A consent protocol — first draft, for the educators to finish.
This is written with you, not for you. Every blank is a decision that belongs to the school. Cross out anything that doesn’t fit how your classrooms actually work. The final wording should be yours; this draft only makes sure nothing important gets forgotten.
When children do the activities in your content analyses — a prediction chart, a labelled drawing, a one-day water chart, a helper interview, a pledge — they make something. We call that thing a trace: the mark a child leaves that shows what they did.
Traces are the honest evidence that learning happened. Sometimes it helps to show one beyond the classroom — to another teacher, to a builder making a kit, to someone who funds the work. That is where a child’s privacy needs a clear, simple rule that everyone understands: the child, the parent, the educator, and anyone the work travels to.
| Level | What travels | What it looks like | What is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 · In the classroom | The child’s own work, with their name | The notebook, the chart on the wall | Nothing beyond your normal classroom practice |
| 1 · The count | Only how many, and of what kind | “Grade 3: 28 water-usage charts kept; 11 pledges written” | Nothing — no child can be identified |
| 2 · One example, made anonymous | A single piece of work with every identifying mark removed — no name, no face, no photo where handwriting could be recognised by family, no class list | A retyped line; a redrawn diagram; a photo of a drawing with the name corner cropped | Parent/guardian told in advance (see the note below) and the child asked — either may say no, and no reason is needed |
| 3 · Identifiable | A name, a face, a voice, or handwriting | A photo of a child holding their chart; a video of a presentation | Written yes from the parent/guardian and a yes from the child, both kept on file. Default is no. |
Anything reaching a builder or a funder should live at Level 1 or Level 2. Level 3 should be rare and deliberate.
If any answer is no, it stays in the classroom.
A parent or child may withdraw at any time by telling [whom? — the class teacher / the office / ____________]. Withdrawal means the trace is taken out of anything that hasn’t yet been shared, and the school tells whoever already received it. No questions asked.
Rewrite in the language your families read. Keep it to one page.
[School name] — a note about your child’s work
This term, [Grade __] is doing hands-on activities about [theme]. Your child will make drawings, charts, and short written lines about what they see. These stay in the classroom and belong to your child.
Sometimes we would like to show one example of the class’s work to other teachers or to people who support the school, with your child’s name and any identifying detail removed. We are telling you first. If you would rather your child’s work is never shown outside the classroom, tell [the class teacher] — no reason needed, and it won’t change anything for your child. You can change your mind at any time.
We will never share a photo or video in which your child can be recognised without asking you separately in writing.
[Educator name] · [date]
[Devanagari / regional-language version — to be written by the educators, not machine-translated]
| Decision | Your answer |
|---|---|
| Who receives a withdrawal? | |
| Which language(s) is the note home written in? | |
| Is the note home sent once per term, or per theme? | |
| Who signs off before a Level 2 example travels? | |
| Is Level 3 permitted at all in this school? | |
| Where is the register of shared traces kept? | |
| How is a child’s “yes” or “no” asked, so it is real and not pressured? |
India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 treats children’s personal data with particular care, including verifiable parental consent for processing. This draft is written to stay well inside that spirit by keeping nearly everything at Levels 0–2, where no child is identifiable. It is not legal advice — before the school adopts a final version, someone qualified should read it.
Drafted 2026-08-31 by Leap of Faith Labs on one rule — count first; one example only when made anonymous; nothing identifiable before consent. It belongs to the educators once they have rewritten it. CC BY-SA 4.0.