone or tablet used only for my setting, never on my personal phone. Photos are shared only with you, and only with your consent.
Put your own details in, freeRead the full sample contract
The family form asks parents for each photo consent separately, with a yes or no for each.
Questions people ask
Can childminders use their own phone for photos? Use a device kept only for the setting if you can. It keeps children's images off your personal phone and accounts.
Do I need consent to share photos with parents? Ask for it in writing as part of your consents, and ask separately for display and social media.