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School social media policy: free template for 2026

A ready-to-adapt social media policy for primary, secondary and independent schools. It covers official accounts, pupil photos, staff and parents, and it's updated for KCSIE 2026 and the 2026 advice on AI image misuse.

Updated 2 October 2026

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What a school social media policy needs to cover

KCSIE 2026 says every school's staff behaviour policy should cover “acceptable use of technologies (including the use of mobile devices), staff/pupil relationships and communications including the use of social media” (paragraph 123, gov.uk). A good social media policy goes further and covers five groups:

  • The school's official accounts: who can post, how accounts are secured, and what they're for.
  • Photos and videos of pupils: consent, what can be published, and how images are taken and stored.
  • Staff: personal accounts, contact with pupils and parents, and talking about school online.
  • Pupils: what they're taught and how to report concerns.
  • Parents: photos at events and raising complaints.

What changed in 2026

Two things should send every school back to its social media policy this year.

The May 2026 image guidance

The UK's Online Harms Early Warning Working Group, which includes the NCA, the IWF and the NSPCC, advised schools to remove identifiable, face-on photos of pupils from websites and social media, avoid names in captions, audit their images regularly and ask parents to re-sign image consent (UK Safer Internet Centre). A school's photos had been turned into AI-generated abuse images and used for blackmail. Our guide Can schools post photos of children? covers it in full.

KCSIE 2026

KCSIE 2026 covers AI-generated and deepfake images, makes schools phone-free by default and expects every member of staff to read Part one in full. It doesn't set photo-publishing rules itself, so those belong in your own policy. See our KCSIE 2026 summary.

Photos are the hardest part to get right

Parents want to see school life, and admissions needs it. The guidance says not to publish identifiable faces. Safeguard Vision lets you do both: it replaces each pupil's face with a new AI-generated one, so the photo still shows the moment but no real child can be identified. See how it works →

The template

Adapt it to your school, then take it to governors or the proprietor for approval. The photo section assumes you collect separate consent for each use. Our free photo consent form is built to match.

[School name] social media policy

1. Purpose and scope

  • This policy sets out how [school name] uses social media, and what we expect of staff, governors, volunteers, pupils and parents when social media involves the school.
  • It applies to the school's official accounts and to personal accounts where they refer to the school, its staff or its pupils.
  • It should be read with our child protection policy, staff behaviour policy (code of conduct), online safety policy, data protection policy and photo consent arrangements.

2. Official school accounts

  • The school's official accounts are: [list platforms and handles].
  • Accounts are set up in the school's name using a school email address, never a personal one. The headteacher holds a record of every account and who can access it.
  • Only staff authorised by the headteacher may post. Passwords are stored securely, two-factor authentication is switched on, and access is removed the day someone leaves.
  • Posts celebrate pupils' learning and school life and share information with families. We don't use official accounts for debate, complaints or personal views.

3. Photos and videos of pupils

  • We only post images of pupils whose parents (or the pupil, where old enough) have consented to that use. Consent is checked before every post and renewed [each year / each key stage].
  • We do not publish identifiable, face-on photos of pupils on public channels. We use photos taken from a distance or behind, group shots where no child is identifiable, photos without pupils, or photos where pupils' faces have been anonymised or replaced.
  • We never include a pupil's full name with an image, and we don't publish information that could locate a child, such as their home address, or tag pupils or parents.
  • Images are taken on school-owned devices only, stored on school systems, and deleted from devices once uploaded. Staff never use personal phones to photograph pupils.
  • We review the images on our website and social media every [term] and remove anything that no longer meets this policy or has had consent withdrawn.

4. Staff use of personal social media

  • Staff must not accept or send friend or follow requests to or from current pupils, or former pupils under 18, on personal accounts.
  • Staff must not post photos, videos or information about pupils, or discuss pupils, parents, colleagues or school matters, on personal accounts.
  • Staff should set personal accounts to private and think carefully before identifying themselves as a member of staff at the school.
  • Communication with pupils and parents takes place only through school systems: [school email, parent app, MIS messaging].
  • Breaches of this section may be handled under the staff behaviour policy and, where relevant, the low-level concerns or allegations procedures.

5. Pupils

  • Pupils are taught about online safety, including the risks of sharing images, through our curriculum.
  • Pupils must not post photos or videos of other pupils or staff taken at school without permission.
  • Concerns about online bullying, harmful content, sharing of nude or semi-nude images (including AI-generated images) or contact from strangers must be reported to the designated safeguarding lead.

6. Parents and carers

  • Parents may take photos and videos of their own child at school events for personal use, unless we ask them not to for a particular event.
  • We ask parents not to post images that include other people's children on public social media.
  • We ask parents to raise concerns or complaints with the school directly rather than on social media.

7. Handling incidents

  • Any image or post that could put a child at risk is reported to the designated safeguarding lead immediately.
  • If school images are misused or manipulated, for example with AI, we do not engage with the person responsible, we keep evidence without forwarding illegal images, we report to the police, and we remove the original images from public view.
  • Negative or abusive posts about the school are reported to the headteacher and, where appropriate, to the platform.

8. Monitoring and review

  • This policy is reviewed every year by [role] and approved by [governing body / proprietor].
  • Last reviewed: [date]. Next review: [date].

Tips for putting it into practice

  • Name the people. A policy that says “authorised staff” without saying who is hard to follow. Keep a list of who can post to each account.
  • Make consent easy to check. The person posting should be able to see a pupil's consent in seconds, not dig through paper forms.
  • Audit what's already online. Old posts and galleries are where most identifiable photos live. Review them against the new rules.
  • Tell parents why. A short newsletter item about the 2026 guidance turns a new photo rule into something parents support.

This template is a starting point, not legal advice. Check it against your local authority, trust or association guidance and the ICO's advice on photos in schools.

Common questions

School social media: quick answers.

Do schools have to have a social media policy?

There's no standalone legal requirement, but KCSIE 2026 expects every school's staff behaviour policy to cover 'staff/pupil relationships and communications including the use of social media'. Most schools meet this with a separate social media policy or a section in their online safety policy.

Can teachers be friends with pupils on social media?

Almost every school policy says no. Staff shouldn't send or accept friend or follow requests from current pupils on personal accounts, and should communicate with pupils and parents only through school systems. Contact with former pupils under 18 is usually covered too.

Can schools post photos of pupils on social media?

UK GDPR allows it with a lawful basis, usually parental consent, and an opt-out. But since May 2026 UK safeguarding bodies, including the NCA, IWF and NSPCC, have advised schools not to publish identifiable, face-on photos of pupils, because school images have been turned into AI abuse images and used for blackmail.

How often should a school review its social media policy?

At least once a year, and whenever guidance changes. KCSIE is updated every September, and the May 2026 image guidance is a good reason to review photo rules now.

Should a school social media policy cover parents?

Yes. Most policies ask parents not to post photos of other people's children taken at school events, and to raise complaints with the school rather than online. Schools can't control parents' personal use, but they can set rules for events and explain why.

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