We live in a society where we are constantly recorded – in shops, walking down the street, sometimes at work.
Many buildings have CCTV cameras inside and out, but there are some spaces where their presence is quite divisive, such as creches.
Every now and then, there is a debate about the pros and cons of their usage in childcare facilities. The topic often raises its head after a serious safeguarding issue comes to light.
Back in 2019 – amid the fallout of an RTÉ Investigates programme that revealed disturbing practices at a chain of Hyde and Seek creches – an Oireachtas committee heard that installing CCTV cameras was the “obvious solution”, but it’s not that cut and dry.
RM Block
During the week, The Irish Times revealed that a worker at a creche in south Dublin was fired after CCTV allegedly showed her physically mistreating some of the young children in her care. Once Upon a Time, the company that operates this creche, said it immediately contacted the Garda and Tusla, which are now investigating the case.
“While CCTV is not a regulatory requirement, we have invested in it across our services to strengthen child safeguarding,” Once Upon a Time added.
[ Mother says CCTV footage shows creche worker dragging daughter ‘like a rag doll’ ]
The company said it handed over relevant CCTV footage to An Garda Síochána.
Other creches in Ireland also use CCTV, with parents’ consent.
Parents whose children are at the centre of the case in south Dublin have mixed feelings about the use of CCTV, but say they are ultimately relieved it can prove what happened.
Jack and Clare Quinn were shown distressing footage of an incident in which their young daughter Isla was allegedly assaulted.
“I have been reliving that footage again and again and again and again in my head,” says Jack.
He understands why some people have privacy concerns about CCTV, “especially when it comes to children”.
“Before this incident, I would have been very much suspicious of trying to have additional cameras on my child unnecessarily.”
However, he says the situation has “changed my stance”.
“Isla’s case would have likely been missed without CCTV ... so it does show its value.”
[ This is how CCTV works in a creche: One parent's experienceOpens in new window ]
Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, says the use of CCTV in childcare facilities “does open up a lot of complexities” around privacy.
Ward says it is more important that creches ensure they have up-to-date safeguarding policies, regularly train staff and ensure all employees have appropriate qualifications and references.
Once Upon a Time said the woman fired last month was fully Garda-vetted and had verified written references. They also said their safeguarding measures are robust and regularly reviewed.
“While our policies, procedures, and training were already in place and fully compliant, we went further,” the company noted in a statement.
“Additional safeguarding measures were introduced immediately, including on-site retraining, evening workshops, specialist sessions, and strengthened staff supervision protocols.”
Ward says ensuring children are not left alone with an adult is also important, noting it was a coworker who raised concerns about the woman in this case.
“Another staff member picked up [what was happening] and made a complaint, which is really important about the behaviour of this particular early years educator.”
Younger children can be particularly vulnerable in situations like this as they cannot verbalise what happened to them. Even older children may struggle to do this, says Ward.
“Sometimes parents can’t work out why a child is behaving in a certain way.
“So parents might say, ‘Oh, I noticed that suddenly my child was very clingy all of a sudden’. They did not realise that actually the reason the child’s clingy is they’ve been harmed by someone in their creche, and this is their way of communicating with their parents.”
Ward says that if childcare facilities do install CCTV footage, they should ask themselves a number of questions first.
“Why are you putting something like that in place?
“What’s your policy when you are deleting it? Who has access to the imagery?
“Children have a right to privacy as well as being protected and safeguarded.”
In a recent email sent to parents, a Once Upon a Time staff member noted that the creche used CCTV “solely as a safeguarding and incident-review tool”.
“It is not used as a method of active supervision or daily monitoring of children. Footage is reviewed only when an incident, concern or report is brought to our attention.”
The creche’s CCTV policy notes that the footage is “stored digitally for 14 days, after which footage is automatically overwritten unless saved for a specific, lawful reason”.
In its general guidance for businesses on the use of CCTV, the Data Protection Commission deems a 30-day retention period “reasonable, proportionate and balanced”. In some cases, footage can be retained beyond this period – such as when an investigation into an incident is being carried out.
A spokesman for the Department of Children says the use of CCTV “may present some obvious benefits in enabling oversight of services and reassurance for parents”.
However, he added that these benefits “must be balanced” by considerations such as who has access to the footage, GDPR and privacy concerns, and “the importance of a relationship of trust between services and parents”.
The department “will consult stakeholders before any policy changes in this area”, according to a statement.
“It is important that the interests of children and the views of parents and of those working in the sector are central to any decisions that may be made, whether by Government or by service providers themselves.”
The spokesman said that, if creches are considering installing CCTV, they should do so in the wider context of quality improvement initiatives.
“The quality of provision – and the experiences of children – will depend on the ongoing professional development and training of staff, on supports for leadership and good governance within services, as well as the inspection system.”
