As Passports contain personal information and often photos, it is essential that permission is granted by the Passport owner and/ or family/ caregivers.
You really cannot even start to make a Passport for anybody until agreement and permission has been obtained. It is ideal if the individual him/herself can agree and sign a permission, however, realistically, in many cases it may be parents of younger children or family members that will need to give their permission on behalf of the person. Because Passports are so personal and potentially powerful, it is always advisable to have clear written permission (not just a spoken 'go-ahead' in the middle of an informal chat).
On this page is a 'sample' letter and permission form that you can download to give you ideas about how you might obtain permission in your own setting (feel free to adapt and use this file if it helps).
Please note that we suggest that you also always meet personally face to face at least once with parents/family/carers, rather than trying to do everything by written letters and proformas. Only then can you show that you really DO want the family to be involved as equal partners, and have open discussion and a chance for both sides to ask questions etc.
When you do meet up, it is a good idea to have an example of a nice Passport (ie. somebody else's) to show the family what you are talking about (rather than a blank sheet). If you do not have a good example to hand of another 'real' passport (you can find some examples of passports on this website) or, you could make up a fun one about yourself or one of your own family members, as a 'demonstrator'.
Sample letter and permission form - please adapt and edit for your own circumstances:
Sample letter and permission form (.docx)
Once you have edited the sample letter and it is ready to share to the recipient, you can turn on restrictions to prevent accidental editing and allow editing only of the specific answer fields and check boxes in the permission form on the second page.
To do this, select ‘Developer – Restrict Editing – 2. Editing restrictions: Filling in forms’ then select ‘Yes, Start Enforcing Protection’ and add a password.
It is always good practice to also try and involve the person him/herself actively in their own Passport, even if just at the level of choosing a colour or texture for their booklet cover, taking / selecting favourite photos etc. And as the pages are created and the Passport is built up, they should read through it frequently with someone who makes it a fun activity, so that they are positively inclined to bring it out and want to show it to others.
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