What do I need to do to enable the tool for my school?

To enable the Lesson Recording tool for your school, Induction Tutors need to complete the short, guided permissions flow in PRISM. This flow will guide you through these steps:

1. Review Information Sheet and use it to speak with your school principal

You will be able to download a copy of the Information Sheet.

You’ll confirm that you’ve spoken to your principal and have authority to act on behalf of your school.

3.Provide key school details

You’ll enter a few basic details so we can put the right agreements in place and send signed copies of documents to the right people.

4.Review and accept the Data Sharing Agreement and provide formal research consent

You’ll be asked to review and sign the Data Sharing Agreement. If helpful, you can download a copy to look through with your Data Protection Officer (DPO) before signing. After signing, we’ll automatically share a copy of the Information Sheet and signed Data Sharing Agreement with your school principal and DPO.

5. Share information with parents and pupils and communicate any research opt-outs to your ECTs and Mentors

You’ll download template communications and confirm that information will be shared with parents and pupils, and that any parent/pupil opt-outs are handled appropriately¹.

Once everything is in place, the recording tool will appear automatically in PRISM for ECTs and mentors in your school from September 2026.

¹ The Parent Notification explains that parents can opt their child’s class out of research use. If this happens, recordings from that class can still be used for professional development, but the transcript must not be used for research. Induction tutors should make sure any opt-outs are shared with the relevant teacher. When starting a recording, the teacher simply selects the research opt-out option, whether because of a pupil opt-out or their own choice.

What am I responsible for?

As induction tutor, you are the school’s main point of contact for enabling the Lesson Recording tool and making sure the right permissions and communications are in place. This includes:

• Completing the permissions flow in PRISM on behalf of the school
• Sharing information with parents and pupils using the template materials
• Recording and communicating any pupil opt-outs to the relevant ECTs and mentors

What should I tell ECTs and mentors?

Before teachers start using the tool, it may help to give a short, practical explanation of how it works and what to expect.

The ECT and Mentor articles on Knowledge Base cover everything they need to know in more detail, but the key messages are:

• the tool is for professional development, reflection and mentoring, not performance management
• recordings are private unless the teacher chooses to share them with their mentor
• videos are deleted automatically after 30 days
• research uses transcripts rather than video, and teachers can opt out of research use when starting a recording
• if a class has a pupil opt-out, the lesson can still be recorded for development, but the transcript must not be used for research
• teachers should let pupils know when they are recording and position the device to avoid capturing pupils’ faces
• if something sensitive is captured (for example, confidential information or pupils coming into view), teachers should delete a recording immediately after they stop recording, before it is uploaded