To be concerned that a Mum from another class is still in our class WhatsApp group?

Crumbs, I found the school gates challenging enough, thank goodness whatsapp groups werent a thing when my kid was at school.

OP can you articulate why you are bothered by this? What privacy concerns do you have? Surely if that was such a worry you wouldn't be on the group. Fair enough if it was a complete stranger no one knew, but a woman with a kid in the same year? Presumably someone invited her into the group?

Do you have too much time to overthink stuff? Honestly, if you're taking the time to go down the whatsapp list and look at who's on the group, I would suggest you have too much time on your hands.

In the school I teach, they had an active policy this year that all numbers in the group chat had to be identified as belonging to a parent of a child in the class. If they didn't have a child in the class they were removed.
This is apparently following on from last year there being people entering groups when they shouldn't be.

We have six classes in our year group, the same info is sent out in each one. I can't imagine wanting to be in more that one chat group.

But if you’re posting pics in a class WhatsApp (why?? Who do they think wants to see them?) you can’t be that concerned about privacy. I mean, they’re only random parents who happen to have children in your child’s class. You don’t necessarily know them anymore than a parent of a child in the other class.

I’d think she was a bit weird. But I wouldn’t be “concerned”. It’s of no interest to me who sees the tedious messages about whether PE day has changed.

i wouldn’t like this as well. In our class group our description section, has the name of the mum, dad and child. This is such a great way of knowing who you are speaking to and who’s their child. I don’t see why someone from another class needs to be there?

I’m still in the wrong WhatsApp group after they mixed the classes up in August. I haven’t got round to leaving yet. How dare I lurk there, benefitting from all that admin 😂 you people are ridiculous

Well you're very on the ball, to know ALL the parents of a class! I only know four other parents 😂

At my DCs school, they children have friendship groups between the classes, so maybe "your" group would still be relevant to her, if they have mixed class parties?

Also for stuff like chickenpox and non uniform, the information would be the same? So maybe she just finds it useful having it on there? Either way, I think you're massively overthinking it.

The group will get bloated if people stick around. If your kid is not in the class you shouldn't be there.

Until you answer the question about what you meant by “still” in it, it’s impossible to say if you’re being unreasonable or not.

My dc class got mixed after the first year. I am still in the old class group because I had made friends with some of the parents and we still invite each others kids to things or want to catch up. They also have a newer chat for the new class which I’m not in. There can be as many WhatsApp groups as people like. It’s not like there’s one official chat allowed.
Anyway it’s all the same year so what does it matter?
You don’t know everyone in your own kids class is trustworthy plus they can forward photos etc on to anyone.
I would say PPs are right - stop treating the chat like it’s private, it’s not.

Class Whatsapp chats are not private. If your child is in a class of 30, you can have up to 60 parents on there. You shouldn't post anything on there that you wouldn't be happy to have sent out in the newsletter.

Is this person on the PA? Often the PA reps are on all the class chats.

Im my case it is purely being the class's representative on the PFA and sending reminders to the WhatsApp group about upcoming events like discos and bake-sales and trying to enlist volunteers to run our class's stall at the summer fair etc.

In some places it seems to am official or semi-official link between the school and the class parents. Absolutely not the case at my school.

I'm so old we didn't have WhatsApp groups when the DC were in primary school, we had Facebook groups. I really couldn't have named every child in either of their classes though, and certainly not every mum and even more certainly not in Reception when they had just started - I can't imagine seeing a phone number and thinking "Ooh I don't recognise that number, it isn't a mum from Armadillo Class, that's for sure!" But perhaps this is a very small school with just ten children in a class or something.

I think it's weird @ImageNet because a WhatsApp group is just for class information. Like if anyone has info to share, questions concerning school stuff, residential etc. It's boring stuff and no one posts pics (thank god) so I can't imagine anyone getting something out of it if they are not concerned.

Well I have now, I muted it back in the summer and completely forgot until I saw this thread 🤣 my life doesn’t revolve around social media and I mute group chats all the time

We used to have class WhatsApp groups which then became a pain because the school muddle up the classes twice in their time in primary so that they are both similar in behaviour and ability.
When they did this everyone would have to leave one and join another to swap over.
My youngest started last year and a community WhatsApp was set up for the year group as both classes spent a lot of time together as it was a free flow through the classrooms as side by side with a middle door.
Now they are in year 1 they don’t spend so much time together but children still have friends in both so it really makes it easier to invite children to parties etc if they are whole year group ones. Perhaps this parent feels similar and it’s easier to contact parents if she is on all the reception ones. As long as she is a parent of a child in your year group and not a random person I don’t think it’s a problem.

What on earth does a class rep do?

Does the prime minister know? How soon can you get information together for him to call a cobra meeting?

“The one where a whole class whatsapp group was used to send invites to a selective-group-only birthday party” would be a GREAT thread!

Oh, don’t be silly. Next thing you’ll be priding yourself on not answering the door, and not having fruends because of ‘all the drama’.

This is outrageous. How dare you. I'm calling the police 🤣

Precisely. I’ve had 3 kids and been in class WhatsApp groups and not once thought to police who was in it. They were the most mundane conversations ie, is it PE today? Sounds like this mother’s kid is in the other reception class at the same school. Maybe she wants to keep in touch with that group of parents for play dates etc! I mean seriously who cares 🥱

@BendSinister I assume only invitations for whole class parties

I got put into my own child’s class WhatsApp group for ten minutes before I left. Ghastly Experience.

In my experience (three different schools), they were friendly, useful, and not over-used, just occasional questions about homework a child hadn’t written down, reminders about sports day or school trips etc, and a quick and convenient way of issuing invitations to birthday parties.

What privacy concerns do you have exactly, that dont exist with the other parents in the group ? You’re hardly sharing risque content or matters of national security? And if she was to suddenly join your childs class, would the privacy risk magically disappear?

I think youve done enough by asking her who she was. If she is accidentally in the group she will probably now leave. But it’s a non event if she doesnt.