The following is a summary of a 2026 educate+ Webinar, presented by Kellie Hasluck and Hope Barr, from St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls, WA
Can schools capture the joy of school life without publishing identifiable student faces? St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls is exploring how a different approach to photography and storytelling can protect students while strengthening school Communications.
In an educate+ webinar, Kellie Hasluck, Director of Advancement and Growth, and Hope Barr, Head of Marketing and Communications, shared the thinking behind the school’s public social media strategy, introduced at the beginning of 2026, and the practical lessons from implementing it.
Start with the reasons for change
The decision was proactive, rather than a response to a known incident at the school. Rapid advances in AI, concerns about image manipulation and changing expectations around children’s use of social media prompted the team to reconsider what they published.
Four drivers were identified:
- Protecting students: reducing the availability of clear images that could be manipulated or misused.
- Digital citizenship: modelling the responsible online behaviour the school teaches in classrooms.
- Risk mitigation: considering the potential consequences for students, families and the school.
- Changing family expectations: responding to growing awareness of children’s digital footprints and image permissions.
The change sat within the school’s broader commitment to “being human in a digital age”, alongside its approach to devices, mobile phones and AI. This helped the community understand the decision as part of a coherent philosophy.
Reconsider what social media is for
Before changing the photography, the team examined its strategy. Who were they trying to reach? What content created meaningful engagement? Could they communicate the school’s values and educational opportunities without identifiable student imagery?
The shift was from treating photographs as the product to using them as a vehicle for a story. A smiling face might convey happiness, but the content also needed to explain what made the experience valuable.
Three changes followed:
- Reduce historic identifiable student imagery on public Instagram and Facebook channels.
- Avoid clear, identifiable, full-face images in new public posts.
- Move from reporting events to communicating educational outcomes and value.
Photograph the experience differently
Hope explained that non-identifiable does not mean unrecognisable to families. A parent may recognise their daughter’s hair, posture, uniform or friendship group. The school’s test focuses on public identifiability: could an unknown person capture an accurate likeness, connect the face with a full name or repurpose the image?
The team now uses:
- Side angles that avoid clear facial detail.
- Backs of heads and distant group shots.
- Faces obscured by the composition or kept out of focus.
- Hands, movement, objects and surroundings.
- Filters, although the webinar did not specify which filters or how their effectiveness was assessed.
These techniques aim to reduce risk; they do not guarantee that an image cannot be recognised or misused. Consent restrictions still matter, particularly where court orders mean a child must not appear even without a clear face.
Plan for two audiences before pressing the shutter
Public social media and family memories serve different purposes. St Hilda’s captures a smaller, strategic selection of non-identifiable images for public storytelling, alongside traditional event photographs for a password-protected parent gallery.
Parents can view school events across year groups, but download only photographs featuring their child. Students did not have gallery access at the time of the webinar.
Before each event, ask:
- What story are we trying to tell, and who needs it?
- Is the content for social media, the parent gallery or both?
- Does the story require an identifiable face?
- What angles, details and moments should the photographer capture?
Brief internal and external photographers beforehand. A traditional photograph may be unsuitable for public use, and cropping afterwards cannot reliably solve that problem.
Explain the decision and update the framework
“Don’t announce a rule. Explain why you made the decision,” was Hope’s advice.
The school connected the change to its wider digital safety approach, provided third-party information, invited questions and created a parent information hub with resources about phones, devices and AI.
It also reviewed privacy and consent arrangements, including biometric data associated with its media platform. Parents can update consent at any time.
To do:
- Involve governance and legal colleagues early.
- Review photography consent and privacy policies against the proposed technology and uses.
- Explain what families will still receive and how they can access it.
- Provide a clear route for questions and concerns.
Expect practical challenges
The presenters reported strong support from parents, students and staff. However, implementation required time, education and additional resources.
Historic content was a significant task: Instagram archiving was relatively straightforward, while Facebook required individual post review. The team also missed opportunities when photographs supplied after events contained clear front-facing images.
The parent gallery launched at the end of Term One, allowing the school to populate it before families logged in. This created a temporary gap between changing public content and providing the private alternative.
Other lessons included:
- Allow time for two photography requirements and gallery administration.
- Help staff understand what needs coverage and why.
- Accept that not every event needs a social post or a parent gallery.
- Build a suitable image library before changing websites, advertising and video.
- Assess each channel’s purpose, audience, accessibility and lifespan rather than changing everything at once.
Use the story to carry the emotion
Removing the smiling face as a default creative device pushed the team towards more purposeful content. Captions needed to explain why an experience mattered, rather than simply state that an event occurred.
Alternative content included:
- Students writing, building, performing or solving a problem, with attention on the activity.
- Details of learning materials, hands and surroundings.
- Collaboration, encouragement and moments of connection.
- Stories explaining school values, programs and educational outcomes.
The presenters reported follower increases of 8.25% on Instagram and approximately 3.2% on Facebook, alongside stronger storytelling and Community pride. They also acknowledged that some follower growth may have come from other schools interested in the approach.
Extend the approach into video
Their new campaign, “The Start of Something Extraordinary”, demonstrated the next step. Designed for both the website and social media, its films incorporated the requirements from the initial brief.
Movement, hands, interaction, environment, sound and voiceover created warmth without relying on clear front-facing portraits. Viewers could see girls writing, building, walking, performing and solving problems.
The practical lesson: design the story differently from the outset, rather than trying to remove identifiable imagery during editing.
Make the transition manageable
Kellie’s closing advice emphasised Leadership support, appropriate resourcing and distinct Marketing, engagement and social media plans. Schools do not have to solve every channel at once.
For smaller teams, the Q&A reinforced a useful starting point: publish fewer, better posts. Review the calendar, choose the stories that matter and explain why other requests may not be covered. St Hilda’s now covers two events each week, alongside other content and storytelling.
The presenters reported no decline in tour uptake. They also felt non-identifiable imagery could help prospective parents imagine their own child in the setting.
Why this matters
A child’s digital identity belongs to that child. Schools cannot eliminate every image-related risk, but they can make considered decisions about what they publish. Planning photographs, explaining the purpose of each story and resourcing change can help Advancement teams celebrate school life while respecting students’ privacy and future choices.
