FAQs from and for parents and pupils for schools, about ONVU camera and voice recording systems in classrooms

  1. Purpose and Justification What is the main reason for installing ONVU systems in classrooms and why is this the only (necessary and proportionate) method of achieving that aim (e.g., teacher training, safeguarding, behaviour monitoring)?
  2. Children and Company Privacy notice ONVUs privacy notice says, “Our products and services are aimed at those aged 16 and over.” Why are their products being used with our children under 16? (“Introduction” https://www.onvulearning.com/privacy-policy/)
  3. Voice recordings Is voice also always recorded when the film is recorded, or are there measures to minimise capturing unnecessary biometric data? When is voice recording switched on or off in comparison with when the camera recording is on? Is it like CCTV ‘always on’ but not always retained for a longer time period unlike the ‘clips’ that can be ‘saved’ by staff actively on demand?
  4. Consent How are parents, pupils, visitors, and staff asked for consent before recording takes place?
  5. Biometric data If you are not basing processing on consent (See Q4) how are you processing voice data? Schools can only lawfully process biometric data under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. How do you meet its requirements for pupil and parental consent?
  6. Data Protection law and data security How is the video data stored, encrypted, and protected in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 and where?
  7. Access Who is allowed to view the recording ’clips’ that are saved (teachers, senior leaders, governors, external consultants, the ONVU staff), and under what circumstances?
  8. Watch live permissions Tell us about the ‘watch live’ permissions option and how will we know who is accessing content granted using it?
  9. Product development According to the ONVU privacy notice they may use recordings to further develop their products — what’s the lawful basis for that? https://www.onvulearning.com/privacy-policy/ “Within certain products the function of those products is to record images/ video of the customers working environment. This information is integral to the product offering, primarily being used by our customer and may be used by us to further improve the specification and performance of the products.”
  10. Retention Period How long are those recordings kept, and what happens to them after that period?
  11. Ownership What research has the school done into the company ownership, owners, and their global partners and subsidiaries?
  12. Foreign ownership and data transfers ONVU Technologies AG that owns the UK company is based in Switzerland and its subsidiaries and affiliates are around the world. Their Ts&Cs say they may share data with them. What audits will you do to know that our children’s recordings don’t leave the UK? https://www.onvutech.com/our-businesses/
  13. Safeguarding How does the system support confidential child safeguarding without infringing on pupil privacy — sensitive disclosures or health information might be recorded visually or verbally  for example?
  14. Pupil behavioural impact How will you know if there is a chilling effect on some children’s participation or willingness to ask questions for example (given you have an obligation to tell them they are being recorded, not keep it covert).
  15. Impact on Teaching and Learning What independent evidence is there that ONVU systems improve teaching quality or student outcomes from  sources other than the company?
  16. Transparency How are parents and students informed about when and how recording is happening and what might have been recorded? What will you do with incidental recording findings eg unintentionally recording behavioural incidents that went unseen in the live classroom in real time?
  17. Rights and Complaints What rights do parents and pupils have if they object to being recorded, and how can they raise concerns or request deletion of footage?
  18. Visitor recording If the school has visitors to assist in classroom activities eg reading with pupils or other activities will their participation be dependent on consent to recording? Will visitors who object have to give up their school involvement?
  19. Rights to Subject Access Depending on children’s age, parents and pupils have the right to request access to view the recording of their own child regardless of purpose — how will you edit the recordings to hide the images and voices of other children or staff to which they don’t have any right to view/listen ?
  20. Parental notice The notice to parents that many schools are given shortly before processing begins says explicitly “this is not a surveillance system” which appears to be a marketing claim rather than fact. Can the school describe its own due diligence process to independently assess this claim? Onvu is owned by Oncam. Oncam 360 degree camera technology is marketed to schools under the ONVU subsidiary brand. The ONCAM, website says, “At Oncam we are obsessed about 360-degree surveillance technology”. (See https://www.oncamgrandeye.com/) and “Oncam technology works best when part of a wider surveillance solution. We are continuously working to ensure our technology is integrated into market leading Video Management and Recording solutions.“ and it claims,”We’re also fully compliant with the USA’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).” (See section ‘discover our technology partners’ https://www.oncamgrandeye.com/partners/). How does the school justify the parental statement “this is not a surveillance system” when it’s the same technology?

A note on the question of biometric data

The overarching question about the nature of biometric data which always requires consent before processing and can be refused, is about the nature of facial images or voice data and that can be used to ‘single out’ an individual makes it biometric data. Not only voice and facial images but gait (the way people walk) is also biometric data.

Without getting into nuance of biometric data definitions, these kinds of data are highly protected, and even more so for children under data protection law. There is a very high bar to prove necessity before you’re allowed to process it. A school should not be anywhere near the level of “necessary and proportionate” overriding the rights and freedoms of the child (and parents’ wishes) to justify this level of intrusion, in law.

“Necessity does not mean that processing of personal information has to be absolutely essential in order for a lawful basis to be valid. However, necessity does mean more than just useful or desirable. You cannot argue that processing is necessary just because you have chosen to operate your business in a certain way. “Necessary” means that you must not rely on these lawful bases to process data unless your processing is a targeted and proportionate way of achieving your purpose.”

Since teacher training can be done in other ways and is elsewhere, without this highly intrusive and concerning method, there is no ‘necessity’. That makes it not reach the level of lawfulness required even before getting into the nuance of questions of biometric data processing.