doodleyearbook

Fact sheet · updated

WHAT THE GUIDANCE SAYS

A book worth
signing.

A yearbook is mostly faces and names.

Check a photo
A closed navy hardback yearbook on a wooden desk beside a blank signing page with a pen resting across it
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

CHECK FIRSTthen print

That makes it one of the most personal things a school prints. UK guidance on pupils' photos, plus a little paper science, covers most of what a yearbook team needs to know.

At a glance

≈ 13 years

Age when pupils often understand how images are used

The DfE says that when pupils reach an age where they can understand how their images may be used, often around 13, schools should consider asking them directly for consent, alongside or instead of their parents.

PUPIL'S SAY · DFE GUIDANCE

7.5–10 pH

pH range in ISO 9706 permanent paper

ISO 9706 also requires an alkaline reserve of 20 g/kg calcium carbonate. The Library of Congress says these rules ensure paper is not acidic and will not become acidic over time.

PERMANENT PAPER · LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Ask the pupils,
pick the paper.

One figure on who gets a say,
one on what makes paper last.

Consent can be withdrawn at any time. Once it is, the DfE says the school must stop using the data and delete it, unless it has a separate lawful basis to keep or use it.

A QUICK PHOTO CHECK

Where is the photo
going?

Pick how a pupil's photo will be used to see what the guidance says. The bar shows how much checking of permissions is involved.

Based on Department for Education guidance on data protection in schools and the ICO's advice for schools. General information, not legal advice.

Photo check

Choose a use
A parent's family albumPersonal use

Data protection law does not usually apply when people take and use photos for personal use, such as a family album. Schools can still set their own rules.

A parent posting other pupils onlineTake care

If parents or carers share photos of other pupils publicly, the DfE says this may fall under data protection law.

The school website or social mediaCheck permission

The school needs a lawful basis to use the photo. Many schools collect specific consent before posting on social media platforms.

A printed yearbook or prospectusCheck permission

Check permissions before printing. In the DfE's prospectus example, printed copies cannot be recalled after an opt-out, but the photo must not be used in future versions.

Sources: GOV.UK, Taking and using photos and videos, and using CCTV in schools (DfE, updated 9 July 2026); ICO, Taking photographs: data protection advice for schools.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Photos are personal
data. Paper is forever.

If a pupil can be recognised, the photo is personal data.
A printed copy cannot be called back.

General information only, not professional safety advice. If someone is in immediate danger, call the emergency services.

PHOTOS

Check before you use

DfE guidance says a school does not always need permission to take a photo, but should check permissions before using, storing or sharing it.

Check a photo

OPT-OUTS

Printed copies stay printed

In the DfE's example, if a pupil withdraws permission after a printed prospectus has gone out, the school cannot recall copies but must stop using the photo in future versions.

Steps for the team

PAPER

Choose permanent paper

Permanent paper standards such as ISO 9706 set a pH of 7.5 to 10 and an alkaline reserve, so the paper is not acidic and will not become so.

See the numbers
A stack of bound yearbooks with plain cream covers on a library shelf in soft daylight
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

FOUR STEPS FOR A YEARBOOK TEAM

Plan the permissions
before the pages.

A yearbook team is usually pupils and a teacher with a deadline. Sorting permissions early saves reprinting and awkward conversations later.

  1. Check the school's records

    Find out which pupils' photos the school can use in print before you lay out a single page.

  2. Ask older pupils directly

    From around 13, pupils can often understand how their images will be used, so ask them as well as parents.

  3. Keep an opt-out list

    Consent can be withdrawn at any time. Note opt-outs and leave those photos out of the next print run.

  4. Ask the printer about paper

    Ask for acid-free paper that meets a permanence standard such as ISO 9706, so the pages stay bright.

AN OLD IDEA

Class lists are
about 2,000 years old.

A marble slab in National Museums Scotland lists 31 young men who finished a year of civic and military training in Athens during the reign of Emperor Claudius (AD 41 to 54). Researchers think the full class was about 100.

The first formal modern yearbook is usually given as Yale's 1806 Profiles of Part of the Class Graduated, which used silhouettes because printed photography did not yet exist. In the UK, yearbooks often cover only the leaving year group.

Hands sorting printed class photographs and permission slips into piles on a table, faces not visible
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Questions

Questions people ask

Does a school need consent to put my child in the yearbook?

Not always consent as such, but a lawful basis. DfE guidance says schools should check permissions before using, storing or sharing a photo, and many collect specific consent for some uses.

Can I take photos at my child's school events?

Data protection law does not usually apply to photos taken for personal use, such as a family album. Schools can still set rules, and sharing other pupils' photos publicly may fall under the law.

What happens if we opt out after the yearbook is printed?

In the DfE's example of a printed prospectus, the school cannot recall copies already distributed but must stop using the photo in future versions. Consent can be withdrawn at any time.

Is a photo personal data?

The ICO says that if someone can be recognised from a photograph, it is usually considered their personal data.

What paper keeps a yearbook from yellowing?

Permanent paper standards such as ISO 9706 require a pH of 7.5 to 10, an alkaline reserve and a low kappa number, so the paper is not acidic and will not become acidic over time.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. GOV.UK (DfE): Taking and using photos and videos, and using CCTV in schools
  2. ICO: Taking photographs, data protection advice for schools
  3. Library of Congress Preservation: Permanent paper standards compared
  4. NPR: A marble slab in storage turned out to be an ancient Greek yearbook
  5. Wikipedia: Yearbook (history and UK practice)

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