Why Are Child Photographs Important?
Each child must have a photograph in the system before they can log in to play Ignite by Hatch™ or IgniteTable by Hatch™.
When a child begins to play, they’ll hear an audio prompt asking them to “Touch your picture to play!” This interaction ensures that both platforms are child-directed and do not require an adult to be present for login.
By selecting their photo, children tell us who they are, ensuring we can measure progress and present experiences that match each child's development level.
How are Photographs Added?
In this article, we cover the ways to add photos in Hatch Insights. If you want to add photos in Ignite, please see: [Teachers] Adding Child Photos in Ignite™
Adding Photos From the View & Edit Children Page
A quick way to check photo status for each child is to go to View & Edit Children under the ROSTER menu.
You’ll see a column labeled Photo Status, which may show:
- Has Photo – A photo has been added.
- Needs Photo – No photo has been added yet.
- Needs Approval – A family member has submitted a photo and it’s waiting for teacher/admin approval.
- Placeholder Photo – A temporary image with the child’s first name and last initial. (This only appears if your org admin has enabled placeholder photos. We recommend updating these to real photos so children can log in independently.)
- You can filter the list of children by photo status to easily find those who still need a photo.
- When you click on Needs Photo, you will see a pop-up requesting you to add the child's photo via camera or file upload.
- When you click on Needs Approval, you will see a pop-up showing the photo the family member submitted and options to approve or decline it.
- When you click Has Photo or Placeholder, you will be taken to the child's profile page to see more details about the child and view their current photo. Click the Upload to upload a saved picture from the device or Camera button to add a new photo using the device camera.
- Note: Pressing the upload button right after taking the child's picture with the device camera may clear out the picture just taken
Adding Photos With the Photo Pop-Up (Teachers Only): Useful for Bulk Rostering
If children have been added via bulk import (such as CSV upload or a roster sync), they won’t have photos yet.
To help with this, Hatch Insights automatically shows a pop-up when teachers sign in. This pop-up lists children who still need a photo and provides options to:
- Upload a photo
- Take a photo using the device camera
- Request a photo from the family member (if a family account is connected)
If a teacher chooses Request Photo from Parent, the family member will receive an email with instructions for uploading a photo.
Once the photo is submitted, the teacher will receive an email and will be prompted to review and approve or request a new photo.
Adding Photos by Adding and Editing Children in Web Forms (Admins or Teachers)
Educators using the Add New Child or Edit Child forms in Hatch Insights can easily take or upload photos at any time.
- To add a photo while creating a new child profile, go to ROSTER > Add New Child, and look for the photo section on the form.
- To add or change a photo for an existing child, go to ROSTER > View All Children, then click Edit next to the child’s name.
From there, you’ll have the option to:
- Take a photo using your device camera
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Upload a photo from your computer
- Note: Pressing the upload button right after taking the child's picture with the device camera may clear out the picture just taken
- Or, if a family account is connected, Request a photo by checking the “Request Photo from Family Member” box before saving. To learn more about requesting photos from families, see our help article.
Once a photo is submitted by a family member, it will go through the same approval process mentioned above.